A Sword Unsheathed

[00:00:00] Hear from God in his word. Let's lift our hearts together once more in prayer. [00:00:10] Lord Jesus, our king and our shepherd, as we come to hear you speak to us in your Word, we know that we are like sheep who come to feed upon you and upon the words of life that you have given us like bread from heaven. For to hear your word and to receive it, we know, is to receive you the bread of life that came down from heaven. [00:00:47] But, O Lord Jesus, we confess that as we come, we come to feed. And like sheep who eat, we are somewhat helpless, we are somewhat vulnerable, and indeed it is our souls and our hearts which feed. [00:01:12] And our hearts are open and vulnerable before your Word. [00:01:20] And we are reminded that your word is not only that upon which we feed, but that it is also the sword of the spirit that pierces the depths of our hearts and that pierces dividing the joints, bone and marrow. [00:01:44] Lord Jesus, we come with a little bit of fear even sometimes when we come to hear your word. [00:01:52] So we ask, Lord Jesus, that you would speak to our hearts by your Word and work in them by your spirit, dealing with us in every way that we need. [00:02:03] Lord Jesus, we confess that we come anxious and we need your words like a soothing balm to give us peace. We come with parts of our hearts that need that work of the sword, like a surgeon's razor sharp scalpel, to cut and remove the parts of our heart that displease you and which cause us and others so much grief. [00:02:35] We seek too, that you would deal with our hearts which are so needy. [00:02:43] And Lord Jesus, you know our hearts better than we do. And your spirit searches our hearts and knows all that is in them. So we ask that you would meet every need, that the thirsts of our souls you would quench, that it's hunger you would satisfy, that our weakness you would strengthen, and that in all things you would draw us closer and closer to yourself, that we might be by your side, that we might follow after you, and that we might be prepared to serve you. O Lord Jesus, we need you. [00:03:19] And we cast ourselves at your mercy, trusting that you will care for us. Amen. [00:03:27] We turn now to hear from God in his Word as he speaks to us in the reading of the Word. We're going to read together Ezekiel chapter 21. [00:03:39] He'll remain standing as we read Ezekiel 21. [00:03:46] You may remember that earlier in the Book of Ezekiel, God told the prophet that he set Ezekiel to be a watchman, a watchman standing on the wall. [00:03:59] And what does the watchman do? He warns the people of coming danger. That's his job. And this chapter is one of those places where Ezekiel and in the sermon, I will have the task of being a watchman, warning you of coming danger. I warn you, it is terrifying danger that we face here. Now, as God speaks to you in the reading of the word, the word of the Lord came to me, Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries, prophesy against the land of Israel, and say to the land of Israel, thus says the behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. Therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from north to south, and all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. [00:05:12] I have drawn my sword from its sheath, it shall not be sheathed again. [00:05:19] As for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. And when they say to you, why do you groan? You shall say, because of the news that it is coming. [00:05:38] Every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. [00:05:49] Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled, declares the Lord God. [00:05:56] And the word of the Lord came to me, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, Say a sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished. Sharpened for slaughter. Polished to flash like lightning. [00:06:15] Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood. [00:06:22] So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer. [00:06:32] Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. [00:06:38] It is against all the princes of Israel. [00:06:42] They are delivered over to the sword with my people. [00:06:46] Strike therefore upon your thigh, for it will not be a testing. [00:06:52] What could it do if you despise the rod, declares the Lord God. As for you, son of man, prophesy, clap your hands and let the sword come down twice. Yes, three times the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter which surrounds them, that their hearts may melt and many stumble at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning. It is taken up for slaughter. [00:07:28] Cut sharply to the right, set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. I will also clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the Lord have spoken. [00:07:43] The word of the Lord came to me again. As for use On a man mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land and make a signpost, make it at the head of the way to a city mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah into Jerusalem. The fortified for the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways to use divination. [00:08:11] He shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim, he looks at the liver. Into his right hand comes the divination. For Jerusalem to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. [00:08:35] But to them it will seem like a false divination. [00:08:40] They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance that they may be taken. Therefore, thus says the Lord God. Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear, because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. [00:09:06] And you, O profane wicked one prince of Israel, whose day has come the time of your final punishment. Thus says the Lord. Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. A ruin, ruin, ruin. I will make it. This also shall not be until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him. [00:09:38] And you, son of man, prophesy and say, thus says the Lord God, concerning the ammonites and concerning their reproach, say, a sword. A sword is drawn for slaughter. It is polished, to consume and to flash like lightning. While they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you, to place you on the necks of the profane wicked whose day has come the time of their final punishment. [00:10:10] Return to its sheath in the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you, and I will pour out my indignation upon you. I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men skillful to destroy. You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered. For I, the Lord have spoken thus far God's word. May he add his blessing to it. [00:10:50] You may be seated. [00:10:53] And in case you're wondering, we aren't going to expound every single verse in the chapter. [00:11:22] We like to read stories of heroes. Maybe if you read comics, you like superheroes? [00:11:30] Think of a super warrior, one who stands on the battlefield and faces his enemies unstoppable. [00:11:43] No one can beat him. [00:11:45] When this super warrior draws his sword from his sheath, or maybe in modern day language, pulls his guns out and begins to fight, when does he return his sword to its sheath? [00:12:07] What has to happen for him to say, I'm finished and put the sword back in its sheath? [00:12:18] What if that warrior is God? [00:12:23] When does he sheath his sword? [00:12:31] Ezekiel's message that God gave him to give is our theme this morning. [00:12:37] God has unsheathed or drawn his sword. If you're taking notes, that's the main point. God has unsheathed or drawn his sword. [00:12:49] Look at that theme under three headings. Again, if you're taking notes, here are the three points. [00:12:54] A sword drawn and prepared. A sword drawn and prepared. [00:13:02] The sword pointed. A sword drawn and prepared. A sword pointed. And finally a sword sheathed. The sword returned to its sheath. [00:13:16] So first, as we look at God drawing his sword, we will consider the sword drawn and prepared. Now, I'm a visiting preacher. I'm here with you. We're kind of dropping into this book. It's like we're parachuting into the middle of a country. All sorts of things are going on in the book of Ezekiel. [00:13:35] What's up with this sword and how does it fit into Ezekiel and his ministry? [00:13:42] Your pastor's been taking you through, I think the first Samuel in the morning services. [00:13:47] There you're seeing the very beginnings of the kingdom in Israel. God giving Israel a king. First Saul and then later David and then his line. [00:13:57] That's about 1000 BC. Ezekiel's time is about 400 years later. So a good bit of time has passed since Saul and David. [00:14:07] In fact, if that's the beginning of the kingdom, here we are at the end of the kingdom. The very last king of Israel and of Judah is sitting on the throne in Jerusalem. [00:14:20] His name is Zedekiah. [00:14:23] If you didn't catch it in the reading, this is a king or a prince, I think he's called a ruler who's in rebellion against God. In fact, so was his brother and his father and so on. The previous few kings had all been wicked kings. [00:14:43] And God is about to bring an end to the kingdom of Judah. [00:14:48] There will be no more kings after this. [00:14:53] Something else important that's going on. This was also in the reading. [00:14:59] God has already begun to destroy Judah. He sent the armies of Babylon, with King Nebuchadnezzar at their head to Jerusalem twice already. [00:15:12] The first time he carried off Ezekiel, the prophet himself and brought him into captivity to Babylon. [00:15:21] He came a second time, carried others off. [00:15:25] And we're just a couple years before the final siege of Jerusalem that brings an end to destruction to the city of Jerusalem, and the final carrying off of God's people into exile. So here we