Ezekiel 35:1-36:15

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 As to us are so good and far beyond what we deserve. Um. 2 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:11.519 They highlight and underline the excellency of your love and your strength and power Um 3 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:17.199 too to keep us, um, to move us in the directions of your 4 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:21.960 love, to draw us close to you, that we might live not just 5 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:27.199 out by ourselves somewhere, but live in you, abide in you, and 6 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:31.879 in your love. Your love is a jealous love, and it desires to 7 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:37.520 protect us and keep us. It desires to keep us from all of your 8 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:42.640 and our enemies. Lord, this is a good thing. Thank you for 9 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:49.079 protecting us and our souls from all those who would seek to do us harm. 10 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:54.479 Um. We thank you for protecting us from ourselves and our own flesh 11 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:58.200 that would seek to destroy us if it were not for the power of your 12 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:02.719 spirit in us. Lord. But these things, we asked that you would 13 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:07.920 now speak to us in your word through the profit Ezekiel, and that by 14 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:12.920 your word we would be encouraged and strengthened. I'm knowing who you are and 15 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:19.359 what you have desired for us. We pray this now in Jesus name. 16 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:29.319 Amen, Let's turn our attention to Ezekiel Chapter thirty five. UM, feel 17 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:33.760 free to sit if you need to, I will be reading Ezekiel thirty five 18 00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:40.560 through thirty six fifteen Um. This is if I can find it. There 19 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:46.719 we go. This is picking up um where I left off a few months 20 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:57.000 ago. We're coming in to some really, really wonderful chapters, including tonight's. 21 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:06.120 So let's hear God's word Ezekiel, the word of the Lord came to 22 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:10.120 me, son of Man. Set your face against Mount Seer, and prophesy 23 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:15.719 against it, and say to it, Thus says the Lord God. Behold, 24 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:19.319 I am against you, Mount Seer, and I will stretch out my 25 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:23.240 hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. 26 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.479 I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation. And 27 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:34.400 you shall know that I am the Lord. Because you cherished perpetual enmity and 28 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:37.879 gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time 29 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:42.560 of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. Therefore, as 30 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:45.960 I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, 31 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:51.919 and blood shall pursue you. Because you did not hate bloodshed. Therefore blood 32 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:55.439 shall pursue you. I will make Mount Seer a waste and a desolation, 33 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:00.159 and I will cut off from it all who come and go. I will 34 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:05.280 fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys, 35 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.240 and all your ravines, those slain with the sword shall fall. I will 36 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:14.199 make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then 37 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:20.479 you will know that I am the Lord, because you said, these two 38 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:23.919 nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of 39 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:30.039 them, although the Lord was there. Therefore, I as I live, 40 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:34.360 declares the Lord God. I will deal with you according to the anger and 41 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.199 envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And I will make 42 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:44.680 myself known among them when I judge you, and you shall know that I 43 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:49.719 am the Lord. I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the 44 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.240 mountains of Israel, saying they are laid desolate, they are given us to 45 00:03:53.280 --> 00:04:00.199 devour. And you magnified yourself against me with your mouth, and multiple i'd 46 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.479 your words against me. I heard it, Thus says the Lord God, 47 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:10.159 while the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate as you rejoiced over 48 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:14.479 the inheritance of the House of Israel, because it was desolate, So I 49 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:19.160 will deal with you. You shall be desolate Mount Seer and all edam with 50 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:25.879 it. Then they will know that I am the Lord, and you son 51 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:29.839 of Man prophesied to the mountains of Israel, and say, oh, mountains 52 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:32.160 of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. Thus, as the Lord 53 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:38.399 God. Because the enemy said to you, Aha, and the ancient heights 54 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:43.120 have become our possession. Therefore prophesy and say, thus says the Lord God, 55 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:46.759 precisely, because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, 56 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:50.600 so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you 57 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:56.120 became the talk and evil gossip of the people. Therefore, oh, mountains 58 00:04:56.120 --> 00:05:00.000 of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord 59 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:02.920 to God. To the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, 60 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:08.959 the desolate wastes, and the deserted cities, which have become a prey 61 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:13.000 and derision to the rest of the nations all around. Therefore, thus says 62 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.839 the Lord God. Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest 63 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:23.160 of the nations and against all edom who gave my land to themselves, as 64 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:28.720 a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they may that they might 65 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:33.040 make its pasture lands a prey. Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel. 66 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:36.959 And say to the mountains and hills, and to the ravines and valleys, 67 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:43.079 thus says the Lord God. Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, 68 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.079 because you have suffered the reproach of the nations. Therefore, thus says 69 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:51.160 the Lord God, I swear that the nations that are are all around you 70 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:58.519 shall themselves suffer reproach. But you, a mountains of Israel, shall shoot 71 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:02.279 forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will 72 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:08.240 soon come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will 73 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:12.680 turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sowned. And I will 74 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.160 multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. 75 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:20.360 The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. And I will multiply 76 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:26.399 on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And 77 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:30.839 I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will 78 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:35.439 do more good to you than before. Then you will know that I am 79 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:40.720 the Lord, I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel, 80 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.560 and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and 81 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:47.839 you shall no longer bereave them of children. Thus says the Lord God, 82 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:53.120 because they say to you, you devour people, and you bereave your nation 83 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:58.000 of children. Therefore you shall no longer devour people, and no longer bereave 84 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:01.759 your nation of children, declares the Lord God. And I will not let 85 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:06.480 you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear 86 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:12.199 the disgrace of the people's and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares 87 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:16.120 the Lord God. Since the reading of God's word and he busts it to 88 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:31.959 us may be seated. Mhm mm hmm. Well, God speaks to us 89 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:39.639 this evening through two prophecies. One is given to Mount Seer and the mountains 90 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:45.279 of Edom, Edom being the land of the children at Esau, and the 91 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:50.839 other to the mountains of Israel and the children of Jacob. These prophecies, 92 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:55.399 these two prophecies, one to the mountains of Edom and the other to the 93 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:00.399 mountains of Israel, are not for the mountains per se, but for us. 94 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:05.839 God speaks to them, but of course he wants us to hear his 95 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:11.279 words. The mountains here are personified. To use a literary term, they're 96 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:18.800 personified. They're made to look and sound like people because they represent the people 97 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:24.000 in the lands that they dwell in. Ou There are various reasons why God 98 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:28.560 does this. One is because of the importance of mountains in the cultures of 99 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:35.200 many people. Often it's on mountains, and because of mountains that people try 100 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:39.879 to find connections with Heaven. Mount Olympus, you have probably heard of, 101 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:46.080 an important and famous mountain, was thought in Greece to be the home of 102 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:52.279 the gods right a place close to Heaven or maybe something like Heaven itself or 103 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:58.440 closer to home. The Navajos hold call four mountains sacred, including the San 104 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:03.440 Francisco Peaks north of bag Staff. These mountains are an important part of their 105 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:09.759 creation story. They believe that the mountains are spiritual protectors and harm that's done 106 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:13.279 to the mountains is done to the people. There's a spiritual connection, they 107 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:20.279 say, between the mountains and themselves, and even when mountains don't hold specific 108 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:26.120 religious or of spiritual value. Across the world and in different cultures, mountains 109 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:35.919 often do symbolize protection, strength, majesty, glory, wealth. Mountains play 110 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:41.960 a prominent and important role in the Bible as well. Significant moments in scripture 111 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:46.559 happen on mountains. Right Mount Sinai, where the law is given. God 112 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:52.240 says, as he comes and descends upon that mountain Um, ruling over it, 113 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:58.759 and that great cloud of fire and smoke trumpet sounds. He tells the 114 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:03.840 people of Israel, don't touch the mountain or you will die. Um. 115 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:09.200 Mount to Bore, where the transfiguration happens. And of course Mount Zion, 116 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:15.480 which if you read as you read the scriptures, you might think it was 117 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.360 the most awesome of all mountains, the tallest of all mountains in the world 118 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.919 