The Wrath of God

[0:00] The subject tonight is the wrath of God.

[0:13] The wrath of God. Spurgeon once preached a sermon called Turn or Burn.! He used this term, Turn or Burn.

[0:32] It's a bit confronting, isn't it? But he based this on Psalm 7 verse 12. Psalm 7 verse 12. Where it speaks of the Lord. And it says, If he turn not, he will quit his sword.

[0:47] He hath bent his bow and made it ready. So it talks about a sword. It talks about the Lord God holding a sword. And it says, If this one will not turn, that the Lord will use his sword.

[1:00] So in other words, If the sinner turn not, God will wet his sword. God is a sword with which he will punish men on account of his sin. And Spurgeon said this, 200 years ago, the predominant strain of the pulpit was one of terror.

[1:16] It was like Mount Sinai. It thundered forth the dreadful wrath of God. And from the lips of a baxter or a bunion, you heard most terrible sermons. Fall to the brim with the warnings of judgment to come.

[1:31] End quote. A terrible sermon full of the terror, the warnings of judgment to come. So, two, this may be a terrible sermon tonight. A terrible sermon because it's talking about the terror of the Lord.

[1:45] It's talking about the wrath of God. It's talking about his anger that he sometimes displays. But we will balance that with the assurance that we can have that we can be saved from his wrath.

[2:01] In Psalm 7, verse 11, we read, God judgeth the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day. God is angry with the wicked every day.

[2:13] So, again, we're looking at the subject of God's anger, God's wrath. It's a recurring theme through the word of God. And it's associated, this term, the wrath of God, it's associated with the fear of God, with the holiness of God, with the righteousness of God, with the judgment of God.

[2:33] God is a term that is evident. Someone has commented, in fact, that this term, the wrath of God, this aspect, this teaching of the wrath of God, the anger of God, is that it's mentioned nearly 200 times, 200 times in the Bible.

[2:52] So, it's not like just something now and again, it's something very evident, something that, obviously, God has put an emphasis on this theme.

[3:04] And so, God's wrath is one of His attributes. It's one of the nature of God. It's one of the recurring themes of Scripture. And it's an important biblical truth.

[3:15] As I say, tied in with righteousness, with sin, with our accountability to God, and with judgment. So, let's look at this, this principle of God's wrath, God's anger.

[3:28] When is God angry? When do we see God's anger displayed? We see in many different occasions of Scripture, where God poured out His wrath.

[3:41] He poured out His wrath. He didn't hold it back. He poured it out. God's fury, God's wrath. It's seen, for example, we see in the judgment time of the flood.

[3:52] Of the time of the flood. In Genesis, chapter 6 through 8, we read Genesis 6, verse 5, And the Lord God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of His heart was only evil continually.

[4:12] God saw the wickedness of man was great, and that every imagination of the thoughts of His heart was only evil continually.

[4:23] So, at the time of the judgment of the flood, God restrained His wrath for a time until the day came when it burst forth in fury.

[4:37] God the Father then shut Noah in the ark. God shut the door, it says, of the ark. God shut the door, and Noah was in the ark, and he was saved from the wrath of God.

[4:49] So, we see the wrath fought the flood, we see Noah shut safely in the ark, and saved from wrath. God's judgment we see at the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[5:03] The judgment of Sodom in Genesis 19, God again poured out His wrath. In Deuteronomy 29, 23, it tells of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it says, which the Lord overthrew, and He's angered, and in His wrath.

[5:18] God displayed His anger and His wrath as He overthrew and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, we know what Sodom speaks to us even of today.

[5:31] It's used of sin. And God is good and holy, and God hates sin. It's not out of character for His goodness and His holiness, because He despises sin.

[5:46] sin. Because sin is our enemy. Sin deforms us. It debases us. It destroys us. Sin corrupts and condemns men.

[5:58] And so God is against it. And He's got good reason. It's a good thing that God is against sin. And His anger is justified against sin. His anger is just and it's justified.

[6:10] We know that He will not leave the guilty unpunished. And He reserves wrath for His enemies. and pursues His adversaries. As His wrath fell on Sodom, yet God first warned and saved His people.

[6:26] Again, we see His wrath, but we see His justice. We see His grace. We see as God was about to unleash His wrath against Sodom and Gomorrah, that God let Lot out by His grace.

