Do you want justice against the evils of this world? Then you want God. Message from June 6th 2020
Greeting (June 7th)
12th Week of quarantine
Announcements
Tuesday Worksheet
Thursday Devotional
Upcoming take out picnic dinner, date:TBD
Communion
If you remember, last week I asked you all to bring your own Communion Elements today----because today is the first Sunday of the month
And for as long as I can remember, Christ Community Church in Clyde has taken Communion on the first Sunday of the month.
You see, we as Christian, have been taking Communion together since that day that we read about in Scripture.
On the day that He was betrayed, our God sat and ate with His Church.
On the day that He was going to die,
...with His enemies plotting behind His back
...with danger closing in
He slowed down, He sat down, He spoke with His church, He prayed with His Church, and He gave Communion.
Since that day, Christians have taken Communion together.
Through the persecution of the Roman empire, when followers of Jesus Christ were torn from their home for their beliefs--Christians met together
Thorough the fall of the Roman Empire, when bordering tribes and peoples invaded and ransacked their cities------ Christians met together
Through the ravages of the Bubonic Plague-------
When the Church Split into Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant----
Through the 100 year War--- the Revolutionary War----Through the Civil War---- Christians met together.
Through World War 1----
During World War 2, when our brothers and sister in the Church of England wore gas masks to their Sunday Service for fear of the German blitzkrieg ---- Christians met together
Through smooth seas and storms---
Through war and disease---
Through peace and persecution, Christians for thousands of years have gathered in buildings and basements, forests and fields-----united across every race, every language, regardless of gender or age---for one single reason:
To proclaim the name of Jesus Christ to a doomed world.
Agreeing with the words of Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
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On the night he was betrayed Jesus took the bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” → → (let us partake)
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
-----He did this, because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin
→ → (let us partake)
(Prayer)
Ok. Now on to our Sermon.
We have been talking for the past few weeks, about all the different attributes of God.
What He is like
What He can and cant do
And why all of that matters to us
There are only 2 more left in this Series, so if youve hated it...its almost over
But if youve enjoyed it, I hope you can savor these last few Sermons.
Last week we talked about God being OMNIPOTENT, which means that God is all powerful.
Thers no force stronger than God
No sin that can stop Him
No government that can slow Him
Our God, is all powerful
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Today, we are going to look at an aspect of God, that is related to many of the emotions……….
God is perfectly just
Another way to say that, is that there is no INJUSTICE with God.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4 - “3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! 4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
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Now, before we jump into this however, we need to talk about something else first.
If you were able to get to our Bible Study Worksheet last week, you’ll know where Im going with this.
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You see, humans tend to get tunnel vision when it comes to the things of God
We focus in on one aspect of Him, for so long, and so intently, that it becomes the ONLY thing we pay attention to.
This can be super bad, because we end up reading Scripture through a lens.
We sometimes twist what a verse says, to make it fit into our favorite subject-----------
We’ll turn a verse about His love, into something else--- OR
We’ll turn verses about ancient Israel, into verses about America---
We can hammer our favorite topic of Scripture into peoples minds so confrontationaly, that anything else that may happen to fall out of our mouths, wont be listened to.
We must be careful, that when we are focusing on a specific aspect of God, we dont ignore the other ones.
So as a preemptive statement, id ike to say and have you all hear the reality that:
His justice doesn’t overpower His forgiveness…
His forgiveness doesn’t overpower His justice…
They both work in perfect unison with each other, because God isn't made up of differing percentages of each of them.
God is perfectly just
And God is perfectly forgiving
It’s not “either or” its “both and”
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So when I spend the rest of this Sermon speaking about the justice of God pouring down upon the wickedness of mankind, don’t take that to mean that I have forgotten about forgiveness
Dont assume that when Scripture says God will punish evil people, that it means He won’t forgive all who ask
Dont assume that when I say the wrath of God rests upon those who hold tightly to their sin, that I mean He won’t clean them off and make them new, once they have repented.
You see, all these things we have been talking about the past few weeks, all describe a perfect and holy God.
They arent little slices of a pie graph that equal God
They arent different ways that He reveals Himself
They are Him, He is them------ and He alone--------- is holy.
Now because He is holy----He will never “let sin slide”.
He will never “sweep sin under the carpet”
He will never ignore evil.
He doesnt simply forgive because He is a nice God who likes to do nice things and wouldnt it be all peachy keen if He forgive sins------just because He is nice
The would be a God---that doesnt punish evil and injustice---
That would be a God, that lets evil do its thing
No. Our God is perfectly just, so all sin and all evil, will feel the burn of His wrath
There is no evil that exists, that is out of his sight
There is no sin that creeps through dark corners that He hasnt reserved for judgement
Romans 2:8-9 - “8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil:...”
