Justice Will Prevail, I Promise! Series

A. Have you noticed in life that justice can be hard to come by?

1. One day a defendant stood before the judge and the judge announced, “Tell me, sir, do you have anything to offer this court before it passes sentence?”

a. The defendant replied, “No, your honor, I have nothing to offer this court, my lawyer took my last cent!”

2. Another business man was fighting a case in tax court.

a. The man said to the judge, “As God is my judge, I do not owe this tax!”

b. The judge said, “Sir, God is not the judge in this case, I am, and I say you owe this tax!”

B. One of the great promises of God that gives us an anchor of hope is the promise that justice will prevail.

1. I think this is an especially good sermon to follow our last week’s sermon where we talked about the pain and frustration of injustice that our black brothers and sisters have faced for hundreds of years in our country.

2. Last week’s sermon was a call for all of us to hear their pain and to do what we can to bring help and change so that justice and equity will exist in our community and country.

3. But even if justice does not ever prevail in this world, God’s promise is that justice will prevail in the next world.

C. Before we continue with today’s promise, let’s be reminded of the promises we have explored so far in our series, since it’s been three weeks since I preached a sermon from this series.

1. We started with the promise that death is not the end of life – I shared that sermon on Easter Sunday, and that was a good subject for resurrection Sunday.

2. Next, we explored the promise that you are somebody important to God – we are made in God’s image and loved by God.

3. Other promises we’ve covered are: you have an inheritance, and you can defeat your enemy.

4. To defeat our enemy, the devil, we have other great promises: Jesus understands us and will help us, Jesus prays for us, we have power from the Holy Spirit, and our prayers have power.

5. Aren’t you thankful that our God is a promise making and promise keeping God?

6. Now let’s explore today’s promise that brings hope: God says: “Justice will prevail, I promise!”

D. On December 14, 2012, 7 year-old Daniel Barden awoke early.

1. The Christmas lights illuminated the rooflines of neighboring homes in their Newton, Connecticut town.

2. The morning was filled with tender moments – hugs and kisses to his brother and sister as they left for school, and a loving goodbye as his mother left for work.

3. All in all it was a joy-filled and carefree morning – no one imagined it would be Daniel’s last.

4. Daniel was one of the 20 children and 6 adults who were shot to death by a deranged gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School later that morning.

5. Sandy Hook wasn’t the first massacre in American History, but it seemed the cruelest.

a. This wasn’t a gathering of adults; it was a classroom of kids.

b. This wasn’t a war zone; it was a quiet neighborhood.

c. These weren’t gangsters; they were snack-eating, Santa Claus – loving, young children.

d. And it was Christmas season!

6. These children didn’t deserve such a death and their parents don’t deserve such grief.

E. This incident was another all-too-common reminder that life isn’t fair.

1. When did you first hear or say those words and learn that lesson? It’s not fair!

2. What deed exposed you to the imbalanced scales of life?

3. Did a car wreck or cancer leave you fatherless or motherless?

4. Did friends forget you, a teacher ignore you, or an adult abuse you?

5. Have you ever prayed the psalmist’s prayer: “Lord, how long will you look on?” (Ps. 35:17)

6. Have you ever asked the prophet Jeremiah’s question: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” (Jer. 12:1)

a. Why do drug peddlers get rich? Why do sex offenders get away with it? Why do Charlatans get elected? Why do murderers get out and cheaters get by with it?

F. These are good questions! How long will injustice flourish?

1. God’s answer is direct and comforting: Not long!

2. Scripture states it clearly: “For [God] has set a day when he will judge the world” (Acts 17:31).

3. God is not sitting idly by. God is not twiddling His thumbs.

4. Every flip or turn of the calendar brings us closer to the day when God will judge all evil.

5. God has “set” a day, which means a day has been singled out and written on God’s calendar.