[6:42] God led Lot out by His grace. Lot and His family were saved by grace from the wrath that fell on the wicked and sinful city.

[6:54] So we see God's wrath at the flood, yet His grace at the flood. We see God's wrath at Sodom, yet His grace at Sodom. And we see God's wrath in the judgment of Egypt.

[7:06] Another occasion in Exodus 14, after God had sent various plagues, we knew, we know how God had to warn and warn and warn and sent judgment after judgment after judgment and still Pharaoh didn't get the message, let my people go.

[7:27] And then God dealt more severely in His wrath on Pharaoh and His people as the firstborn was slain. Yet all the while God brought deliverance to His own people.

[7:40] God brought deliverance by the Passover through that faith in the coming work of the cross. God brought deliverance to His people again and He saved them from His wrath.

[7:55] While it seemed hopeless, God opened a way of escape and as they were there at the Red Sea and it seemed like they had no way of escape, God opened the ways and opened the pathway through the sea.

[8:11] And God restrained His anger for a time and then His wrath fell on the godless as the Pharaoh's armies were chasing them through. In Exodus 14 verse 28 we read, God showed His wrath the game in judgment against Pharaoh and the Egyptian army as they were drowned in the Red Sea.

[8:50] Yet, while He showed wrath, He showed grace again. He showed grace again, saving His people. God's wrath we see again as another example in the judgment of Jericho.

[9:01] Jericho, there we see God's deliverance again from the wrath for Rahab who had become a faithful believer. Rahab, she didn't have much on her CV.

[9:12] She didn't have much to claim regard or credit for as far as simple faith in simply helping the two spies and in hanging the red cord, the scarlet cord from the window.

[9:29] In that simple faith, as it were, in the blood to be shed, that scarlet thread hanging from a window. In simple faith, as God unleashed His wrath on Jericho and judgment on the wicked, in that pagan city there was one, she didn't have much to claim, Rahab the harlot, Rahab the harlot was saved from wrath when God destroyed the city and burnt it to the ground.

[9:56] So we see this pattern through these times of God's wrath, that terror of the Lord, God's judgment, God's anger prevented in rightful, just judgment.

[10:08] We see it at the flood, we see it at Sodom, we see it at Egypt, we see it at Jericho. God's wrath was displayed but also by His grace and glory, His saving power, picturing the saving blood of Jesus our Lord.

[10:27] So God's anger was evident in these things and God's anger was evident in other cases, in other occasions with other people. For example, Aaron was one, Deuteronomy 9 verse 20, and the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

[10:53] This occasion was where it was shortly after God had given the law and Moses had the law written on the tablets of stone and descended from the mountains to find Aaron and the people dancing around this golden calf and glorifying this idol.

[11:15] And so God's anger was also warranted on this occasion. Aaron had only just been seeing the delivering power of God through all the evident science and powerful instances of God's intervention.

[11:29] as the people were saved from Egypt and the slavery there, the bondage of Egypt and here was Aaron after all of that leading the people to worship and image.

[11:45] So God's anger was shown here too. And God's anger was shown then through the wilderness wanderings as the children of Israel then spent this time meandering in these wanderings through the wilderness provoking him to wrath along the way as it says in Deuteronomy 9 verse 22 where it says in part you provoke the Lord to wrath.

[12:10] There was occasion after occasion where they were murmuring, complaining, unfaithful and disobedient to God whether Moses or the people and on these different occasions the Lord was provoked to wrath and yet he is long suffering still.

[12:29] He still long suffered with these ones and still his grace was evident too. So we see then not only Aaron but for example with Solomon another man 1 Kings 11 we read of Solomon from verse 9 and the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned to from the Lord the God of Israel which had appeared unto him twice.

[12:54] So again here's Solomon the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord even though God had appeared to him twice. Another manifest occasion God had blessed Aaron God had blessed Solomon and they still go and do the wrong thing.

[13:13] We know in Solomon's occasion he married many pagan women who were idol worshippers and he followed them really and led the nation in the wrong direction.

[13:30] And verse 10 it goes on and had commanded him concerning this theme that he should not go after other gods but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Solomon had a reputation as one of the wisest of men and yet he showed evident foolishness in some of his actions and so rightfully God was angry at Solomon.