Every sin, ever, will be punished.
Every evil act---
Every murder---
All corruption---
Every selfish act---
Every theft---
All oppression---
Every lie---
Every extra-marital thought and action---
Every racist thought and action---
Every abortion---
Every imaginary and fictitious religion---
Every single sin, from the apple till armageddon ------ will writhe & squirm under the eternal wrath of the eternal God
Now this……. is something that some people dont like to hear.
Sometimes, we outright refuse to admit that hell even exists----let alone that there will be people there.
It doesnt sit well, in 21st century America, to claim that an all loving God, will punish people.
“How can you say that God will send someone to hell…..if God is love?”
“Who does He think He is that He can judge me”
Or “God isnt real, all of this is nonsense”
But the thing is, God is perfectly just----which means, like I said, that He will punish every wrong.
If He were to not punish evil, then He wouldnt be God, and wouldnt be deserving of our worship.
Simply put, if God were to not punish evil doers, then He wouldn't be God.
Think about it, for a minute--------if this were false.
Without the justice of God:
Every person who hurts in secret, would never see justice
Every world leader that oppressed their people----would never see justice
Every person who lived their life, day in and day out, in disgusting debauchery, then died after a week in a prison cell, would have lived the life they wanted, hurting thousands---and would have gotten away with all of it
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But you see---------
People dont like hearing about the justice of God, because humans want to be the ones in charge of enacting justice.
We pick one type of crime, and we say that “those are the bad people”---everyone else may be a little bad, but there are some who are worse---
But even then, there are still some who claim “its not their fault they did that, its societies fault, its their parents fault, its the way their biological connections are made, that makes them act that way----so so so, its GODS fault they do those things!!
We shift the blame from people who do wrong, and find whatever excuse we can to say they shouldnt be punished, because if our reasons for someone else to be excused from the punishment of their sin is legitimate----then WE, OURSELVES can be excused from the punishment for our sin.
Now, it must be said----that yes there are situations in which someone has the odds stacked against them
They were born to abusive and destructive parents, so they knew no other way------------
They were oppressed by their government, so they reacted like a cornered animal-----
Theyre are areas of gray when it comes to the reasons why someone acted one way or another
But at the end of the day, we all have free will, none of us are robots being marionetted by our DNA, our Environment, or some combination of them
At the end of the day, Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
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And again, this is something that people dont like to hear.
We like to think that if we all just get along, then the evil we see on the news will go away
We like to think that if we just vote for the right person, and everyone comes in and has a group hug, and sits around and sings “kumbaya” and “cant we all just get along”------ then everything will be better
We like to think that we ourselves can solve all the ills of humanity---
We do and say everything we can, to make ourselves out to be the judges of reality----
And when things happen, that we ourselves say are unjust----we take action
We say that the of the color of someone’s skin makes them criminals, and then kill them to enact justice----
We burn down stores and drag people through city streets---- because we ourselves want to enact justice----
We scream “no justice, no peace” and try and overthrow any authority that says our way of justice is wrong----
We rebel against governments
We kill kings ---- and take glory in subversion
We think that we ourselves can solve all the ills of humanity---and those in authority are the ones to blame
Until we succeed in our rebellion and then we become the ones in charge and it starts all over again.
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But you see----we will fail at enact perfect justice------- because of what that verse I quoted earlier says:
Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Our sense of justice ---- is corrupted by the infection of sin that flows through our souls --------- and we are faced with that reality, everytime justice isnt done.
When injustice prevails ---------- we are forced to admit that human justice fails.
When someone powerful, gets away with their evil choices ----- we have to admit, that human justice fails.
When people can steal from and burn any store they choose -----
When those who have sworn to serve and protect, kill instead ----
When the rich oppress and use the poor ----
When someone gets away with their crimes because their daddy is a lawyer-----human justice fails
Yes we may see justice prevail sometimes.
Yes criminals incarcerated ------- but so are the innocent
And a criminals incarceration does nothing for the lifetime of trauma their victims are forced to live with
Yes the death penalty gets handed out to those whome our laws say deserve death
We put people in jail for lifetimes, and say that now they are behind bars, justice has been done.
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Human justice says that someone can sin and commit as many evil adulterous acts as they want-----until they get caught-----or until we change the laws to make the evil act legal.
Human justice tells the victims of abuse and oppression, that their trauma and pain and suffering that may haunt them for years, even affecting their children’s children------ doesn’t have to be so bad----- because their abuser had to live in a jail cell for a little while.