Um, and it is theologically speaking um in terms of its in terms of 119 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:31.360 its land and height, it's kind of more of a hill, a hill 120 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:35.600 outside of Jerusalem, but the greatest of all mountains in the world, not 121 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:43.919 because of its immense height our size, but because it's where God had put 122 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:50.399 his presence and God chose to represent himself to all of Israel. But even 123 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:58.759 though God chooses to work in mountains and around mountains and highlight them and use 124 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:03.039 them as representatives of the land, and of his presence in the land in 125 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:07.519 various places, of his authority and power. God makes very clear in the 126 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:13.399 scriptures, unlike other religions, that mountains are not the hope of anyone, 127 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.799 even mountain Zion. They're not the hope of his own people or anyone else. 128 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.720 He's not born from the mountains. He is not a mountain himself. 129 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:30.039 He is not subject to the mountains. He doesn't even use them as his 130 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:35.320 dwelling place, as if he was contained there or held there. In fact, 131 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:39.639 nothing in all creation, even the greatest aspects of creation, like the 132 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:43.879 mountains. Nothing in creation, whether man or animal, plant or mineral, 133 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:50.480 could ever begin to take the place of the Lord. Nothing in all of 134 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:56.840 creation can supersede His strength, his will, his power, and his promises. 135 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:05.000 Considers some of one through three. God is our refuge and strength, 136 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:11.159 a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the 137 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:16.840 earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 138 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:22.600 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling, 139 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:31.080 Even when the strongest, most immovable things around us are moved and shaking 140 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:37.960 and overwhelmed. We can rely on God. That's a wonderful, wonderful truth. 141 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:43.120 It's so important for us to hold onto. And another perfect summary of 142 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:46.639 this is the one I hinted at before and saw one versus one and two. 143 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:52.200 I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 144 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:58.759 My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He is 145 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:05.840 the hills, He made the hills. When we look up to the great, 146 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:11.919 immense, immovable features of creation, we don't look to them for help. 147 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:15.559 We look to the God who made them. They point to something, 148 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:24.519 to someone beyond themselves. Their strength reminds us of His infinite strength. And 149 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:26.960 this is the main message that we need to hear from this passage tonight. 150 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:33.720 God wants us to know that he is immovable, that he is ever strong, 151 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:39.480 that he and he alone is the covenant Lord of his people, and 152 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:46.799 he will act accordingly for his people. He is a savior and a savior 153 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:54.919 from their enemies. So let's take a look at these passage UM Ezekiel thirty 154 00:13:54.000 --> 00:14:00.080 five and the first half here of Ezekiel thirty six. What's going on in 155 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:03.720 the timeline here? Just to refresh our memories, UM. The first thing 156 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:09.799 that you might remember or have picked up on, is that Israel had disobeyed. 157 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:16.480 Israel had disobeyed God, had broken the covenant with God, and had 158 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:20.120 disobeyed him, much like many much of the rest of the world has. 159 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:24.440 And we read the result of that in the beginning of chapter thirty six. 160 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:30.720 We can start at verse two and read from there um the scriptures say, 161 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.559 thus says the Lord God, because the enemy said to you, Aha, 162 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:39.559 and the ancient heights have become our possession. Therefore prophecy and say, thus 163 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:43.799 says the Lord God, precisely, because they made you desolate and crushed you 164 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.360 from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the 165 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:52.159 nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people's. Therefore, 166 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:56.200 a mountains of Israel hear the word of the Lord, and then he 167 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.759 makes various promises. What had happened is that they had dis obeyed the Lord. 168 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:05.679 And exactly as he has promised he would do. He brought in Nebuchadnezzer 169 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:09.759 in the great armies of Babylon, to destroy Jerusalem, to make it a 170 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:16.320 waste, to make it on desolate. But at that moment of calamity. 