are, we're right on the edge of the final destruction of Jerusalem that's going to come from Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. [00:15:50] That's where we are. If you like dates, it's about 591 BC. The siege will start in 588 BC and Jerusalem will be destroyed in 586 BC. [00:16:02] If you don't like dates, you don't have to remember any of that. [00:16:06] No quizzes later. [00:16:08] Ezekiel's ministry fits into this in that God has brought him into exile forcibly. Then he called him to be a prophet to the exiled people of God, the people who had been taken away from their home, from their families, and they were now forced to live in exile in a foreign nation. God sent Ezekiel to these people, his people, to preach to them. [00:16:35] What does his message consist of? Well, the first half of the book basically is Ezekiel preaching two things. [00:16:44] The end is coming. God's going to destroy Jerusalem, and there's nothing you can do about it. [00:16:52] You need to accept that. The other thing is that you need to repent and turn to God again. [00:17:00] The second half of the book begins to look forward. And there Ezekiel begins to preach about the future home. God will raise up a new David, a new king Jesus. He will restore his people, he'll make a new temple. We'll learn that that's the church, and he's going to again fill his temple with his glory. [00:17:24] There's a little bit of Ezekiel's ministry and his message, destruction is coming. Repent. But there's a future hope where God's going to restore everything and make it better than it was in the first place. [00:17:38] Now, one last little background tidbit here. Ezekiel's method. You've already heard his main method of preaching. God gives him parables, visions and parables, vivid images of things that are going to happen to teach Israel and us lessons. [00:18:01] There are visions of God's glory leaving the temple, leaving Jerusalem. I'm withdrawing my glory and I'm going to destroy the temple. [00:18:12] Visions of judgment. In a couple chapters, there's going to be a vision that Isaiah receives in a parable of a seething pot, a pot for boiling, a big tall pot filled with water. And then you fill it with bones that have meat on them. And God says to Ezekiel, and then to us, I'm going to boil that pot. It's a parable. For what God? Through the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. What God is going to do to the people in the city of Jerusalem. Think of a round city with walls like a pot and the people inside being the bones and flesh that are going to be boiled. [00:18:57] These are the kinds of visions and parables that God gave Ezekiel to preach to the people, to warn them that judgment was coming and they needed to repent. I warned you that Ezekiel had been given a tough task as a watchman, warning of coming judgment. And today, to a degree, we carry on his task. Well, today's parable begins with this sword drawn and prepared. [00:19:26] Sword drawn and prepared. [00:19:30] It's the imagery of God taking a sword out of its sheath. And then he begins to examine it and draw lessons from the things he sees in the sword. Look at verse 3 with me Prophesy against the land. I'm sorry. Say to the land of Israel. Thus says the Lord. Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. Therefore, my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from north to south, and all flesh will know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath. Did you hear that? Three times. God himself says, I have drawn my sword. When God repeats something three times, he wants you to get it. [00:20:29] Listen up. My sword is out. Pay attention. [00:20:35] Ezekiel then begins to point out a number of things about that sword. You can imagine God the warrior, like a warrior, holding his sword out for you to see, waving it about. [00:20:50] First, Ezekiel tells us that the sword is drawn and ready. [00:20:57] Verse three and five that we just read. It's drawn and ready. That is to say, ready to strike. [00:21:05] Not a sword that's battle ready, stored safely in its sheath, sitting in the tent back at the camp, waiting for the soldier to march out to battle. No, the sword is drawn and at the ready, ready to strike. [00:21:20] This warrior is on the battlefield, he has his sword out, and he's ready to strike fatal blows at his enemies. [00:21:31] So the sword is drawn and at the ready. [00:21:36] But as we see in our mind's eye, that sword drawn and at the ready, Ezekiel draws our attention to some details of the sword. [00:21:48] He shows us that the sword is prepared for battle. [00:21:53] Specially prepared for battle. [00:21:57] Look at verse 9 and verse 10. [00:22:02] Thus says the Lord, a sword. A sword is sharpened and also polished. Sharpened for slaughter. Polished to flash like lightning. [00:22:14] This warrior has taken his sword to the swordsmith from his previous battles. The sword had gotten dull, it had gotten dented. Maybe it had been long enough since