GOD’S WRATH
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
Psalm 7:1-17
1 A psalm of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.
I come to you for protection, O LORD my God.
Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
What you find David saying here is,
“Jehovah, my God, in thee I seek shelter.
Save me from my pursuers, and rescue me, lest like a lion he tear my soul rending in pieces, and no one to deliver”
Who is that lion?
That is Satan, whom Peter says is on the prowl.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”
Then he speaks of unjust persecution:
3 O LORD my God, if I have done wrong
or am guilty of injustice,
4 if I have betrayed a friend
or plundered my enemy without cause,
Unjust and innocent suffering in this world is something I don’t understand. I don’t propose to understand it, but I want to say this to you:
I know Somebody who does understand it, and He is going to explain it to us one day.
There are things in my life and things in your life that we don’t understand.
I can’t explain your trouble, because I don’t even know why I have had to go through certain things; but He is going to explain it someday.
Now we come to the wonderful part. This is not the darkness of night as we saw in Psalm 6, but this is morning light.
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground.
Let my honor be left in the dust.
Interlude
6 Arise, O LORD, in anger!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Here David cries for God to avenge and vindicate him.
7 Gather the nations before you.
Sit on your throne high above them.
8 The LORD passes judgment on the nations.
Declare me righteous, O LORD,
for I am innocent, O Most High!
9 End the wickedness of the ungodly,
but help all those who obey you.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
O righteous God.
10 God is my shield,
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11 God is a judge who is perfectly fair.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
We are in a time of the “new morality,” which is really just old immorality.
God doesn’t go along with it; He is not changing His standards to conform to modern thought.
Because of this, we can sing with David:
12 If a person does not repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
and ignite his flaming arrows.
14 The wicked conceive evil;
they are pregnant with trouble
and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a pit to trap others
and then fall into it themselves.
16 They make trouble,
but it backfires on them.
They plan violence for others,
but it falls on their own heads.
17 I will thank the LORD because he is just;
I will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
My friend, God will deal with sin and wickedness, and He will finally eradicate it from His universe.
Praise the Lord!
And let’s read in,
Revelation 14:19
19 So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
Let me make it clear that I make no apology for these scenes of judgment.
God has not asked me to apologize for His Word.
He has told me to give it out.
We need to face up to the facts:
1. Sin is an awful thing.
2. Sin is in the world.
3. You and I are sinners.
The only remedy for sin is the redemption Christ offered when He shed His blood on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins.
You and I merit the judgment of God.
Our only escape is to accept the work of Christ for us on Calvary’s cross.
The Bible asks a question that even God cannot answer: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? …” (Heb. 2:3).
Escape what?
Escape judgment—the Tribulation is judgment.
The way out is to accept Christ.
Call it an escape mechanism if you want to; but, my friend, when the house is on fire, I’ll go out a window or any other way that is an escape.
This judgment must inevitably come on Christ-rejectors.
Mankind has rejected Him, trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing.
If God is just (and He is) there will be judgment.
The generation of today needs to hear this.
Instead of being given this, they are offered endless little methods of living the Christian life.
My friend, there is nothing that will straighten out your life like knowing that our God is a holy God, that the Lord Jesus Christ is righteous, and that He is not going to tolerate sin in your life.
And this same concept should be taught to our children.
I am happy to see that some psychologists are returning to this position.
My friend, the problem with your little Willie is that he is a mean little brat and should be turned across your knee and spanked instead of being treated as a cross between a piece of Dresden china and an orchid.
As someone has well said, the board of education should be applied to the seat of learning.
Now with that we lead right into our subject of this morning’s sermon, The Wrath of God.
As you study with us, you will see that God is angry with the sinfulness of sinners today.
You will see that the Bible clearly lets us know that God’s attitude toward sin is one of anger.
Many people today have the idea that God’s attitude toward sin is Ho! Hum!
There seem to be a lot of preachers today that are teaching with a ho hum attitude.
They see sin right in their church and will continue to let people go right on sinning, never one time speaking of God’s Wrath.
They are scared of what the people in the church might think, will they hurt there feelings, will they stop coming to church, will they quit there tithing, and the list gos on and on!
They have this idea because the Love and mercy of God is emphasized in most preaching of our time.
While it is true that God is a God of love and mercy, it is also true that God is a God of Wrath and Judgement.
The Psalmist told us in our text that God is angry with the wicked every day.
Clearly this lets us know that God does not regard sin lightly.
I don’t want God to be angry with me, how about you?