171 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:22.240 As God was judging his own people for their sin. Edom took advantage of 172 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:28.759 their weakness. The people of Edom, this neighboring um, neighboring nation, 173 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:35.440 took advantage of their um, their weakness. We read in verse five of 174 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:41.320 chapter thirty, because you cherished uh perpetual enmity, and gave over the people 175 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:46.279 of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, 176 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:50.399 at the time of their final punishment. And then God says things as a 177 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:54.000 result of that action, So you see what's happening there. Israel is under 178 00:15:54.039 --> 00:16:00.240 punishment, right, they are in trouble. They are um uh, they 179 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:06.000 are being judged by the Lord. As Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem in seven b c. 180 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:10.799 And as that is happening, while Israel is down on her knees, 181 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:17.120 Edom comes in and says, ha ha or a ha, this is our 182 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:22.840 moment, This is our moment. This attitude is captured in a song of 183 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:30.399 lament and Psalm one thirty seven seven or says, remember, O Lord against 184 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.639 the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, lay it bare, 185 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:41.399 lay it bare down to its foundations, kick them all there down. This 186 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:48.480 is our time now. I want to pause for a moment and ask, 187 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:53.200 in a genuine way, what's so wrong about this? Certainly there were some 188 00:16:53.279 --> 00:17:00.279 plausible arguments going on in the various discussion rooms of Edom that you can imagine 189 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:07.640 them arguing why they should attack attack Israel at this time, perhaps two things 190 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:12.440 in particular. One, there are enemies right strike while the iron is hot. 191 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:18.079 Why would we lose this opportunity to destroy these people that we've been ever 192 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:25.440 We've been against, ever since Jacob and saw, ever since that dirty dog 193 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:32.400 Jacob took our birthright and stole from us the promises of the Lord. There 194 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:37.000 are enemies, they're down there being judged. Let's help out the Lord. 195 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:44.920 A second argument that you can imagine a plausible argument might be something like the 196 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.240 harder they fall, the more glory and the more opportunities there are for US 197 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:56.759 lands, power, wealth, people, treasures of various kinds. It's there 198 00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:00.640 for the taking. How can they defend it? Surely we have our own 199 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:07.039 needs. We've got temples to build, people to feed. You can imagine 200 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:12.640 that this was not a bad time from a certain perspective, but the perfect 201 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:22.519 time to attack Israel. But plausible arguments do not equal good arguments, And 202 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:30.480 it's good to remember there's always plausible arguments for sin. There's always rationalizations ways 203 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:37.240 than things that we use to justify evil. How do you know the difference, 204 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:44.559 right, what's a good argument and what's an excuse? Right? Well, 205 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.000 the way to know the difference is that we have to align our thinking 206 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:52.279 in our hearts with God's will. We have to know him, We have 207 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:56.799 to know what he wants, We have to know what he desires. And 208 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:03.079 that's how and that is what he explains so clearly in this passage. God 209 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:08.079 doesn't just come at them angry and railing and and Um upset over seemingly nothing. 210 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:15.200 He's upset. He's angry, He has hot wrath and jealousy and anger 211 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:22.519 as he comes against edom and he makes very clear why. He tells them, 212 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:27.640 and he tells us, So what are the things? What are the 213 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:33.240 reasons why God is going to judge edom Um for their sin? What is 214 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:41.200 their sin? What have they done? I'll mention four things. The first 215 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:47.079 one is that they held on to anger. They held on to anger. 216 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:56.200 Remember what he says in verse five, because you cherished perpetual enmity. Yeah, 217 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:03.599 cherished perpetual enmity. They were mad, hopping, mad, angry, 218 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:11.920 very angry, and they loved it. They loved that feeling inside that was 219 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:18.000 all stirred up, that stewing, that holding onto things, they held onto 220 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:22.400 that they'd never let it go. Amos one eleven addresses this as well, 221 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:29.640 concerning Edom. Amos one verse eleven thus says the Lord for three transgressions that 222 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:34.319 the edom and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued 223 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:40.680 his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore 224 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:48.640 perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. Let it go. Have you 225 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.799 ever heard that or said that to yourself? And times of anger? Let 226 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:57.839 it go? They would not let it go. In fact, they loved 227 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:03.359 it, They cherished it, they held onto it. Ephesians four has a 228 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:10.559 very very important verse that we have to keep in mind. In this passage, 229 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:18.359 be angry and do not sin, And in the second half of the 230 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:23.240 verse adds a third thought, do not let the sun go down on your 231 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:33.039 anger. So be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun 232 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:38.319 go down on your anger. There's so much good to think about um here. 233 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:47.799 Anger, like other emotions, is not sinful in and of itself be 234 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:55.079 angry. The scripture says God is angry, and he is not wrong in 235 00:21:55.200 --> 00:22:00.400 his anger. Here, anger, like other emotions, is not in full 236 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:07.440 in itself, but like other emotions, it becomes sinful in certain conditions. 