it had been used. It got a little rusty. To prepare it for battle, the warrior takes his sword to the swordsmith at the armory and he polishes up, gets rid of all the rust. He straightens that edge. He makes sure it's nice and sharp and polished. And as he describes it, you can see the sword flashing as the soldier waves it around in the air. Polished to flash like lightning as it strikes blows. [00:22:57] It is an instrument of death, finely tuned. Every blow it strikes will be fatal. [00:23:08] The sword is drawn in at the ready. The sword is prepared to kill. [00:23:14] And in Ezekiel's day, he tells us that God's sword takes a particular shape, a particular form. Now we move from the parable right of the sword being a picture for us to what kind of a sword is it? What's striking the death blows? In Ezekiel's day, it's Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army. [00:23:40] Nebuchadnezzar and his men are God's blade that God has prepared for battle. [00:23:48] God is going to use Babylon to destroy and judge many wicked nations. The Philistines, Ammon, Edom, Assyria. It's already destroyed. And eventually Nebuchadnezzar and his army will make it all the way down to Egypt. [00:24:08] All of these ancient enemies of Israel. [00:24:12] But it's not just the enemies of God's people. [00:24:19] Israel too will be struck by this sword. [00:24:24] Now God has used other nations to inflict punishments on his behalf. Before Babylon, there was Assyria and others. [00:24:32] Sometimes he acts directly himself. [00:24:36] Think of the destroying angel that came to Egypt on the night of Passover. God himself, his sword struck down the firstborn of Egypt. But in Ezekiel's day, it's the Babylonian army. [00:24:51] It's drawn and ready. It's prepared for battle. It's the Babylonian army ready to march out when God commands it. [00:24:59] But we also note, and God calls special attention to this, that God Himself is the one who prepared this sword. [00:25:10] It didn't happen by accident. It didn't happen because men wanted to go out to war, because Nebuchadnezzar wanted to go out to war. This happened because God himself prepared the sword for destruction. [00:25:25] Look at verse 5. [00:25:29] God wants everyone to know it is his sword. [00:25:34] He has drawn it. [00:25:37] He took it to the swordsmith to be sure it was polished, sharpened and ready to kill. [00:25:45] Make no mistake. God wants all flesh to know it is his sword. He's the one who wields it. [00:25:54] Babylon is just a tool. It marches at God's orders. If you wondered what that business was about the liver and the teraphim and so on, where Nebuchadnezzar stood at the parting of ways. He's at two roads. One goes to Ammon, one goes to Jerusalem. He's using diviners. Lots. Witchcraft, shamanism to determine should I go this way or should I go that way? Who should I strike first? That's what Nebuchadnezzar is thinking. God doesn't want anyone to miss the reality that it's not Nebuchadnezzar that makes the decision. It's not his diviners, his witch doctors, that make the decision. God is the one who commands this army. He sends it to cut down and destroy. [00:26:39] God is Judge. He will give his glory to no one else. [00:26:45] If it's terrifying, it should be. [00:26:50] One last comment. [00:26:53] One last thing about this sword. As the soldier holds it forth and whips it about. [00:27:00] Look again at verse five. [00:27:04] Seems to say that God will not sheath his sword again. Once he's drawn it out, he's not going to put it back. [00:27:13] Look at the verse if you're not scared already. [00:27:16] That should do it for you. I have drawn my sword from its sheath. It shall not be sheathed again. [00:27:25] So the sword is drawn and the sword is prepared. [00:27:31] Secondly, we said we would look at the sword pointed. That is to say, where is that sword pointed? [00:27:40] Why does God draw His sword? [00:27:43] Why does any warrior draw his sword on the battlefield? [00:27:47] He does it to strike down his enemy, his opponents. [00:27:53] Against whom does God draw His sword? [00:27:58] Look at verse 12. [00:28:03] Cry out and wail, Son of Man, for it is against my people. [00:28:11] It is against his beloved people Israel, his chosen covenant people that he had saved for himself out of Egypt, that he had placed in the land, the promised land of Canaan. He'd given them a king. He'd given them his temple and his presence and his sacrifices. They were his own treasured possession. The apple of his eye. [00:28:36] God draws his sword against his very own people. [00:28:41] Why? [00:28:43] Prepared, sharpened, unsheathed against his own people. [00:28:50] God gave his sword into the hand of the destroying angel to destroy the firstborn of Egypt. [00:28:57] And to a certain degree we cheer. [00:29:01] Through that came the deliverance of God's people and the evil Oppressors of Egypt were dismayed. [00:29:10] But how could God thrust that very same sword into the many thousands of