The word "anger" used in this text means: to foam at the mouth, to be enraged:--abhor, abominable, (be) angry, defy, (have) indignation.
I don’t know of anyone that would want their Heavenly father to regard them in such a fashion and I’m sure that you don’t either.
The word "wicked" means: evil or morally bad in principle or practice.
Listen to what the Bible tells us in
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Don’t you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,
10 thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers—none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God.
Unrighteousness is not in the Kingdom.
Listen very carefully because this is important.
No secular judge or jury is equipped to make spiritual decisions because they do not comprehend spiritual principles.
That is why court cases that pertain to churches and Christians go haywire the minute they hit the legal mills.
A secular judge may know the material in the law books, but he knows nothing about spiritual decisions.
He has no spiritual discernment.
We live in a time when many of our people are being taught that just about everything is O K and that God just looks over our sin.
But, that is not what the Bible says.
Clearly the immoral life styles of many today make God sick and Angry.
Mankind has gone to great lengths to justify his sin.
Even many churches and ministers (so they claim) put their approval upon the immoral sexual acts of our time.
We are being told that some people are born to be homosexual and that they can’t help themselves.
Now can you stop and think for just one minute, do you think that God would put that kind of thing in His creation of man kind and the tell man that it is wrong to be that way?
Think with me for a minute; if it’s true that homosexuals are born with such a disposition and that they can’t help themselves, then it must also be true that all sexual aberrations are products of ones birth and that no one can help themselves if they happen to be prostitutes, rapists, pedophiles or whatever.
You can then take this line of thinking on to conclude that all sinful acts are simply the products on ones genetic makeup and therefore no one should be punished for whatever deed he/she does.
People have got to stop this thing of picking and choosing out of the bible what scriptures that they want to work with and start studying God’s word and live according to the Will of God!
Such thinking and teaching is clearly the work of the devil.
Homosexuality, prostitution, fornication, rape, child molestation etc. are all perversions.
God created man to be moral and righteousness and I assure you that your churches approval or your preacher’s approval will not change the Word of God.
And when you step into eternity, you will face God and His Word.
It will not matter what you chose to believe in this world.
You will be judged according to the Word of God.
Let’s read what it says in,
Revelation 20:11-13
11 And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the one who was sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.
12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them. They were all judged according to their deeds.
And who did it say was going to do the judging?
Did you hear anything about the preachers doing the judging?
Yes, you will be judged according to what is written in God’s Book, not on the ideas and theologies of men.
All who disregard God and His Word have to look forward to is the wrath of God.
Romans 1:18-32
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves.
“The wrath of God is revealed.” Actually, if you want to know what salvation really is, you have to know how bad sin is.
“Sin is the measure of salvation.”
The wrath of God is God’s feeling, not His punishment of sin.
It is His holy anger.
19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts.
20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.
23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.
24 So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.
25 Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.
26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.
27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.
28 When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done.
29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents.
31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving.
32 They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
This passage of scripture is very appropriate for us in our time.
Indeed we are without excuse.
We have the Bible, we have thousands of books and guides to help us to know and understand the Bible.
We can prove over and over again that the Bible is true.
All we need to do is to glorify God and serve Him.
Yet many do not even believe that God exists, much less believe that He is the creator and ruler of the universe.
Yes our time is abundant with fools that are vain in their imaginations and their foolish hearts are darkened.
The truth of God even has been changed into a lie and as a result God has given many up to their vile affections and reprobate minds.
No wonder that our streets are filled with rape, murder, drugs, gang wars, child molestation, prostitution, pornography, hatred and evil imagination.
God has given our nation over and she is reaping what she has sown.
It is God’s mercy this morning that He has anointed me to tread the winepress of the fire ness of His wrath.
I pray that you who are listening will arise, shake yourself and turn to God while there is yet time.
Today God’s hand is outstretched in mercy.
It will not always be that way.
There is a judgement day coming when mercy’s door will be shut just as the door to the ark was shut in the days of Noah.
Hebrews 10:26-31
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins.
27 There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
28 Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people.
30 For we know the one who said,
“I will take vengeance.
I will repay those who deserve it.”
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.”
31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Today, you have a knowledge of the truth.
You know that it is available to you.
You know that you can be in the house of God this day.
You know that you can study your Bible.
You know that you can glorify God by the way that you live and conduct your life.
Therefore, you have no excuse to neglect God and ignore His Word.
You have only to look forward to fiery indignation because you are choosing to tread under foot the Son of God instead of honoring and worshipping Him.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
What do you think that you are going to say to Him?