[13:51] We can learn from these examples brothers and sisters. We can learn from the examples of Rahab, of Aaron, of Solomon. Human beings just like you and me and sometimes we too can provoke the Lord's anger.

[14:07] King Josiah was another one who in his lifetime he recognised God's wrath in his day.

[14:19] And the occasion where King Josiah recognised God's wrath was as he read the forgotten scriptures. There was a time where the scriptures had been put aside and neglected and buried in dust somewhere in some hideaway place in the temple and then someone yelled out that they had rediscovered the scriptures.

[14:43] scriptures and as Josiah the king read the scriptures he realised that the people were in disobedience to God and he saw his neglect and he did something about it.

[14:57] It says in 2 Kings 22 13 he said go ye inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that is found.

[15:11] For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kingdom against us. He said go and inquire of the Lord concerning the words of this book that is found.

[15:29] For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kingdom against us. King Josiah's eyes were opened when he read the book. The neglected book.

[15:39] The neglected words of God. The neglected scriptures. And his eyes were opened to see the disobedience and neglect of the people. But he did something about it.

[15:51] He did something about it. And so do we. When we realise God's anger against sin, God's wrath, it prompts us to consider what we are doing.

[16:05] I was just this afternoon listening to a preacher talking about King Uzziah and the new cart. Sorry, not King Uzziah, but Uzziah and the new cart that was used and it seemed like the convenient thing to do.

[16:19] It seemed like the trendy thing to do was to have the new cart and to do something a new way. But it was against the scriptures. And so God was angry there on that occasion.

[16:31] And yet, then David did something which was a bit outlandish, but he did that which was according to glorifying God. And so God's wrath was not placed on him, but God's wrath was placed on the one who did what was contrary to the scriptures.

[16:53] And so there's many occasions, many examples we could think of of God's anger, God's wrath. But thankfully for us, God is slow to anger. God is slow to anger.

[17:03] And his anger is not as a human kind of anger that's kind of a rage and out of control anger. But God's anger is a just and rightful wrath.

[17:16] It's a righteous indignation. As our Lord Jesus had, as he went into the temple and he saw those that were dishonouring the place of worship.

[17:27] And he had a zeal to counteract them. And we see how he took the, he fashioned a cord and he dispersed these ones that were causing this disregard and this lack of reverence and respect to God and to the place of worship.

[17:50] And so there's many occasions where our Lord himself got angry as we saw him. At times he got angry with those religious teachers who are misleading the people.

[18:01] Whenever God is angry, whenever the Lord Jesus displayed that anger, it was right and proper. He had good reason for it.

[18:12] And so too, we can consider this. Why is God angry? Why is God angry? God is angry because he has good reason to be angry.

[18:25] Because godless men willfully reject him. Godless men willfully reject him. And God is angry at the sinner because of his sin. The sinner also, we could consider, has more than just an effect for himself or herself.

[18:45] When someone is sinful, they are setting an example. Every one of us are leaders. Every one of us are leaders because there's always someone looking at you.

[18:57] There's always someone looking at each one of us. Every one of us is setting an example. And every one of us are a leader. It could be younger brothers and sisters.

[19:09] It could be others in your circle of influence. The peers, the people with whom you work. It could be other relatives, other connections and associations in your life.

[19:21] And so when someone is a sinner, they have an influence. We all have an influence. And when you consider the sin of a father can be copied by the son or the daughter.

[19:37] The sin of a mother can be copied as a mother can lead their children to sin. A father can lead their children to sin. So God is angry. Sometimes we should consider the example that we set to others and how God may be displeased with us when we don't set a rightful example.

[19:58] And God is angry at the wicked. It says every day. God's anger, God's wrath is warranted because of mankind's deliberate disobedience. We read in Ephesians of man's sinful disobedience and it warrants God's wrath.

[20:14] In Ephesians 5 verse 6, Paul writes to the Ephesians, he says, Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

[20:26] disobedience. The context there is a sinful behaviours and Paul says God's wrath comes on the children of disobedience.

[20:38] Now when we disobey God, it provokes his displeasure. We know as parents, we see at times our children, we get rightfully displeased with them when we see them doing the wrong thing, when they disobey and when they go the wrong way.

[20:58] And likewise too, God is displeased and there's a displeasure to God and we should be mindful of that, I put to you tonight.

[21:10] So God's wrath is against our nation at times, I put to you, when we see our nation's leaders and the direction they're setting for our nation.