men, women and children who he said were his own treasured possession, the children of Israel? [00:29:30] The sword is sharp, our hearts are dull. [00:29:34] And so Ezekiel explains. Look at verse 24. [00:29:39] Therefore, Thus says the Lord God, because you have made your guilt to be remembered in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. [00:29:59] Put it simply because of Israel's sins. [00:30:05] God would point this sword at his own people because of their sins. [00:30:13] What were their sins? If you look at the last chapter, you'll see that God talks to his people about how they don't keep His Sabbaths. [00:30:21] They don't gather and worship him on the day that he had given them to remember him and to praise his name. When they do gather to worship, they don't worship him the way he commanded them to. They invent new kinds of worship, and then they altogether stop worshiping Him. And they worship idols, false gods. [00:30:43] There is the attitude of God's people then, towards himself, not honoring him, rebelling against Him. And of course, that rebellion flows into every other area of society. Everything's connected. Love God, love your neighbor, all connected, right? [00:31:00] If you look at the prophets, we see that the governments of Israel were unjust. The kings, he had given them to care for them, to love them, to protect them. They oppressed the people and led them astray. The rulers, the judges, the elders of the people, they oppressed the people, led them astray. The rich took advantage of the poor. They oppressed the righteous, the widows and the orphans, the very vulnerable of society, those who were strong, took advantage of them. [00:31:35] But it was in the home too. If you read the prophets, you find all of this in the families of Israel. [00:31:42] The daddies didn't love the mommies the way they should. [00:31:47] They were rude to them, they mistreated them, they left for other women. [00:31:56] The children were disrespectful to their parents. And like so many children are, they were mean to one another. [00:32:05] And of course, adults are selfish and rude. [00:32:09] And if you read the prophets, you find this over and over again. [00:32:15] What's the bottom line in all of this? [00:32:17] They didn't love God and they didn't love their neighbors. [00:32:21] And so God's sword was pointed at them. [00:32:27] We then need to ask two questions of ourselves as we consider this sword and where God pointed it at his own people, and why. [00:32:38] The two questions are these first, are we any different than Israel? [00:32:46] Are you ask of yourself, Am I any different than the people of Israel in Ezekiel's day? [00:32:54] We're not that different, are we? Just look around our society. The government is unjust. [00:33:00] You look in the home, you find the same kinds of problems. You look back out in the society and what do you find? [00:33:07] Idolatry. People not following God, serving themselves and worshiping idols of their own hearts. [00:33:16] We're all in the same boat. Even children. You children. If I still have your attention. [00:33:23] You're mean to your siblings, you disrespect your parents. The same thing things, we do them all. We're not different than Israel in this regard. [00:33:35] Secondly, we need to ask another question. [00:33:40] Has God sheathed His sword? Has he taken that sword and put it away? [00:33:48] Is he done using it? [00:33:52] You deserve that sword. I deserve that sword. [00:33:57] Thrust right through our hearts and sticking out the back. [00:34:02] Every inch of that razor sharp blade belongs buried deep to the hilt in every one of us. [00:34:12] Where is God's sword? Has he returned it to its sheath? [00:34:20] Your life depends on it, doesn't it? Mine does too. Where is God's sword? We look thirdly then at the sword sheathed. [00:34:33] We want to know where the sword is. [00:34:36] If you remember when we read this passage, I know it was long, but you might have picked up on a theme throughout the chapter. If you want to know where the sword is, look at where God has commanded it. All throughout the chapter. God commands the sword, it does his bidding. Where is that sword? Look to where God commanded it. Look at verse 15. [00:35:08] At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning. It is taken up for slaughter. [00:35:16] And here he commands it. He talks to the sword. [00:35:21] Cut sharply to the right. [00:35:24] Set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. In other words, wherever I have commanded you, go there, O sword. [00:35:36] God draws it. He appoints the sword, he commands it. And wherever he wills, that sword goes. [00:35:45] Verse 16 again. Oh, I just read that. I'm sorry. [00:35:49] Wherever he commands it goes. [00:35:53] So then we return to our question. Where has God commanded this blade? [00:36:00] In the story that we read, he commanded it to Jerusalem. He sent Nebuchadnezzar's army down to Jerusalem to lay siege and then