The Amazing Wrath of God

[0:00] There is a time in a man's life that most women don't understand is a very stressful time.

[0:13] It is that time when a man makes the decision that he wants to marry. He has found the apple of his eye, the woman worthy of his pursuit.

[0:24] And that's actually not the big challenge or the big time of pressure. It is the stress of coming up with the best ring that reflects his love that will be on his wife's hand, hopefully for the rest of their lives.

[0:51] I was in university, it was in my last year, and I was with my best friend. My best friend started dating his, who would soon become his wife, by October of his first year.

[1:04] He dated her all the way, and it was time, it was third year, and he says, I want to buy the ring, I want to propose to her at Christmas, and I want to get married when school ends.

[1:16] And if you're not familiar, we know the method is right. Three months of your current wage is the amount that you'd spend on a ring. But when you're in school, that is about 60 bucks, right?

[1:30] So he thought, you know what, I'm going to put some money aside. So I went to the jeweler with him, and the jeweler was telling us all these things about diamonds that we absolutely had no clue about.

[1:43] And finally, he put some diamonds, and he showed my friend the one diamond, and my friend just goes, how much is it? And the jeweler said, it's about $2,000.

[1:58] And my friend responded to him, you're out of your mind. Now, today, $2,000 might not be a lot of money, but back in those days, we're working for $5 to $6, $7 an hour if we're lucky during that time.

[2:12] And we still have a year of school to go. And the jeweler sensed my friend's hesitation. So perhaps you guys are familiar with this tactic.

[2:28] The jeweler then brings out this mat that is black as the darkest night. And it's made out of velvet.

[2:40] And then he puts that same diamond that my friend said he was out of his mind asking $2,000 for. And he put it on that black mat, and it sparkled.

[2:55] The lights overhead, you could see the brilliance. And in that moment, he said, that is the diamond that I want. So my friend made a deal with him.

[3:07] He said, I will come and work for you for the year if you will help me pay off that diamond. And the jeweler agreed.

[3:17] So on weekends and holidays, my friend was nary seen, unless, of course, you were going shopping for jewelry at the local mall. Today, that black cloth that that jeweler used to magnify the beauty of that diamond, that showed the diamond without flaws and showed its pure brilliance, is seen in the attribute that I want to conclude our sermon series on the attributes of God with.

[3:51] This is an attribute that is rarely spoken of. But it makes every other attribute of God glitter, look beautiful and magnificent.

[4:05] The attribute of God to which I will speak to you about today is the wrath of God. God's righteous wrath.

[4:19] Let's be honest. When I say God's attributes, God's righteous wrath doesn't make your top ten list, does it?

[4:30] In fact, some of you might be thinking, I did not even know that even qualified as an attribute of God's wrath. If we want to be more open and honest with one another, it's usually the attribute that we ignore.

[4:50] We hide. We choose not to talk about. In fact, we even make excuses for this teaching. When someone mentions God's wrath, we are usually heard saying, oh, that is so Old Testament.

[5:08] That's the old God. I want to talk to you about love and Jesus. That was the God that was old, kind of stodgy.

[5:22] Now we have a much more agreeable, sensible God. Can anyone relate to what I'm talking about?

[5:33] Has anybody ever asked you the question of God's wrath, and this is how you found yourself answering it? But I'm here to tell you, and the scriptural evidence tells us, that God's wrath is very much part of God, as much as his holiness, his justice, his wisdom, his goodness, his mercy, his love, and his grace.

[6:02] And the other reality is, there is no difference between the God of the New Testament and the God of the Old Testament. Hear these words that I will read to you from John chapter 1.

[6:14] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning God.

[6:25] All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the light was the light of men.

[6:36] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And then in verse 14, John writes, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace in truth.

[7:01] I want you to pay attention to that word, we have seen his glory. That was an expression when Moses spoke to God, when he would go before him in the tabernacle, when he would dialogue with God in the mountain, and he eventually asked God, show me your glory.

[7:27] Show me all that is of you. Remember that story? And Moses was told to hide in the cleft of the rock, and God's glory went before him.

[7:39] And he was just able to see God shining, just almost the shadow, the brilliance of who he was. Well, the New Testament clearly states here that when they're talking glory, that the Jesus that we see is all God.

[7:57] He is complete God. He is not missing any part of God. He is simply God in flesh. That is why Jesus himself said, he who knows me knows the Father.

[8:13] And included in all of God's glory is God's righteous wrath. The author A.W. Pink wrote, there are many who turn away from a vision of God's wrath as though they were called to look upon some blotch of the divine character.