[21:21] When we see our nation's governors and lawmakers, when we see the direction of our nation and we see these things, we see why God would be angry with that.

[21:36] And we see, for example, the abundant abortions, when we see the great overwhelming neglect of God God in our land, when we see the name of God used as just a filling word, a swear word, a curse word, when we see these things routinely being promoted across media of all kinds.

[22:08] And God is angry when he sees these things. And so God is angry at those who disobeyed him. In 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 7 through 8, it says, To you who are troubled, rest with us.

[22:22] When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[22:33] And he tells of a time to the Thessalonians of when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. And in flaming fire he shall take vengeance on them that know not God, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[22:49] These are telling words, aren't they? Telling words. Of course, some like to think of a gentle Jesus, meek and mild, and paint him as some effeminate kind of wuss.

[23:04] But yet we see that the Bible shows him at times standing very strongly and assuredly against the evils of our world.

[23:15] We see the Bible speaks of him as having flames of fire in his eyes. And the time will come when he will wreak vengeance on them that know not God.

[23:26] Now that's something that should get a hold of us. That one day his wrath will be poured out as it was at the flood, as it was at Sodom, as it was at Egypt, as it was at Jericho.

[23:40] The wrath of God will be poured out. And it's rightful wrath. It's proper. As we see when we hear stories of historical figures of old and we see, for example, we could name one Hitler.

[23:58] Whoa. He's got it coming to him. Hitler, he deserves everything that he gets. You know, we could think of that. And yet, there's many shades along the continuum of people that are likewise God-rejecters.

[24:13] And even one who might seem outwardly a reasonable person, if they reject the gospel, if they disobey the gospel, then they are due God's wrath.

[24:26] Amen. Because they are not safe. They're not in the ark, like Noah was. And just to explain what I mean by that, when the flood came, the judgment came on the ungodly world, there was only eight saved on planet Earth.

[24:49] And those eight were in the ark. They had to be in the ark. And the ark is a picture for us of the place of safety, the place of refuge.

[25:02] And that one place today is in Christ. The Lord Jesus is the ark. He is the one that we can take shelter in. And though the wrath falls on this world, we are safe in Christ.

[25:14] We are safe from his judgment. And I'll go on to say more about that. But God is just, and he cannot let sin go unpunished. As a judge that is just must punish sin, as someone that would be facing a man such as Hitler, he would have to say, this man is guilty.

[25:34] There's no question. God is just, and he cannot let sin go unpunished. And God is angry about man's ungodliness and unrighteousness.

[25:44] So his anger is absolutely just. Now Romans 1 tells us of these aspects that provoke his wrath. In Romans 1 verse 18, we read, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.

[26:06] ungodliness, unrighteousness. God's wrath is revealed, it says. So God is angry when sinful man ignores revealed truth. In Romans 1, 19 through 23, it says, So it's saying there that God has shown mankind the way.

[26:29] God has shown through his dealings with Israel, through the record of scripture, through the conviction of conscience, through the creation that we see.

[26:42] it's evident that there is a God with whom we have to deal and God has manifest himself to us. And verse 20, it goes on, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

[27:03] What it's saying there in Romans 1 is they are without excuse. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven and planet earth, humanity at large is without excuse.

[27:16] God is angry and sinful man's foolish belief. There's no excuse. There's no hiding. You can't come to him on judgment time and say, Oh, think of some weedy excuse that you thought, Well, maybe your good works would outbalance the bad or whether your particular philosophy was as good as the blood of Jesus to save you.

[27:42] No, it's not going to stack up. We are without excuse. Without Christ, we're outside of the ark and we're subject to God's judgment. So God is angry at sinful man's foolish unbelief.

[27:56] Now, some will paint it as scientific, such as the evolutionary theory. They will try to find some excuse, some reasoning, some human manufactured ideal or philosophy or viewpoint to use as some weedy excuse before his judgment time.

[28:18] But no, they are without excuse. Foolish unbelief will not be excusable. God's holiness cannot excuse sin.

[28:29] Verse 21, it goes on, of such that because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened.

[28:42] Really, they knew God, but they chose to reject him. Verse 22, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

[28:53] It doesn't matter how many letters are after your name. It doesn't matter how many degrees and doctorates and whatever. If you don't know Christ, you're professing yourself to be wise and becoming a fool.