to destroy it. From there he sent it to Ammon to flatten and destroy Ammon. [00:36:17] And then it would appear towards the end of the chapter that God returned the blade to its sheath. Look at verse 30. [00:36:27] Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your Origin. [00:36:33] In other words, Nebuchadnezzar. Take your army and go back where you came from. Go back to your home country of Babylon. [00:36:44] It would appear that having accomplished his judgments in Jerusalem and Ammon, he sends it back home, back to its sheath. [00:36:56] But God's sword is not really Babylon. He uses Babylon, but His sword is not really Babylon. [00:37:05] What is his sword? Look at verse 17. [00:37:11] When he's done using his sword, when it goes everywhere he has directed it, he says, I will clap my hands and I will satisfy my fury. [00:37:23] Another word for wrath. [00:37:27] God's sword is his wrath. [00:37:31] It is his anger. Where has God's wrath, or the sword of God's wrath gone? Verse 5 says that having drawn it, he will not return it to its sheath. Yeah, he sent Babylon back home, but what about his wrath against sinners? A just wrath. [00:37:54] Where has that gone? [00:37:58] We turn to another prophet, where God commands his blade yet again. [00:38:05] If you want to turn there, you can look at the prophet Zechariah. It's a little later. If you keep flipping through the Bible, past Ezekiel, eventually you'll hit Zechariah. If you hit the Gospel of Matthew, you've gone gone too far. Just go back a couple pages. [00:38:21] Zechariah, chapter 13. [00:38:24] I'm going to read to you verse 7. Here God once more commands his blade. [00:38:31] Awake, O sword. [00:38:35] There it is. He's commanding his sword again. The sword of his wrath. Awake, O sword. Against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones. [00:38:57] God commands the sword of his wrath against the shepherd. [00:39:04] He commands his sword against his shepherd, his fellow, his companion, his friend. [00:39:17] He commands the sword of his wrath against the one we know as the good Shepherd. [00:39:25] He commands his sword against his own son. [00:39:30] God commands the sword, Arise, awake. [00:39:36] Come forth from the sheath once more and strike down. Not you, not me, but Jesus Christ, gleaming razor sharp, prepared to inflict the full wrath of God. [00:39:55] The Father takes that sword and he buried every inch of it, his sword all the way to the hilt, into the body of his only begotten, Beloved Son. [00:40:13] And there on the cross, the Son cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me, Father? It hurts. We would say in modern language, not just the nails in my hands, but the agony of your wrath, dear Father, all of hell. You would pour out on me. [00:40:43] His question from the cross. [00:40:47] That's our answer. [00:40:51] That's where the Father sheathed the sword of his Wrath in His Son there on the cross. [00:41:03] All of the Father's wrath. All. All of it. [00:41:08] All of the wrath that I deserve. All of the wrath that each one of you deserves. [00:41:14] Jesus took all of it. [00:41:17] There the sword was put back in its sheath, never to be taken out again. [00:41:29] God commanded his sword away from his people and into His Son. [00:41:37] In 1 John, chapter 2, the Holy Spirit, through the apostle John, says this. That he himself, that is Jesus, is the propitiation for our sins. It's a big word, but what we're talking about right now is exactly what John is getting at. [00:41:56] That the Father turned His wrath from us to His Son. Propitiation means a turning away of wrath, the wrath that we deserve for our sins. Jesus took all of it. [00:42:14] One question remains, and if you're taking notes, this is the conclusion. [00:42:20] One question remains. Do you know and trust Jesus, the Son of God? [00:42:28] Do you trust in him as your Savior? [00:42:32] Do you know the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep? [00:42:38] He said, I lay it down. [00:42:42] No one makes me to lay it down. I lay my life down for the sheep. Yes, the Father poured his wrath on the Son, but the Son willingly went to the cross to take it for sinners. [00:42:55] That's Jesus. [00:42:58] His arms are open wide on the cross. And today they're open wide to sinners. [00:43:04] Every one of us deserves that sword pointed at us. But Jesus says, have no fear. Don't worry. Don't be terrified anymore. Come to me and I will give you rest, peace, and I will bring you. He takes those who come to him by the hand, and he brings us to His Father. And he says, look, Father, one of your children whom I purchased on the cross with my blood, receive him. And there the Father, with open arms receives us like he received the Prodigal Son. [00:43:45] But you must trust in Jesus. You must come to Him. Flee to Him. Now turn from your sins. [00:43:54] Leave behind the terror that's there. [00:43:57] Flee to Christ, and you will find in him not just a shepherd who feeds your