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[0:00] Matthew 3, verse 2, he says, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[0:13] For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying,! The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And the saint John had his raiment of camel's hair and a leather girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

[0:31] Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptised off him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

[0:53] Bring forth therefore fruits mean for repentance. John the Baptist cries out, Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

[1:09] Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? A preacher, Martin Lloyd-Jones, was asked the question, What do you think Christianity ought to say to the economic situation today?

[1:26] I thought he'd give some intellectual answer. He answered, I think the great message we must preach is God's judgement on men and on the world.

[1:37] The condition of the modern world proves that what we must preach more than ever is escape from the wrath to come.

[1:47] In the present world situation it has never been more critical. All civilisation is rocking and we are facing collapse, morally, politically and in every other way.

[2:04] Surely at this time our urgent message should be, flee from the wrath to come. End quote. Flee from the wrath to come.

[2:17] Friends, the storm clouds are gathering. Time is short. The wrath to come.

[2:28] The wrath to come. The wrath to come. Firstly, the wrath to come talks of damnation. It talks of damnation. Friends, this is not a feel-good message here tonight, but it's a needful one.

[2:41] It's an urgent one. It's a critical one for this hour. The message is a message of warning, of damnation. Our Lord addressed this same crowd that came to John the Baptist later on in Matthew.

[2:54] In chapter 23, verse 33, he called them the same things. He said, You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

[3:08] Damnation. You know, people use the word as a kind of curse word. But the Bible says, Some will be damned. Some will be damned.

[3:18] It's not a cool or trendy topic here today. But damnation is a very real and confronting thing. The wrath to come is a confronting doctrine.

[3:34] A forgotten doctrine. A radical doctrine. An important doctrine. The doctrine of God's wrath. What a subject. What a subject.

[3:45] It should make us quake in our boots to think of this subject. It's referred to some 500 times through the Scriptures. It's not some passing mention.

[3:56] It's right through the pages of Holy Scripture. The subject of the wrath of God. The wrath of God.

[4:07] Now, of course, we know God is love. God is love. Yet the Bible speaks more of wrath than of love.

[4:18] God is a God of wrath as well as a God of love. But really and truly, His wrath and His love are not opposites. But they go together in a beautiful way, as we'll get to.

[4:33] The wrath and the love of God, they're not contrary, but they are complementary. They work together. So, friends, the Bible says more about the wrath than about love.

[4:49] God is a God of wrath as well as a God of love. And I think sometimes we've lost sight of who God really is. In Hebrews 12, verse 29, it says, Our God is a consuming fire.

[5:05] That's scary, isn't it? Jesus spoke more about hell than about heaven. Hell is a subject, again, not a popular one.

[5:16] Hell is called, in the Bible, everlasting burnings. It's called eternal damnation. The damnation of hell, as we just read.

[5:27] Matthew 23, from the lips of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus tells us the truth. There is such a thing as the damnation of hell. And God's wrath will send you there, and there will be no escape if you know not Christ.

[5:42] God's wrath is a subject which calls for needful warning. God's wrath is a holy hatred. God's wrath is against our sin.

[5:55] Now, nowadays, it's popular to trivialise sin. People trivialise it. They excuse it. They sweep it under the carpet. They condone it.

[6:07] In fact, the government of our day celebrates it. We have become desensitised to sin in this time in which we live. We ought to see sin as God sees it.

[6:20] See the sinfulness of sin. It's exceeding sinful. The guilt of our sin. To see it for what it is. And friends, it explains the damnation.

[6:34] Explains the wrath of God. Because our sin is hurtful and hateful to our God. To his heart. He has a loathing for it, and so should we.

[6:46] God has given us a warning through his book. Through the convicting power of his Holy Spirit. That should stir our hearts. Stir our hearts. To wake us.

[6:57] To shake us. God shouts a warning. Crying. Through the voice of John the Baptist. A cry of a voice of one crying in the wilderness.

[7:09] A cry that provokes the voice of our own conscience. To consider where we are at tonight. A voice is crying.