Human----justice----fails.
Does this mean then, that we abandon all courts?
Does this mean we abolish police and jails and allow the anarchistic rule of the mob to be our judge and jury?
By no means!
Romans 13 teaches us that these authorities were given their position by God to enact justice against the evils of this world
BUT----
When human justice fails:
When pain and suffering are left to blossom in the cracks of our broken hearts--
When our abusers laugh and go free--
When those in power ignore their divine duty and instead use thier station to hurt others
When human justice fails in ways that are so obvious that our entire planet can watch it fall through the screens of our smartphones------
We can see, all the more clearly-------- the need for a different kind of justice.
The more we see human justice fail ---- the more we see the need for a different kind of Justice.
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So…..what does this other justice look like?
If human courts and human police officers are susceptible to the corruption of sin and the allure of power that it promises-----
If mistakes can be made, and people serve time for crimes they didnt commit----
If we watch evil people get away with their crimes in public, and hear rumors of crimes done in secret with no consequence----
How do we hope for a different kind of justice?
If we believe what was said earlier in that God will punish all evil doers----
That the wicked thoughts and wicked actions of wicked men will one day face the perfect justice of the perfect God
Where do we look to see that?
I turn on the news and I see hurt and pain----
I talk to friends and family, and I see suffering and trauma----
Everywhere in this world I look I see injustice
From every country
From every race
From both genders
From every age
From every politcial party
Everywhere in this world I look, I see injustice
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I want to tell you this morning, to not look to this world for justice.
Look beyond the confines of yourself---
Look beyond the limits of your mind and beyond the limits of your heart and see the eternal judge of the cosmos, sitting atop His glowing white throne of justice----
Look outside of fallen human courts and fallen human justice, and see the judge of the universe
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The Judge that all of us will stand before
The One whom holds his righteous gavel within his perfect hand
-----and the verdict that He reaches will never change or be repealed
The guilty will be guilty forever
And the innocent will be innocent forever
All secrets will be known---
All sins done in the dark will be brought to light---
Everything in all of the universe will be stand before the all powerful, all knowing Judge of the world
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For all of us will face this Judge
The man you saw on the news, who did unthinkable things----will stand before this Judge
That politician who lied and manipulated did horrible things-----
The war monger who propagated genocide in the millions-------
The person whose secret life oozed behind the anonymity of the internet-----
The person who hurt you in ways that have changed your life forever----will stand before this Judge
And even YOU, you hear these words this morning will stand before the judge who knows everything
All of us will stand before His throne, with all of our thoughts and actions laid bare-----
Everything weve done in secret
Everything weve hidden from even ourselves
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So where will you stand?
How will you stand?
If we believe the words spoken in Scripture that God will judge and punish all evil, and that all humans have evil within them----what hope is there for us when we go to stand before the Judgement seat of Christ?
2nd Peter 2:21-25
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
That judge who we must all stand before, will lay our punishment upon His own back, for all who repent and believe. (x2)
If you repent of your sins and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then every sin in your life will have been punished upon His cross.
There is no sin so dark it cant be forgiven
There is no mistake so bad, that He cant make you a new person
There is no length you can go, that He wont bring you back
There is no depth you can reach that is out of His reach
There is no night so dark He cant bring you into the light
There is nothing, in all of the universe, that can stop Him from forgiving any who repent
Our God is just, and all evil will be punished.
He will punish those who refuse to repent, with the eternal fires of hell
And for those who do repent, He will take their punishment for them
All evil will be punished.
Either in hell ------------------------------Or on Christ
If you read the words in Scripture, and repent of your sins and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then God will have punished His Son instead of you.
However, if you read the words of Scripture, and refuse to repent:
then no political power or influence---
no amount of wealth or possessions---
no mountain or valley---
no dark of night nor military strength
...will be able to hide you from the coming wrath.
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In closing---- Id like to read Psalm 7 for us
I know these are some heavy things
These are weighty issues that everyone must face and deal with
But remember, the more injustice you see in this world, pray for their repentance, and pray for justice to be done.
Psalm 7
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.
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,
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground
and drag my honor in the dust.
6 Arise, O Lord, in anger!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
7 Gather the nations before you.
Rule over them from on high.
8 The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
for I am innocent, O Most High!
9 End the evil of those who are wicked,
and defend the righteous.
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 an honest judge.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
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 shoot his flaming arrows.
14 The wicked conceive evil;
they are pregnant with trouble
and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,
then fall into it themselves.
16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
The violence they plan 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.
( → → Closing Prayer ← ← )