soul, who sustains it, who gives you peace and rest. By still waters, you will find the One who is a rock that you can hide in. You will find the One who is a shield from all the dangers, both eternal wrath and dangers in this life. He's a shield and a protector. [00:44:23] And he will care for you and give you everything that you need. [00:44:27] If you know Jesus already, then you know what I'm talking about. These things are yours. And no one can take them from you because no one can take you from Jesus. You're wrapped in his hands, and you're wrapped in the Father's hands, and no one can take you from them. [00:44:50] Now, this is a warning passage. I will leave you with a warning. [00:44:55] The Father, when he raised Jesus from the dead, placed him on the throne of heaven. [00:45:02] He reigns over all things. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Jesus said, that includes the sword. [00:45:10] Jesus now holds that sword, and he will never wave it at his people. [00:45:15] If you belong to Jesus, that sword will never be pointed at you again. [00:45:22] But he holds the sword, and he has plans for using that sword. Not just Jerusalem or Ammon, he has much bigger plans. [00:45:32] The apostle John, by the Holy Spirit in the book of Revelation, gives us a picture of King Jesus coming like a warrior in judgment, bearing that very sword, sharpened and prepared for judgment. Chapter 19 in Revelation, beginning in verse 15. [00:45:52] Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations, and he himself will rule them. With a rod of iron he himself treads the winepress of the fierceness of wrath and of Almighty God. [00:46:12] And on his robe and on his thigh a name is written. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you belong to Jesus, that picture is wonderful because he is fighting for you to destroy his and your enemies. But if you haven't come to Jesus yet, and if you never come to him, you'll be on the other side and he will be coming at you. [00:46:38] Kiss the Son. Turn to him, lest you perish. [00:46:44] Let's pray. [00:46:53] O Lord Jesus, we have indeed presented our hearts to you, and you have brought your word to bear on them. [00:47:04] And we acknowledge both our unworthiness, our sinfulness. [00:47:10] We acknowledge freely and fully that we deserve that sword to pierce us through. But, oh, how we thank you. We thank you that we do not need to fear that, for you have borne all of that. And now that sword is in your hands, and you use it for our good, to protect, to defend, and to comfort us. [00:47:33] Lord Jesus, we ask that you would indeed give us comfort. [00:47:39] Those of us who know you, we need yet more comfort. For we confess that we have sinned this past week. And we know that in the days and weeks to come we will continue to struggle with our sins. [00:47:55] We ask that you would indeed, by your rod and staff, comfort us, that you would take up residence in our hearts, reigning over them, and that by your spirit, the comforter, you would help us to cling to you, to find in you a balm, a soothing peace, and that we might find in you also the strength to Face these trials and to overcome temptation, reign in us and bring forth all of the fruit that you promised too. We ask, O Lord Jesus, our King and our Savior. [00:48:33] We confess that we have your need in a great many things, even as we have received salvation from you and we give you thanks. We confess that our hearts are weary and we need you to strengthen them. [00:48:47] We need you to be with those among us who are anxious, those who have doubts, those whose hearts are broken because of what others have done to them, because of what they themselves may have done. [00:49:05] We ask that you would attend to each one. Bind up the brokenhearted, heal those who are wounded, and strengthen all of us in our faith. [00:49:15] We ask that you would attend not only to the needs of our souls, but also of our bodies and the whole of our lives. Lord Jesus, we look to you for our daily bread. And we ask that you would sustain us in every way. For those who may need jobs or who are in need. We ask that you would provide for those of us who are working. We ask, Lord Jesus, that you would give us strength to work diligently and faithfully. [00:49:43] We ask our shepherd that you would be with our families, that you would protect and keep us, protect our marriages, protect our children, and help us to look to you that our homes might be filled with your joy and your love. [00:50:01] We ask that you would be with those who are sick, with those who are elderly and growing feeble. We ask that you would be with those who are straying, straying from you, from your church. Lord, be with each one according to his need and draw them to yourself in your infinite love. O Lord our God. We thank you that we can come to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And we praise and exalt your name. And we thank you that you hear us, for Jesus sake. Amen.