[7:20] Ignore it. If you will. At your peril. Damnation. The old time Whitfield. Burst into a flood of tears.

[7:31] While preaching on this text. Of the wrath to come. Who hath warned you to flee. From the wrath to come.

[7:43] He cried out with all his might. O my hearers. The wrath is to come. The wrath is to come. And these words sank into a young man's heart.

[7:56] Who heard him preach that day. And these words followed that young man. Through the days and weeks ahead. And he could think of little else but.

[8:07] The wrath to come. The wrath to come. He knew he was not ready. These words followed him. Until they brought him to his knees.

[8:18] The wrath to come. How we need this same message today. What does God's wrath mean? What is God's wrath? God's wrath has been defined.

[8:31] By one as a burning zeal. For the right. Coupled with a perfect hatred. For everything that is evil. A zeal for the right. And a hatred of the evil.

[8:44] It's God's displeasure. It's his holy anger. His holy hatred against sin. Friends. God's wrath is entirely just. It is right.

[8:54] It is rightful. It is righteous. We have to come. And face up to the reality of God's wrath. Friends. God's wrath is to come.

[9:05] It is yet to come. We can expect it. It is coming ever closer. Day by day. Day by day. The wrath to come. What should we do?

[9:16] We should flee from it. Flee from it. Do not neglect your soul. I warn you today. To flee. From the wrath to come. The righteous judge cannot excuse sin.

[9:27] He cannot let sin go by unpunished. Have you ever seen an angry man? You see some angry man. Often filled by alcohol. You see angry man.

[9:39] It is a shocking thing. Sometimes isn't it? Especially if you are on the receiving end. But imagine what God's anger is like.

[9:50] And his anger is justified. It is warranted. It is certainly right and rightful. God's anger. God's anger is not as the fury of a man.

[10:03] But it is as the righteous anger of a judge. Sentencing someone guilty. As charged. God judges the righteous.

[10:14] And God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 7 verse 11. If you are outside of Christ tonight. God is angry with you. Every day.

[10:27] God's anger is constant. And always. And always. In Nahum 1 verse 6. It says. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can abide the fierceness of his anger?

[10:40] His fury is poured out like fire. And the rocks are thrown down by him. Nahum 1 verse 7. The Lord is good. A stronghold in the day of trouble.

[10:51] And he knoweth them. That trust in him. It's an amazing contrast. Isn't it? The fierceness of his anger. Yet the stronghold. In the day of trouble. Depends what your relationship is with him.

[11:04] Your relationship with God. determines whether you are the one. Who will be the recipient of his anger. Or the recipient of his grace. The one who has the fierceness of his anger.

[11:18] Or the one. For you. For me. Who is a stronghold. In the day of trouble. One who you can say. The Lord is good. The Lord is good to me. He knows them.

[11:30] That trust in him. Friends. Ought we not to fear. The righteous anger of God. The Bible says in Exodus 23. That it is waxing hot.

[11:40] It grows hot. His wrath. In 2 Kings 22. Verse 13. It says. Great is the wrath of the Lord. In Revelation 19.

[11:51] 15. It says. Of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 1 Thessalonians 2.16. It says. That his wrath is upon sinners to the uttermost.

[12:04] He doesn't let up. It goes on. And on. To the uttermost. He vents it. In full. Where do we see his wrath? We see it poured out.

[12:15] At the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He sent fire and brimstone from heaven. We see his wrath on the Egyptians. As the proud Pharaoh was there with his band.

[12:27] And God poured out plagues and judgment upon them. And ultimately buried them alive in the Red Sea. God's anger and wrath is justified.

[12:40] It is as holy as his love. Thank God. There is help. We'll get to that.

[12:51] But God's anger is as holy as his love. It is righteous and needful. And friends. If you're outside of Christ today. God's wrath abides on you.

[13:03] Even now. Even this very day. You're under his wrath. You're a subject of his wrath. You that are under the sound of my voice tonight. That are outside of Christ today.