[29:09] Becoming a fool. Verse 23, it says of these that they changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and to four-footed beasts and creeping things.

[29:22] We know of some, they make idols out of clay and stone and metals and they fashion them and they worship them. I know I told a story some time ago where I had occasion to visit a Buddhist temple and I walked into the Buddhist temple and there was this great golden Buddha there, this golden Buddha, an ugly looking man but they still worshipped him.

[29:48] But here he was, this great big fat ugly looking Buddha, this man, this idol, and he was all glowing with gold. and I said to one of the attendants there, oh, what's this?

[30:02] What's it made out of? He said, concrete. Concrete, sprayed with gold paint. And I went up to Buddha and I went, oh yeah, just a piece of rock, just a piece of concrete and this is what they bowed down to.

[30:19] They built this huge temple just down the road here. they built this huge temple to this piece of concrete. Amen. They changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like a corruptible man.

[30:37] But the Western world is just as stupid as those who bow down to physical images when we place anything on a pedestal, when we place anything in a place of worship other than our Lord Jesus Christ.

[30:54] God's judgment is righteous and rightful. In Romans 1.32 it goes on to say, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

[31:13] Now the context there is of more gross sins, of a corrupting, of the human heart, and we see that in our culture today.

[31:27] Men attracted to men, women attracted to women. An honest secular person would realise that that doesn't compute, doesn't make sense, let alone honours God.

[31:42] And so knowing the judgment of God, God, they not only do the same, but they have pleasure in them that do them. And God helped our government, state government, whatever it be, when they applaud and celebrate and promote such wickedness.

[32:03] sin. The wrath of God is coming. People today, we cannot excuse it. And look, that's just one sin of many. It's not to say one is worse than another.

[32:16] The simple sin of unbelief is a wicked sin. It's a wicked sin. And friends today, the point is that people not only sin, but they promote it and flaunt it.

[32:27] Caring not that God is against it. God is against it. God is angry with the wicked. Every day. They don't care. And our culture has embraced sin, willfully turning from God.

[32:43] No wonder God is angry. No wonder he's angry. And rightfully so. Certainly, we are without excuse. Friends, it tells us in the word of God of a coming day of wrath.

[32:55] A coming day of wrath. A day coming. Romans 2 verse 5. It tells of ones who, after the hardness and impenitent heart, they treasure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

[33:13] Now, this is a verse telling us a son that they're heaping up, they're storing up, they've got this bank account. Storing up wrath.

[33:28] They're storing it up, they're treasuring it, they're heaping it up, they're piling up this wrath that will be unleashed on them.

[33:40] As they mess with God's truth, as they mess with spiritual things and they neglect the almighty God, they're heaping up this wrath for themselves.

[33:54] sin. And so we should take note of this, brothers and sisters today, that sin is not something we should consider a light thing and be careless and not heap wrath to come.

[34:13] God's God's This day is spoken of as a time where people are despairing. In Revelation 6, we read of this day, the coming day, the day of his wrath, where we read in Revelation 6 verse 16, for example, it says, they said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

[34:37] These ones in this time of tribulation wanted to be hidden from his face. They wanted to hide from his wrath. Revelation 6, 17, for the great day of his wrath is come and he shall be able to stand.

[34:52] Revelation 19 verse 15, and out of his mouth goeth the sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations. We know that the sword of the spirit is the word of God.

[35:05] The sharp sword, the sword of the spirit, the sharp sword was going out of his mouth. It's talking of our Lord. And it goes on, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of the mighty God.

[35:21] Another picture, a graphic picture really, isn't it? Treading the wine press of the wrath of God. You see the blood red wine press, the wrath of God.

[35:35] These are gripping images, aren't they? They should make us alert and prompt us to seek him before the great day of his wrath to come. Judgment day is looming and we mustn't mess with this.

[35:49] We mustn't take this carelessly, but rather take it seriously. Romans 2, 5, again it talks about the hardness and impenitence of heart, treasuring up, heaping up this wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

[36:06] One day he'll render to every man according to his deeds. Now friends, I'm putting this to you in somewhat of an alert, in somewhat of a warning. Some people are treasuring up wrath unto themselves against the day of wrath.