[8:37] However, when we turn through the pages of Scripture, we find that God makes no effort to hide himself. He doesn't hide this part of himself like a teenager would hide a pimple before going out with friends, right?

[8:51] We've all been there. Maybe I don't look as good as I should be because of this blemish. God goes out. He doesn't care. In fact, he even calls attention to this attribute.

[9:06] In Deuteronomy 32, 39 to 41, it says, See now that I, even I, am he. And there is no God beside me. I kill and I make alive.

[9:19] I wound and I heal. And there is none that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear as I live forever.

[9:30] If I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and will repay those who hate me.

[9:42] I will make my arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives from the long-haired heads of the enemy.

[9:57] In fact, if you were to turn in your concordances and look up the references for anger, fury, and wrath, you would find more reference for them than you would for love and tenderness.

[10:09] The psalmist reminds us that God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation every day.

[10:21] Because God is holy, he hates sin. Because he hates sin, his anger burns against the sinner.

[10:36] We've heard that adage, hate the sin, love the sinner. But ultimately, it's the sinner who will find himself in hell for hating God, not the sin.

[10:50] I want you to know that God's righteous wrath is as much a divine perfection as his faithfulness, his goodness, his sovereignty, his wisdom, his grace, and his love.

[11:04] I want you to know and understand that God's wrath is not a defect. It is not a character flaw. In fact, God would be completely defective if wrath was not one of his attributes.

[11:22] My hope and my prayer this morning is that you would find yourself delighting in God and delighting in Jesus Christ because of this attribute. that you would come to see who is the full and complete glory of God the Father.

[11:41] And as I express that, you would see that this black cloth illustrated by my friend's search for a diamond, you would see that when we compare every other attribute up to this wrath, I pray that you will praise and sing deeper praises to the Lord and Father.

[12:05] My friends, the teaching of the wrath of God is the reason why we celebrate the cross. It is why we run to the cross. It's why we put our hands on the side of our wounded Jesus who was wounded and bled for us.

[12:22] It is the reason we as Christians say we love Christ and we love the cross. All right, let me just give you a brief definition.

[12:36] Then what I want to do is I want to look at the different types of wrath that God uses throughout the pages of Scripture so that we may best understand this. The first thing to understand that the wrath of God is an expression of his holiness.

[12:52] The wrath of God is the eternal destination of all unrighteousness. The wrath of God reveals God's true feelings against sin and evil and for those who do not follow him.

[13:11] It is the holiness of God stirred up. It is the activity of God against rebellion in those who challenge his authority. It is not an anger that is malicious.

[13:24] It is not meant for retaliation. God does not give out wrath because his feelings are hurt or someone came against him and God got ticked off.

[13:37] No, the wrath of God is the vindication of his dominion. The wrath of God is his right to rule and punish those who stubbornly fight against his rightful rule.

[13:51] There's many words that the Bible uses to describe wrath. One, and it's not really ever seen as God being angry or losing his temper.

[14:02] It actually means heated up anger. As if God's anger was put in a furnace and heated hotter and hotter is the definition of God's wrath.

[14:15] It means to burn with fury. It is the type of anger that burned up inside of God when his people worship false gods.

[14:26] It is a bitter anger that God has against nations that worship false idols. Another word that is used is a word venom or poison.

[14:40] And what it means is it is lethal when it is unleashed. It is a word that denotes anger with flaring nostrils.

[14:53] It's intent. It's intense. And the other thing about God's anger, when we get angry, we may break things, we may say things that we regret, but it's not that way with God.

[15:09] God's anger is controlled. It's calculated. It's holy. It's right. It's necessary. And it's perfect. So the first type of wrath that the Bible speaks about, and this is not in chronological order, but one of the forms of anger is God's abiding wrath.

[15:33] God's abiding wrath. For Romans 1.18 says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

[15:49] One of the things you probably don't know about me is that I'm an expert in dams. It's true. When I was young, I built dams all the time. I lived out in the country, and I had a long driveway that was over 150 yards.

[16:05] And when the spring thaws came and the snow and the ice would melt, I would spend the days building dams and more dams. And every time I found myself looking for bigger logs, and I was only supposed to use sand, but I'd look for rocks.

[16:20] And then I would notice that the more that dam held, the more pressure that it pushed on what I thought was an expertly built dam.

[16:33] As one knows, when an engineer builds a dam, it continues to hold more and more and more water. And when that more and more water builds, it's more and more pressure.

[16:46] That's why we see dams having to release some water to release that pressure. The longer that dam is in place, the greater the water and pressure build up.

[17:01] You see, the abiding wrath of God is held back by the dam of mercy. God has every right to have poured out his wrath on mankind.

