Sermon for 7/8/2007
Isaiah 12
You Were Angry With Me
Introduction:
The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group Black September. By the end of this hostage situation 17 people had died. In response, the Israeli government launched Operation Wrath of God. It was a covert operation directed to assassinate individuals alleged to have been involved in the 1972 Munich massacre. This operation was stalled when some Israeli spies killed a man in Norway that had not connections at all with the Munich massacre. Let me say that the real Wrath of God is nothing like this. God knows who he is angry with and without repentance these individuals will suffer the real Wrath of God.
WBTU:
A. Many people believe that God always loves and that is all that God is.
B. In this many forget that God cannot tolerate sin. (Heb 12:14 NIV) without holiness no one will see the Lord.
C. Who here is completely holy and without sin? (James 2:10) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
D. Without the removal of sin, God is angry with us. We are under God’s wrath. Now there is a difference between God’s anger and God’s wrath. Anger is the emotion and wrath is the action.
E. Look at these verses:
1. (Psa 2:5 NIV) Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath
2. (Psa 7:11 NIV) God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.
3. (Nahum 1:6 NIV) Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.
4. (Heb 10:31 NIV) It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
F. There is coming a day when the Lord will have enough and this place will be destroyed by the Lord’s wrath. (2 Pet 3:10 NIV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
G. Two questions for us this morning:
Thesis: How can we turn away God’s anger against us? What happens when God’s anger is turned away?
For instances:
I. How can we turn away God’s anger and wrath against us?
A. Now God is perfect in all his ways and God is also perfect in his love. His anger is aroused all of the time but so is his love. It is like a child that we have lost in a big department store. When we find him, we want to love him and hold him, but we also want to beat him because he didn’t obey us.
B. Because of his love for us, God provided a way for us to turn away his own anger.
1. (1 Th 5:9 NIV) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. (John 3:36 NIV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
3. (Isa 53:6 NIV) the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
4. (Rom 5:9 NIV) Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
C. This is great we are all saved and everyone is going to heaven. Isaiah 12:3.
1. We can come to Jesus and draw water from the wells of salvation!
2. Also, this means there is something for us to do: Look at the verse- You will draw water. We must reach out and draw forth what he has provided.
4. At the same time, it is His water, His well, His rope, and His bucket that we draw with! But we are not getting water just by doing nothing!
D. What must we do?
1. Believe. (Acts 16:31 NIV) They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."
2. Confess. (Rom 10:9 NIV) That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:10 NIV) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
3. Repent. (Acts 26:20 NIV) I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
4. Be baptized, immersed in water. (Acts 2:38 NIV) Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
E. Though this, God’s wrath is turned away and his anger is satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Though Christ, God’s anger is exhausted through the cross.
II. What happens when God’s anger is turned away?
A. There is solace (comfort). Isaiah 12:1 (you have comforted me)
1. We are no longer in danger of hell and we are removed from God’s wrath.
2. In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; Thou wilt find a solace there.
B. There is stability. Isaiah 12:2 (trust and not be afraid)
1. (Heb 13:6 NIV) So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
2. (Rom 8:31 NIV) What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
C. There is strength available. Isaiah 12:2
1. (Isa 40:29) He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
2. (Phil 4:13 NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
D. He puts a song in our hearts. Isaiah 12:2, 5 and 6
1. (James 5:13 NIV) Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
2. Dr. James C. Brown told the story of a 5-year-old girl named Mary. Dr. Brown said that as they rolled little Mary into the MRI room one day, he tried to imagine what she must be feeling. She had suffered a stroke that left half of her body paralyzed, had been hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor, and had recently lost her father & her mother & her home. With the MRI each patient must be perfectly still for about 5 minutes at a time. It is difficult for anyone, and certainly for a 5-year-old, especially one who had suffered so much. Dr. Brown said: “About 2 minutes into the first sequence, we noticed on the video monitor that Mary’s mouth was moving. We even heard a muted voice over the intercom. We halted the exam and gently reminded Mary not to talk. She was smiling and promised not to talk. We reset the machine and started over. Once again we saw her facial movement and faintly heard her voice. We went back in and slid Mary out of the machine. The technologist said, ‘Mary, you were talking again, and that causes blurry pictures.’ But Mary’s smile remained as she replied, ‘I wasn’t talking. I was singing. You said no talking.’” Dr. Brown said: “We looked at each other, feeling a little silly. ‘What were you singing?’ someone asked. ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ came the soft reply. ‘I always sing Jesus Loves Me when I’m happy.’" Everyone in the room was speechless, and they had to leave for a moment to regain their composure.
E. It gives satisfaction. Isaiah 12:3 (With joy you will draw)
1. (John 1:16 NIV) From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
2. All of this and heaven too!
F. It gives us a life story. Isaiah 12:4 (Make known what he has done)
1. (Acts 4:20) For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
1. I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
G. It gives us something to shout about. Isaiah 12:6 (Shout aloud)
1. (Psa 71:23 NIV) My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you-- I, whom you have redeemed.
1. Sports events and how people shout! Excited praise!
H. He settles in us. Isaiah 12:6 (For great is the Holy One among you)
1. (John 14:20 NIV) On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
1. God pitches his tent with us. He lives in our tent.
Conclusion and Invitation:
(Rom 2:5 NIV) But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
It is like a reservoir where we are storing up God’s wrath. Without Christ, that dam is going to break and all of God’s wrath against us will be poured out.