[36:22] Wrath is being stored up and one day the day is coming when it will be unleashed. And so this is a warning to you, to us all, I urge you to flee from the wrath to come.

[36:33] Flee from the wrath to come. The good news is, and now we can temper it with something a little bit more of a positive vein, is that escape is possible.

[36:44] Amen. Escape is possible. Thank God. Escape is possible. And I'm glad of that because I need to find that way of escape, don't you? To find that escape, to find that shelter, to find that safety.

[36:59] Matthew 3 verse 7, John the Baptist said of these religious ones that came to him, O generation of vipers, who have warned you to flee from the wrath to come.

[37:10] He knew they weren't really serious. They were just toying with their religion, with their theology, as it were, yet not knowing the Saviour, the grace of God.

[37:22] But the good news is that there is an escape from the wrath to come. The good news is that escape is possible. And you can be delivered.

[37:34] You can be delivered. Each one can know his delivering power. God balances his anger with love. He did that with Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of God.

[37:46] Noah found escape in the time of the judgment of the flood. Lot found escape in the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The children of Israel escaped the plagues of Egypt and they knew the covering grace of God.

[38:00] As the Passover lamb was shared, the blood was shared, they found grace. They found grace at the Red Sea as they were chased there and God saved them but brought round on Egypt.

[38:14] And just as Rahab, the harlot, found grace in that wicked and pagan city at the fall of Jericho, so too we can escape the wrath of God.

[38:28] We can find shelter from the wrath to come. How so? Psalm 2, verse 12, it says, kiss the son, lest he be angry and he perish from the way when his wrath is kindled, but a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

[38:48] Psalm 2, obviously it was hundreds of years before Christ came, the psalmist said kiss the son. son. In other words, worship the son. Worship the son, the son of God.

[39:00] Worship the son. When his wrath is kindled, he can be safe. If you are one who will trust him, if you are one who will worship the son of God, kiss the son, the son of God.

[39:17] In other words, adore him, honour him. Find that relationship with the son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. I was interested lately to hear about this very tragic incident in Paris.

[39:32] You know, and there's much more we can say, and it's a very ugly thing. It's a very sad thing. But it struck me that the party goers that were in the disco at the time of Paris, at the time of the destruction, the song they were singing was Kiss the Devil.

[39:55] Kiss the Devil. That was what the rock band was playing when the terrorists unleashed their weapons.

[40:07] Kiss the Devil. It's kind of sad, isn't it, to hear that. But I heard you today, don't kiss the devil, kiss the son. Kiss the son.

[40:17] Worship him. Find your trust in him. May he be your heart's hope and trust today as it's squarely placed in him. And you will be safe. How needful it is that today, if we hear his voice, we flee from the wrath to come.

[40:34] And we heed the warning while we have time to flee. I'm reminded of that footage I've seen, you've likely seen it too, of that awful time of the great tsunami.

[40:45] Sweeping through the coasts and the cities, the towns and the inner towns of Japan as that great unstoppable tsunami just swept away everything in its place.

[40:58] And I imagine that some people maybe they might have thought, wow, this looks interesting and they might have grabbed their phone and maybe started filming and been swept away in the process.

[41:10] I might imagine some might have heard those warning sirens that apparently they sound in Japan when a tsunami comes and yet hearing the sound, maybe seeing the sights, maybe taking some footage on their phones, they were swept away because they failed to flee.

[41:30] They failed to flee. And so too we should take notice today. To flee the wrath to come. To make your escape.

[41:42] To make your escape. The word is clear about the coming wrath of God. We can pussyfoot around it but it's here. It's right here.

[41:54] 200 plus times the wrath of God against sin. Don't pretend it's not there because it is. It's in black and white and red. And this is the warning we need to take heed off of the terror of the Lord.

[42:08] Friends just to come to a close now I urge you to take note of this. John 3 36 the Lord Jesus says he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him.

[42:32] It says the wrath of God abides on some people. those who do not believe. I urge you today to not be in that number.

[42:45] I urge you today to know that the wrath of God abides on you if you're outside of Christ. But to you that believe you have present tense everlasting life.

[43:00] The good news is that safety is promised to the believer. He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the wrath of God abideth on him.

[43:12] Which camp are you in? Which group are you in? Thank God the good news is today for you that believe safety is promised the believer.

[43:24] Thank God to that. Thank God for his saving grace. God's wrath explains our need for the cross. It's why the cross had to happen. The ugly cross.