[17:17] But yet, his mercy has held it back. His hand of love and concern for us has been used to hold back so that we would all have an opportunity to hear and know him as Lord and Savior.

[17:41] Some of you know that mercy. Some of you know through your walks that you lived a sinful life. Whether it was given over to lies of this world, perhaps it was to addiction, drugs, alcohol, loose living, destructive anger.

[18:00] You knew in your actions you committed sins that you would say deserved God to kill you. Many people have been there.

[18:13] the question is, God, why do you even let me live? And you understand that you were saved not because you were such a wonderful person, but that you were saved because God had mercy on you and didn't give you the punishment that you deserved.

[18:39] 279 years ago, a preacher by the name of Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon. It's a famous sermon called Sinners in the Hands of the Angry God.

[18:51] And he preached on God's abiding wrath. And this led to a major revival in New England. He basically said and the Bible teaches that God hates sin so much he doesn't just want to punish it, he needs to punish it.

[19:10] He understands that people deserve to be cast into hell. They've already been declared guilty. They even know in themselves they're guilty. And they also knew that the devil stands ready to receive them.

[19:25] Yet God keeps this all from happening because of his kind mercy. mercy. But what's interesting, the more mercy that God has on us, the more wrath is stored up for those who continue to disobey God.

[19:49] Psalm 711 says, God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation every day. In Psalm 2 he writes about the nations rage and plot against God.

[20:04] Kings of earth set themselves against the Lord and his anointed. But he who sits on the heavens laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. You know sometimes we do stuff, perhaps we remember when we were children, whether we stole that cookie or we thought we got away with that lie.

[20:27] God notices all those times we chose to disobey, we sinned even as adults. God still sees and God still hates.

[20:44] That's sin. That is God's abiding wrath. The second wrath that we see in the Bible is God's catastrophic wrath. There are times in human history that God got so tired with man's iniquity and sin he just decided I'm going to deal with it.

[21:02] We are all familiar with the flood in the time of Noah. Man did not seek after God, in fact they hated God. We read in Genesis 19 and 20 the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[21:16] We read when we get to the pages of Exodus the plagues that God brought against the people of Egypt. How many times did Pharaoh have to respond positively to the call of God?

[21:34] Throughout the pages of Scripture there's prophecies against nations. Some will be fulfilled in the future and some we've seen fulfilled in our past.

[21:45] Throughout time civilizations rise and they fall. We read about plagues, droughts, famines. And God sometimes even holds back the preaching of his word.

[22:05] That when a people who abstain from God's word and obedience to God, God no longer sends them preachers of the word.

[22:17] You see, when a nation begins to excuse sin and calls wrong, right, in fact, esteems what is wrong and protects wrong doers, it is a nation in ripe for judgment.

[22:30] judgment. How many of us have made that mistake that when we see something we might see it as unjust, but we fail to remember that it's God's version of justice and righteousness that matters and not our own.

[22:47] That is God's catastrophic wrath. The third type of wrath that God speaks of in the pages of Scripture is God's consequential wrath.

[22:59] This is built on the principle, you reap what you sow. If you are a farmer who don't plant seeds in the spring, you do not have a crop when it comes to harvest.

[23:12] If you fail to invest your money properly, you will not have investment for retirement later. If you don't take care of your car, it will break down.

[23:27] Galatians 6, 7 says, do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever one sows that he will also reap. One of the areas where we see this vast array of destruction is in our civilization's cry for sexual freedom.

[23:47] Even though we know it is against the word of God, people understand it, but they want to protect it at all costs, their right to do what they want.

[24:01] Yet they fail to see that with the destruction of morality has come the destruction of the family, which God has called good.

[24:13] I remember when I was in university, it was the first time I ever met someone who had AIDS. He was on a missions trip with us. And he told us, shared with us that he was actually a popular rock musician at one time and traveled the world.

[24:31] And he said he could not count the amount of women that he would sleep with. And he did this knowing that at some point that he had professed and made a profession of Christ.

[24:42] And when he was diagnosed with AIDS, he simply said, I sowed what I reaped. I disobeyed God. And now, God, in his love for me, warned me against this.

[24:57] I now have this terrible disease that will lead to death. Sometimes we fall into the trap that since a person isn't a Christian, the laws of God somehow don't apply.

[25:14] But it's not our kings and rulers that make these laws and determine what is right. It is God and God alone, is it not? He is the one who created us. He's the one who fabricated us.

[25:25] He's the one who knows how our bodies work. Those laws are meant for our family and sexual morality are put in place to protect us.