Do you think that He will accept your lame excuses for the way that you have lived and conducted your life?
Do you think that He will put His approval upon your life because you happened to live in such an immoral and wicked time?
It is one thing to talk about how wicked and ungodly our world is and it is another thing to do something about it.
What will the day find you doing about the ungodly condition of your culture?
Will we find you giving honor and worship to God?
Will you be the one that displays the Christian flag by the conduct of your life today?
Will we find you in your place in the church, in the home, in the work place, in the business place, and in the service of your Lord?
Or will you be as thousands of others today spending your time on the pleasures of life; complaining about the wickedness of others while you go about your life of ease?
Jesus told us:
Matthew 24:12
12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
Yes, iniquity is abounding all around us today and indeed the love of many is waxing cold.
Many people of our time have some love for God and some love for their neighbor and think that they are alright in the sight of God.
However, when you look deeper that the surface, you see that their love for God and their neighbor is very weak.
How strong is your love for God today?
Is it strong enough that you will do as He has instructed you and set the day aside to honor and worship Him?
Is it so strong that you will give your time and money and presence to Him?
Yes, you may not be caught up in the vile sins of your neighbors, but are you doing anything to show them the way to deliverance?
Many of our efforts to proclaim the Gospel to a lost world limp along on a shoestring because of a lack of funds.
Many of our churches have so few services available to counsel, teach, instruct and help our people because of a lack of support.
Many people today are too busy to attend worship service on a regular basis.
Prayer meetings are almost a thing of the past.
Revivals inconvenience us and personal evangelism is almost a thing of the past.
Where does the Lord find you this morning?
What are you doing to stem the tide and turn your nation to God?
We read in:
2 Timothy 3:1-5
1 You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.
2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.
3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good.
4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.
5 They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.
Or like it reads in the King James Version,
{5} Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away
We can surely read this text, "in our days men have become lovers of themselves.
We indeed live in perilous times.
People don’t even know what natural affection is.
The love of pleasures is rampant in our culture as the sports stadiums will be filled today and the pews will be empty or sparsely filled; and yet many will have a form of godliness.
Believe me multitudes are deceived into thinking that they are getting by with such a shallow love for God.
The commandments of God have not changed into the suggestions of God.
God still commands you to love Him with all of your heart not in your spare time, not a little now and then, not in between pleasing yourself; but, with your whole heart, mind and strength.
It has always been God’s desire that his people would love Him and worship Him only.
When the old world became so wicked God destroyed it.
We read in
Genesis 6:1-7
1 When the human population began to grow rapidly on the earth,
2 the sons of God saw the beautiful women of the human race and took any they wanted as their wives.
3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, they will live no more than 120 years.”
4 In those days, and even afterward, giants lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with human women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes mentioned in legends of old.
5 Now the LORD observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil.
6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart.
7 And the LORD said, “I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too. I am sorry I ever made them.”
Yes, God decided that He would not always strive with man.
He gives man a time in which to repent and when that time is filled up man’s chance to repent is over.
You that are in sin this morning, the smartest thing you can do is to repent of your sin and turn to God while He is offering you forgiveness.
Today you have opportunity to repent.
Today mercy is being offered.
Take advantage of it while there is time.
While you are in good health; while you can think and reason, while you have a good mind.
Mercy will not always be offered as God is angry with the sinner every day.
God’s wrath is heating up for the destruction of the sinner.
Will you find grace in the eyes of God?
Genesis 6:8
8 But Noah found favor with the LORD.
You know the account of Noah.
He was a just man and perfect in his generations.
He found grace in the eyes of the LORD and God spared him and his family.
God commissioned Noah to build an ark in the which he gathered his family along with the animals and birds and preserved life for the earth.
It took Noah 100 years to build that ark and doing that time he was preaching that the sinners ought to repent.
2 Peter 2:5
5 And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and his family of seven. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. Then God destroyed the whole world of ungodly people with a vast flood.
Even though Noah preached for 100 years, the only ones that went into the ark were his family.
Much of our preaching today is falling on deaf ears.
The Word of God runs off people as water off a ducks back.
Multitudes are so busy chasing the pleasures of life that they have not time for God and His Commandments.
There is coming a day when all will have time for God.
When you step through death’s door into eternity, it will just be you and God.
You will then give your account to Him.
Then you will receive according to your works, according to the choices you made while in this world.
Romans 2:5
5 But no, you won’t listen. So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin. For there is going to come a day of judgment when God, the just judge of all the world,
Today you have opportunity to be spared from the wrath to come:
1 Thessalonians 1:10
10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