237 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:12.079 This is very important for us to realize because sometimes we think of sort of 238 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:19.319 negative feeling emotions like anger as bad and sinful ones, and positive feeling emotions 239 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:26.680 like love and joy as good ones morally good and morally bad. But let 240 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.839 me ask you. We're dealing with anger, But let's look at something like 241 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:37.000 joy and love. Um, if I take joy at the death of my 242 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:47.519 friend, is that good? If I rejoice at your calamity is that good? 243 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:52.960 If I love something that is evil, is that good? No, 244 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.400 just because I love something, or just because I have joy, doesn't mean 245 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:04.359 I'm having morally right emotion. It doesn't mean my emotions are our our tune 246 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.240 to God's will. In fact, it's very wrong. It's sinful to feel 247 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:14.759 those ways. Loved in and of itself, joy and it and not itself 248 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:18.000 is not just okay. It matters what we love, it matters how we 249 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:23.480 love. Idolatry is a form of love. Covetousness is a form of love, 250 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:30.200 and these are not good. Our emotions need to be directed correctly, 251 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:37.200 proportionately, rightly. That's what makes them good and bad. And anger is 252 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:44.799 like this as well. And one of the ways anger becomes sinful is when 253 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:49.079 it burns perpetually. That's what the Lord says, here, be angry, 254 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.079 but don't sin. And one of the ways we sin is by letting our 255 00:23:53.160 --> 00:24:00.200 anger burn even after the sun itself has gone down and the aemperatures have cooled. 256 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:07.319 When we let our anger perpetually stew and rage inside of us, whether 257 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:15.839 anybody sees it or not, it will be our downfall. And it is 258 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:21.480 a sin. And what this means, then, many means many things, 259 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:25.599 But one implication of it is the Edam sinned even before they shed blood. 260 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:33.880 Edam was sinning in the years and even generations of people who harbored hatred against 261 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:41.000 Israel. Edam sinned when they would not let it go, when they would 262 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:47.319 not shed their anger. What could they have done. Let's say, Israel 263 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:51.400 was even justly, It was even doing things wrong to them, and they 264 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:56.920 were right to be mad. Without getting into too long a thing on anger, 265 00:24:56.359 --> 00:25:00.759 one of the best things that we can learn to do is to give 266 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:04.880 things over to the Lord, to trust him to take care of wrongs, 267 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:12.240 to let him fix injustices. At some point we have to give our the 268 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:18.480 situations in which we're out of control and feeling frustrated about, and we have 269 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:22.319 to give that over to him. And what we can see in this passage 270 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:29.759 is that he is trustworthy to deal with things, even big things like geopolitics 271 00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:37.680 and keeping covenants. All right, So that's number one. One reason God 272 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:41.240 condemns them is that they held on to their anger. They cherished their anger 273 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:48.480 perpetually. A number two, they were immoderate and cruel and loved bloodshed again. 274 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:52.119 Verse five tells us that they gave over the people of Israel to the 275 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:57.759 power of the sword in the time of their calamorative calamity. Verse six says 276 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:06.000 you did not hate bloodshed again Amos one eleven. Another part of that verse 277 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:11.960 says that Edam pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity. 278 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:19.359 In verse five of chapter six, we read Edam, who gave my land 279 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:26.759 to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they 280 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:30.880 might make its pastor lands a prey. There we see joy. She'll use 281 00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:34.839 that one right. So there they are having a joy, a bad, 282 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:42.559 evil, wholehearted joy over their possession of a land that wasn't theirs. This 283 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:52.079 um was cruel, immoderate, and it loved things that they ought to have 284 00:26:52.200 --> 00:27:00.480 hated. The third thing that God mentions here is theft they took, simply 285 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:06.640 what didn't belong to them. Verse ten is quotes the Eda minds of saying, 286 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:11.200 these two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will 287 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:15.079 take possession of them. And then it adds, although the Lord was there, 288 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:22.039 you're not going to take possession of anything that's the Lord's land. It's 289 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:26.559 not yours. And this was the thing that they were forgetting above all, 290 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:30.279 which leads us to the fourth and final one, and want to point our 291 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:37.000 attention to, and that's pride. It wasn't just Israel that they were against. 