[25:37] They are God's loving kindness to us. I remember a time when I was working in the government. A friend was about to leave his wife for a woman in the workplace.

[25:49] And I remember sitting with him over a lunch time, pleading with him, please, oh please don't do this. The ramifications will be great. To this day, he followed that path and last I heard, his children still don't speak to him.

[26:08] I warn him, they will lose respect for him if he continues into this adulterous life. You see, we see disobedience as individuals, as cultures, as society, and as a nation.

[26:28] But we need to keep in mind the words of Hosea 8 and 7. For they sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.

[26:40] It's interesting, we are seeing this put out on the news every day, especially right now in the presidential elections down in the states, just the fight to keep abortion normal.

[26:59] The fourth wrath that we see in the pages of scripture is an abandoning wrath. An abandoning wrath.

[27:09] And this is the wrath which expresses itself when the sinner, after repeatedly rejecting the knowledge of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ, turns them over to their sin.

[27:28] In fact, God begins to remove people from their life that warns them and helps them and tries to protect them.

[27:39] they find themselves left alone with the fruit of their sin. Solomon writes in Proverbs 1, 24 to 33, says, Because I have called and you refuse to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded.

[27:59] Because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you.

[28:10] When terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer.

[28:22] They will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised all of my reproof.

[28:37] Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away and the complacency of food destroys them.

[28:51] But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread or disaster.

[29:04] it is possible even for Christians to get to a point where they no longer listen to God. They persist in disobedience and there can come a time where they will no longer hear the voice of God.

[29:26] And as we learn in 1 Corinthians, God simply hands them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh.

[29:42] It was sad thinking about this point this week because I know friends who have gone down paths of destruction which has led to their death. Some of them are in prison and some of them are desperately perverse and alone.

[30:00] Usually the sins start small, I need this, I want love, I want respect, I have to have this for my well-being, I enjoy it, I can stop at any time.

[30:17] But they couldn't and they can't. And they find themselves reaping what they have sown. there's three other types of wrath I want to address.

[30:34] The last two, or these next two, we understand to be end-time wrath. The God clearly teaches in Revelation 19 that the end of time man will come against God and at the end of mankind man loses.

[30:52] Then I saw heaven open and behold a white horse, the one sitting on it called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

[31:05] His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is the word of God.

[31:19] And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

[31:35] He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

[31:49] Then John writes, Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. With a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, Come gather for the great supper of God to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, their riders, and the flesh of men both free and slave, both small and great.

[32:17] they were absolutely all wiped out by the army of God. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army and the beast was captured and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image.

[32:45] these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

[33:03] It's not a fair fight. There is no struggle on their behalf. It is God's end time wrath which is followed by God's eternal wrath.

[33:18] Revelations 20.11 says then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.

[33:36] Then we turn to Revelation 21 where God reigns victoriously. the last wrath that I want to speak about that is found in the pages of scripture it's called God's redemptive wrath.

[33:56] It's God's redemptive wrath. This is the wrath that was poured out 2,000 years ago as a man named Jesus Christ who lived 33 perfect years on this earth.

[34:15] He hung on a cross and for three continuous hours the holy God poured out his righteous wrath on his son.

[34:33] This wrath was the wrath that was due you and me. This is the wrath that was for the people who came before us and after us.

[34:47] This is for the wrath for all those who believe and can call upon the name of Jesus Christ. This wrath belongs to all those who are saved.

[35:05] It is a wrath that redeems. it is a wrath that rescues us. It was a wrath that was stored up. It is a wrath which finally broke from that great dam of mercy.

[35:23] It was a wrath that was horrible that the only thing the son of God could cry out was my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[35:34] me. It is the wrath that Jesus suffered for you and me on a cross, on a hill, outside the city of Jerusalem.

[35:51] For three hours the universe went dark as Jesus took that wrath for you and me.

[36:08] It is why we sing the one song in my place, condemned he stood. Great is the wrath of God that was poured out on that day.

[36:21] It was a righteous redemptive wrath that could save every people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. And in reality, every soul would either stand condemned to hell or pardon unto heaven because of this great act.

[36:44] This, my friends, is why we have the righteous wrath of God. the only way we can escape the righteous wrath of God is to accept God's redemptive wrath that is meant for you and me.

[37:02] For without this redemptive wrath, we will never experience the mercy, the sovereignty, the holiness, the wisdom, the goodness, the grace, and love of God.

[37:15] And because of this redemptive wrath is the sole reason why we are able to sing the song Amazing Grace.

[37:28] I'm going to ask Dave to come up and lead us in the singing of this amazing song. Come on up. that on giant happy else happy one Fool's wish anyways to watch HIV― is the winning button.