[13:15] God's wrath is on you. It says that in John 3 verse 36. It says. He that believeth on the Son. He that believeth on Jesus Christ.

[13:27] The Son of God. Have everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son. Shall not see life. But the wrath of God abideth on him.

[13:41] This is important to understand. The wrath of God. We see help.

[13:53] And I'm not swearing. I'm talking about a place. It's a place. It's not a swear word so much. As a place. People use it so flippantly don't they?

[14:06] Go to hell. Friends that's where they will go. They will go there. They will go to that place. Hell. Is a place.

[14:16] A bottomless pit. A place of unquestionable fire. A bottomless pit. A lake of fire. A place of torment. These are Bible descriptions of this place.

[14:28] Of this real tangible place. A furnace of fire. Everlasting punishment. If you are Christless here today. May you be afraid.

[14:39] Be very afraid. Thankfully there's a signpost. On the road to hell. It's a U-turn.

[14:51] U-turn. U-turn. Amen. A U-turn. A signpost. That points the hell deserving heavenwards. And if you would but see that sign.

[15:03] If you would but turn at that signpost. You can be saved. Amen. Thank God. Yet the lost sinner.

[15:15] Who willfully. Determines to live. Outside of God's protection. Has the wrath. Of God. Abiding on him. Even in the present day. People try to blot it out.

[15:32] Become blotto. To get it out of their heads. That gnawing conviction. That discomfort. That lack of peace. That lack of knowing him.

[15:43] They try to blank it out. But it is there. The wrath of God abides on them. And one day they will be cast into everlasting fire.

[15:54] Wrath abides on you. Even now. We've seen damnation. Damnation. It's real. It's hellfire. And it's a certainty. Outside of Christ.

[16:05] Secondly. We see. In talking of the wrath. Of God. To see. I pray. Danger. Danger. You are in great danger.

[16:16] You who toy. With your eternal destiny today. You are in great danger. A great darkness is approaching. A great day is coming. The great day of his wrath.

[16:27] The day of judgment. Judgment day. In this day. He will pour out the wrath of God. On those who have rejected his love. And mercy. In Revelation 6. Through 16.

[16:38] Through 17. It says people were crying out. They were crying out. It says. From the Bible. Verse. Chapter 6. Of Revelation. Verse 16. They were crying out.

[16:48] 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.

[16:58] For the great day of his wrath is come. And who shall be able to stand. Friends. The world is about to be shaken. As it was in the days of Noah.

[17:10] As it was in the days of Sodom. The judgment of God. Is about to fall. On sinners. And it is real. Awful. And absolute.

[17:23] We deserve the wrath of God. I deserve the wrath of God. There's an imperative. In John 3. Verse 7.

[17:34] An imperative. An imperative means. This is something. Absolutely essential. It's a must. It's John 3. Verse 7. From the lips of our Saviour.

[17:44] He says to us. Marvel not that I say unto you. You must. Be born again. Amen. You must. Be born again.

[17:56] There's no ifs or buts. That's a must. You must be. Born again. To see. Heaven. You must be. Born again. It's an imperative. It's an absolute.

[18:08] It's an essential. It's a must. We are at the end of days. The wrath of God will fall. Romans 1. Verse 18. It says. For the wrath of God.

[18:18] Is revealed from heaven. Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Who hold the truth in unrighteousness. God's wrath is revealed from heaven.

[18:30] It's a terrifying thing. A consuming fire. Hell. Do we consider the eternal reality? Do we harden our hearts?

[18:40] And just try to pass it off. That sense of the great danger that we're faced with. Friends. We've seen damnation.

[18:51] We've seen danger. Thirdly. We see. Thank God. Deliverance. Deliverance. Deliverance is there for the wrath of God. I want to urge you tonight. To see the great delivering power of God.

[19:04] The great deliverance that he extends to man. I want to point to you. The shelter. Where you can take refuge today. The wrath of God is about to fall. But there is an answer.