292 00:27:37.079 --> 00:27:41.720 They were against the Lord. This is not just Israel, another people, 293 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:48.319 another one of the nations. This is the Lord's special possession. This 294 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:56.480 land is the Lord's special possession given to these people, from Abraham to Isaac 295 00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:07.079 to Jacob, their brother. They thought that they could take something from God. 296 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:14.079 Verse thirteen says, you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth and multiplied 297 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:22.359 your words against me. I heard it. So this was These were their 298 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:27.480 sins. They were continuous, they were excessive, they were strong, they 299 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:33.160 were unrelenting, They held onto their anger. They loved bloodshed, They were 300 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:37.680 immoderate and cruel. They took what didn't belong to them. And above all, 301 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:42.319 they stood up, and we tried to stand up against the Lord and 302 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:51.359 take what belonged to his what belonged to him um to own what he loved 303 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:57.480 and was his special possession and right. And so as God pronounces his judgment 304 00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:06.720 in each of these areas, he is exceedingly fair, exceedingly just. Anger 305 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:11.279 verse eleven. I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that 306 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:17.880 you showed because of your hatred against them. When God comes against edom, 307 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:22.400 he comes against them according to what they have done, according to their anger, 308 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:27.599 according to their envy. Regarding bloodshed, he says uh in verse six, 309 00:29:27.640 --> 00:29:32.160 as I live, declares the Lord, I will prepare you for blood, 310 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:37.440 and blood shall pursue you. Because you did not hate bloodshed. Therefore 311 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:42.200 blood shall pursue you in verses seven through nine, And I will fill its 312 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:47.119 fill its mountains, the mountains of Edom. With the slain on your hills 313 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:49.400 and in your valleys, and in all your ravines, those slain with the 314 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:55.039 swords shall fall. I will make you a perpetual desolation. Your cities shall 315 00:29:55.119 --> 00:30:00.559 not be inhabited. The Lord often works like this. You love bloodshed, 316 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:08.359 you want bloodshed, then this is what you will get. Theft, the 317 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:12.359 Lord says, as you rejoiced over the inheritance of the House of Israel because 318 00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:18.079 it was desolate, So I will deal with you. You shall be desolate. 319 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:25.160 Also there is the restoration of Israel. Not only does uh Edom get 320 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:33.279 this just punishment, but Israel has her rightful possessions returned. Not because and 321 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:37.119 again in this wonderful and miraculous way that when the Lord speaks in chapter thirty 322 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:40.920 six to the mountains of Israel, what does he say. He says, 323 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:45.160 Oh, mountains, you will shoot forth with life. It's almost like this 324 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:49.240 new garden of Eden that he describes, a heavenly place even that will in 325 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:55.240 which they will be fruitful and will multiply. Right, echoing that language back 326 00:30:55.279 --> 00:31:00.240 at the beginning of creation or again after the judgment. Under Noah, God's 327 00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:07.960 people will become this thing that he has always wanted them to be alive and 328 00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:15.720 living in him richly and beautifully and finally, pride. We have this repetition 329 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:19.839 of this phrase that has happened so often in his Equiel, and he says 330 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:23.640 it here to Edom and and to Israel's will as well, in all of 331 00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:30.119 these punishments and in Israel's salvation. He says this, Then you will know 332 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:37.799 that I am the Lord. That I am, I am that I am 333 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:42.319 the covenant God who took these people out of the land of Egypt and brought 334 00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:48.640 them into the land of my own choosing this is God's world. He can 335 00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:53.000 do with it what he likes. And he has chosen this people as his 336 00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:57.480 special possession, and he has placed them in this land. He has placed 337 00:31:57.480 --> 00:32:02.759 them in this place because he is their lord, and he will keep his 338 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:09.079 promises even after they have sinned. Remember how we begin, Israel is not 339 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:15.720 some beautiful, innocent party in all of this, perhaps innocent against the things 340 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:20.640 Edam has done, but not innocent in their sins against the Lord. See 341 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:25.319 the great fairness in the Lord. Just because Israel has fallen and sinned and 342 00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:30.440 is under his judgment, that doesn't excuse everyone else to just do whatever they 343 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:38.200 want to Israel. And it also doesn't release him from his own promises that 344 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:47.799 he made to Abraham to Isaac, and to Israel to Jacob. So what 345 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:51.960 does all this teach us about the God of Israel? And yes, even 346 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:57.799 our God, for the God of Israel has become our God through the promised 347 00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:01.720 offspring, through Jesus Christ, the true Israel. Paul says in Romans, 348 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:07.279 for that we who put our faith in Jesus are the offspring of Abraham and 349 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:15.240 rightful heirs to the inherited promises. And there he's not speaking of the land, 350 00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:20.240 but the greater land that is to come, the new heavens and the 351 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:25.440 new earth, the things