[43:36] The brutal gruesome cross. The graphic bleeding sight of him had to happen because of the wrath of God.

[43:49] Because somebody has to pay for your sin. And God's righteous anger was poured out against hell deserving sinners. at the flood, at Sodom, at Egypt, at Jericho.

[44:06] Yet God has sent his son. Has sent his son to be the propitiation. Now this word speaks of someone who satisfies the anger, who appeases, who makes up and overcomes the anger.

[44:30] The cross was the place where the wrath of God was poured out for you that believe. And so thank God, we that believe, it says for us, that there is no judgment for our sin.

[44:46] Because that happened way back then, at Calvary's cross. the judgment for your sin, for you that believe, it happened then, back at that hill called Calvary, where Jesus bled and died and was the propitiation, the one who took our sin, who paid and took God's anger against your sin and mine.

[45:10] That propitiation for our sins was there at the cross, when the Lord Jesus took the full wrath of God for you and me that trust him. And so friends, today there is escape from the wrath.

[45:24] He was bruised for our iniquities. Romans 5 verse 9 it says, much more then, being now justified, declared just, declared innocent, declared free from guilt, by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him.

[45:40] We shall be saved from wrath through him. Again, I want to balance what I've been saying. I know it's a bit of a dread and a gruesome subject to think of God's wrath, to think of his anger, to think of his judgment, but yet, glory to God to think of his grace.

[45:59] Think of his grace. The gruesome cross is the place. The bleeding lamb is the one in our place and we shall be saved from wrath through him.

[46:15] God be him. God will be saved from him. God has suffered the wrath of God for me, for me, for me.

[46:27] By faith you can say that today. God judges the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day. But thank God Christ died for the ungodly and in his saving grace we are saved.

[46:41] We can get in the ark and God will shut the door and you'll be saved from God's judgment. 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9, wrath.

[46:52] What a promise. God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

[47:10] So the shed blood, the blessed, glad, glorious gospel hope that we have is that we can be saved from wrath. As 1 Thessalonians 1.10 wraps it up and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.

[47:29] You're already delivered. You that trust Jesus for your saving, you are delivered from the wrath to come. It doesn't matter what happens tomorrow, what lies ahead.

[47:43] There's people talking about tomorrow being a day of bombings in the USA. Who knows when it will be Australia. We don't have to worry about any earthly terror.

[48:02] But I urge you to flee from the wrath to come and find your refuge in Christ knowing that he's delivered us from the wrath to come. He's delivered us from the wrath of God. And those who will do hurt and destruction in earthly ways, they will face the wrath of God. The wrath of God yet to come. Let us pray. Lord we thank you today that we can have a great peace and joy. We can know a saving gospel. We know that there's blood shed for our sin and it's in Christ that we can have that safety just as Noah did as he was shut safely in the ark. We can find our refuge in you. We know Lord that your word tells us that you are the rock.

[48:49] You are the refuge. You are the strong tower. You are the shelter. You are the shadow. You are the one who gives us a covering of your wings and the safety and assurance in you.

[49:01] We pray for each one here today that as we think of the wrath to come on this world, on the wrath to come, on the ungodly, that we can be found in that number who are in the ark.

[49:13] That we can find that assurance, that safety, that security, that we can know that we're saved and we're delivered from the wrath to come because we're in Christ. We pray Lord that each one might know what it means to know that the blood shed of that cross that you in our place there took our sin.

[49:34] You paid the penalty for it. You took the wrath of the Father against our sin there at the cross. Lord we thank you in faith. We pray each one might know their heart's trust might be in you, not in any works of our own, not in any philosophies of men, but in that wonderful faith, that grace, that wonderful work of the cross, that finished work where everything changed in us, that belief.

[50:02] We pray each one might have that knowledge. Help us Lord as Christians to not toy with sin, to not regard sin lightly.

[50:13] Help us Lord to keep short accounts with you. Help us Lord to convict us Lord. Convict us Lord of what we do, what we say, of what we, how we act.

[50:26] Help us Lord to not bring shame to your name, but rather to suffer shame for your name, if it be. Lord that you might be glorified in us, that whatever lies ahead, even in these troubling times, at times we can know a peace that passes all understanding, that shall keep our hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus.

[50:49] Amen. Amen.