[19:16] Thank God. There is an answer. For sinful man. There is an escape possible. For you. For me. God's wrath was poured out at Calvary's hill.

[19:26] God's wrath was poured out on Christ the sin bearer at the cross for you. Christ bore our sins in his body on that tree.

[19:39] And friends. We can find life in his death. We can find shelter in the covering of his blood. The divine protection that he extends.

[19:50] A preacher said this. The real horror of being outside of Christ. Is that there is no shelter from the wrath of God. Outside of Christ there is no shelter from the wrath of God.

[20:05] Now. Julie and I were able to go to England some weeks back. And. We visited the backyard.

[20:17] Of someone. And. They showed us. A bomb shelter. A bomb shelter. Now. When the bombs are falling.

[20:29] You want to get in the shelter. That's where you want to be. That's where you need to be. That's where. You're safe. And friends. There is deliverance for you. In the shelter.

[20:40] In the shelter. In the shelter. In the shelter. In the shelter. Because why? Because God's wrath was poured out upon him. For us. There is a shelter. From his wrath.

[20:52] Thankfully. It says in Romans 5 verse 9. That we're justified. Declared. Righteous. Declared forgiven.

[21:04] Justified. By his blood. Saved from wrath. Through him. Isn't that wonderful? Amen. That you can say. I am saved.

[21:15] From wrath. Through him. Because the Lord Jesus. Bore. My guilt. And the wrath. Of God. He took the full brunt of it.

[21:27] For me. The wrath of God. He took it upon himself. For me. At the cross. By faith. You can declare that. The wrath of God.

[21:40] He bore our judgment. He bore our guilt. Every speck of our sin. He took it upon himself. He took our place. There is somewhere you can flee tonight.

[21:53] Praise God. You can flee. From the wrath to come. There's someone you can flee to today. There's someone you can come to. There's someone you can turn to today. And find refuge.

[22:04] I talked of it briefly this morning. How in a sense we're spiritual refugees. Our refuge is Christ. Flee to him.

[22:16] Flee to him. Flee to him. In Hebrews 6 verse 18. It tells us some. Of a certain promise for some. We can take refuge.

[22:27] It says. Of some. They fled for refuge. To lay hold upon the hope. Set before us. Hebrews 6 verse 18.

[22:38] There's a refuge we can take hold of. There's a refuge we can flee to. We can run to. Friends. Be assured. The wrath. Is to come.

[22:49] Thank God. It's still possible now. It's still possible. With this breath that you breathe. To cry out to him today. It's still possible. It's still possible. For you. To call.

[23:00] On the name. Of the Lord. And be saved. In an instant. In a moment. In the twinkly of an eye. In the blink of an eye. You can trust him now. For time and eternity.

[23:11] And your eternal destination. Can be changed. Because he took the wrath. Of God for you. It's still possible.

[23:21] To find deliverance today. From the wrath to come. And you can be numbered. Amongst those. In 1 Thessalonians 1. Verses 9 through 10. They turn to God. From idols. To serve.

[23:32] The living and true God. And they wait. For his son. From heaven. Him he raised from the dead. Even Jesus. Which delivered us. From the wrath to come. You can be among that number.

[23:44] And you can say. Now. Today. I know. That wrath is to come. But he's already delivered us from it. He's already saved me from it. I already have deliverance. In the here and now.

[23:55] In the present tense. I'm delivered. From the wrath to come. By his grace. What of you. Today. Will you be damned.

[24:05] Or will you flee to Christ. Will you be a believer. Who takes hold of that refuge. Or will wrath take hold of you. And believer here today.

[24:17] This is not. Something. That we should be ignorant of. This doctrine. Of the wrath of God. What should it mean for us. As God's people.

[24:28] Will you be unmoved. Or will you be moved by it. Is there not a cause. Is there not a reason. That motivates us. That compels us.

[24:40] That. Launches us. Enter his. Harvest field. As his witnesses. That drives us.

[24:52] To be. His witnesses. To reach out. Judgment is coming. Will you sound the warning also. Will you sound the warning also. That bad news has to come.

[25:03] Before the good news. We need to tell people. About the wrath of God. We need to tell people. For the wages of sin is death. But. The gift of God.

[25:13] Is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. There's the bad news. But there's the good news. Amen. We see the wrath. But we see. His love. Again. The hand in hand.

[25:25] One. Leads to the other. In his love. He sent Christ to be. The propitiation. The one. Standing in our place. The sacrifice. For us.

[25:38] Believers here today. Be challenged. To. Greater strength. To greater zeal. The wrath of God.

[25:49] Is to come. We want to warn. People. Of it. We want to witness. Have you no heart. No compassion. Once I was lost.

[26:02] Now I am found. We will once. As they. You know. It talks of. Very sinful people. In 1 Corinthians. It says. And such. Were some of you.

[26:14] Thank God. Your trophies. Of his grace today. He's ransomed you. He's set you free. He's delivered you. And he's given you. A message. That should be burning. In your heart.

[26:25] And on your lips. Or will we be careless. Will we be careless. Or will we have compassion. In Jude 1. Verse 22.

[26:37] It says. For believers. Reaching out. It says. Of some. Have compassion. Making a difference. Others. Safe with fear. Pulling them out of the fire.

[26:49] Hating even the garment. Spotted by the flesh. What a picture. A picture of a fire. And of someone. Dragging someone. Maybe singed and smoking.

[27:03] Out of the fire. Pulling them out of the fire. What a picture of the witness. That we should have. People.

[27:14] There's people burning. There's people. Helberts. In their direction. And we are the ones. God has called. To.

[27:25] Give that message. To the damned. That some. Might be pulled. Out of the fire. It should stir us. The wrath of God. Should stir us.

[27:35] Brothers and sisters. It should stir us. To repentance. To action. Driven by compassion. Friends. I've spelled out. The great soul danger. That a man.

[27:46] A woman. Is in. We see. We see. The damnation. Of hell. We see. Thank God. The deliverance. It still avails today. And it's not complicated.

[27:58] Or a. It's not. Some man made. Idea. It's so simple. It's so simple. It's simple. God says.

[28:09] You've got to become. Like a little child. To receive it. You don't have to get. Particularly. Good. Or righteous. Or. Have some.

[28:21] Religious. Training. Or some. Religious. Ritual. To receive it. Amen. Simply come. Simply come. Come to him. Come to him.

[28:32] The wrath of God. Should move us. People. It should move us. Lost. And found. It should move us. The wrath of God.

[28:42] Should stir us. What. Will your decision be? What is your decision tonight? Judgment. Looms. If you're outside of Christ today.

[28:56] You dwell. In the city. Of destruction. You know. Have you ever seen those? Sometimes you see. Allotments. And. I think it's in America.

[29:07] They put a. A cross over some doors. Certain buildings. They're marked for demolition. Friends. This city. Is marked for demolition. It's the city of destruction. God's wrath.

[29:21] Is about to fall. Not saying we have to move house. But. We need to move. Our spiritual location. Out of the city of destruction. And.

[29:32] And. Being as a pilgrim. Heading towards. God's city. Amen. Of eternal life. And. The minute you change direction. You're already a citizen of that city.

[29:44] Praise God. You're already here. Your passport stamp. It's. You've got your visa. Amen. You're already on the way. As you trust him. and that moment in time when you trust him, you are eternally saved.

[30:02] Your destination changes forever. But until that moment in time, you are in peril and you're in danger of the damnation of God's wrath.

[30:18] Friends, many will try and flee from him. People try to run from God. They try to hide from him. They try to flee to philosophy or flee to religion or flee to tradition or flee to some new age mysticism or whatever it be.

[30:39] But you cannot run from God. He'll catch up with you. He runs faster than us. Flee to him. Flee to him today.

[30:49] Run to him. To flee. It means to run at the utmost speed. That's what we should do. Flee from the wrath to come.

[31:01] You know, sometimes we take Christianity too casually. Very casually. We saunter along and just kind of kick the camel on the road and just sort of take it all very calm, cool and casual.

[31:16] Armchair, spectator Christianity. Just, you know, just coast along. Just ride the glory train. But friends, there's a fleeing from the wrath to come.

[31:29] Flee to his arms tonight. Flee to his open arms. Flee to him where you can find shelter and hide from the wrath of the Lamb. The wrath of God is burning wrath.

[31:42] It's dreadful, powerful, it's eternal. I say to you now, flee from the wrath to come. While you still have that opportunity, run to Jesus.

[31:52] He's the only direction that we can know that's safety, that's shelter. And it's a wonderful truth that we can be transformed from objects of wrath to objects of love.

[32:09] Whilst at one moment we're subject to his wrath, the wrath of God abides on us, and in that other instant of time, there's a conversion, there's a change of who we are into a new creature.

[32:24] Old things have passed away and all things have become new. He wipes the slate clean. Imagine that, if you had a criminal record or maybe you've got some criminal things that haven't caught up with you about yet.

[32:39] And imagine if the judge could say, okay, I'm just going to blot that right out. It's taken. It's paid in full. That's what God does for us.

[32:50] Isn't that amazing? Thank God for that. Because if any of us had to pay for our sins, we'd be in strife, wouldn't we? But thank God Jesus has paid for our sins.

[33:03] That's the truth of the cross today. And we can find his pardon. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

[33:17] And let him return unto the Lord. And he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Yes. It may be that time will come where you will seek the Lord, but he will not be found.

[33:34] What a tragic mistake. Seek the Lord while he may be found.

[33:46] While the wrath is yet to come, seek the Lord while he may be found. And he will abundantly pardon. But the time will come when opportunity will be no more.

[34:01] I urge you tonight, flee to Christ, fly to Christ, look to him, seek him while he may be found. Chase after him, run after him, run with all your gusto and energy, with all your zeal and fervor.

[34:17] Run, run with all your might. Run, flee to him. Flee from the wrath to come and flee into his arms. And he extends his arms wide open to you.

[34:30] You know, I love the story of the prodigal son. And we see he just turned his face. And the father was there, running to embrace him, to hug him, to hold him, to kiss him on the neck, on his foul-smelling neck.

[34:48] God the father is represented for us there. Unworthy as we are, yet he runs to us. Let us turn our face towards him.

[35:00] Run to him, to Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5 that we as believers, as much as this has been a somewhat confronting message, we as believers have a wonderful promise that we can take to heart and take home with us today.

[35:19] In 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9 it says, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation. Amen. By our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.

[35:33] And it goes on, comfort one another, edify one another. God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

[35:44] Now, friends, it's a very personal thing. Where you are, spiritually today, where you are in, in relation to salvation.

[35:58] I don't know who is saved and who is not. God knows then that it is. God knows then that it is. And God knows then that he will save.

[36:11] And those, he will not. But I urge you today, if God is speaking to you, if you're outside of Christ, you're under his wrath, even now, and it'll get worse.

[36:27] Damnation, there's great danger, but friends, there's a decision that can change your destination. Thank God. God commendeth his love towards us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[36:41] Amen. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

[37:00] What a joy, what an assurance for you to know God has not appointed me to wrath, but to obtain salvation. The wrath of God, the love of God.

[37:12] Hand in hand, they were. His love paid the price at Calvary for us. His love poured out his wrath in the person of his own son for us that trust him.

[37:28] Friends, I pray, I plead with you, I urge you, make peace with God today. Make peace with God. You don't have to come before me for me to utter some religious words over you or to pour some holy water over you or to waft some holy smoke over you.

[37:51] Even to baptise you, it doesn't make you a Christian. It's simply trusting him. He who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[38:04] It's wonderful. It's a wonderful joy. A wonderful deliverance is possible from his wrath. And I urge you today, flee to him. Flee to him now. Let us pray.