to which these things pointed, the inheritance and the 352 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:34.680 promise of love and protection becomes ours at and a glovel even greater than we 353 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:42.359 see in these types and these shadows here in the Old Testament. Our God, 354 00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:46.920 the God of Israel, is the same God who is here in these 355 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:54.240 passages. And one thing that we learn about him is that there is that 356 00:33:54.319 --> 00:34:00.839 God. Um desires to clarify, to put it very mildly, some very 357 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:08.960 wrong misconceptions. One is that God is not powerful or real. In this 358 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:13.280 passage, we see that he is very powerful, that he is very real 359 00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:17.360 if he wants to make a people desolate, whether HiT's judge his own people 360 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:22.639 uh and his special possession and treasure, or judge the peoples of the earth, 361 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:25.079 to which he also has a right to. All the hills are mine. 362 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:31.039 The Lord says he can and he will. Paul says at the beginning 363 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:37.440 of Romans that God's patience and kindness, his long suffering, has a very 364 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:45.559 particular purpose. It's meant to lead us to repentance. When God doesn't judge 365 00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:50.119 us immediately for our sins, our reaction is not to be, oh, 366 00:34:50.199 --> 00:34:54.000 he doesn't care. Our reaction isn't to be oh he can't do anything. 367 00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:04.039 Our reaction should be the Lord is kind. In thinking about anger, the 368 00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:07.679 scriptures say often of the anger of God that he is slow to anger, 369 00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:15.480 not quick to anger, slow to anger. And likewise, the proverbs and 370 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:21.760 other places tell us that the wise man is slow to anger. It echoes 371 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:29.320 and reflects the character this characteristic of God. God is slow to anger, 372 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:35.599 but that doesn't mean he won't protect what is his. And that's important to 373 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:43.119 remember. God is powerful and he does fulfill this promise. Where is the 374 00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:51.039 land of Edom today? It's not here. A second misconception is that God 375 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:55.000 does not love and will not save his people, that He is a breaker 376 00:35:55.039 --> 00:36:01.000 of promises, and this is a lie. Despite making clearer covenant promises to 377 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:06.880 them and giving them their blessing his blessings. Sometimes people say, look a 378 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:10.559 God, where is he? And Israel often gave into that lie, and 379 00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:19.440 they pursued after worldly things to secure their safety, to secure their wealth. 380 00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:28.039 The chariots of Egypt help from Assyria various They looked very to various worldly things, 381 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:31.480 and God says, you don't need to look to those things. The 382 00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:37.840 same is true of the Church today. Sometimes the Church is tempted to look 383 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:44.639 to worldly institutions to find our safety, to find our protection. We think 384 00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:46.440 that the next election, if we just get it right, will save us 385 00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:52.440 and protect us. It won't. Even if all the right people get elected, 386 00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:55.960 whoever those are, it won't save us. Wealth won't save us. 387 00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:02.119 Um a power won't save us. In fluence won't save us. The only 388 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:08.880 thing that saves us is God. And a lot of times God uses suffering 389 00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:16.000 to draw us close to him. We have to look to Him and This 390 00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:22.960 is in particularly important when the enemies of the church stand outside and mock and 391 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:30.920 despise, and sometimes kill God's people. There are brothers and sisters in Christ 392 00:37:30.519 --> 00:37:37.920 in jails all around the world, people who have been stoned and beheaded for 393 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:43.519 their faith. When the world, in all of its various forms, brings 394 00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:49.719 all of its power against the God's people, and God's people start dying, 395 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:54.840 it can be very tempting to fear that. It can be very tempting to 396 00:37:55.079 --> 00:38:01.320 look to the world and all of that perceived strength for salvation. But we 397 00:38:01.440 --> 00:38:07.199 must not. We must remember passages like this and know that God will judge 398 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:13.440 his enemies. In Revelation, we have a picture of the martyrs crying out 399 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:16.800 to God, Lord, when will there be justice for the blood that has 400 00:38:16.800 --> 00:38:24.039 been shed? And he promises that there will be justice. God is not 401 00:38:24.320 --> 00:38:32.719 a blind God is not blind to the things that are happening. Yes, 402 00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:37.639 he will allow us to suffer sometimes, but He is powerful enough to use 403 00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:44.039 that suffering to bless us and advance us. And He is also powerful enough 404 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:50.320 to end that suffering, as he one day promises to do the resurrection of 405 00:38:50.360 --> 00:38:55.079 the dead brothers and sisters, one day we will rise from our graves with 406 00:38:57.639 --> 00:39:02.320 bodies that cannot die, that no one will be able to harm or do 407 00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:07.760 anything, to a kingdom that is already ours, that cannot be shaken, 408 00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:15.159 despite what the world tries to do. It's already here. The resurrection has 409 00:39:15.239 --> 00:39:20.760 begun. We are standing in Christ on Mountain Zion, a heavenly city. 410 00:39:21.400 --> 00:39:27.199 We belong to the Lord. We don't need to be afraid. Even in 411 00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:31.440 times of great suffering. God does care. God is using it, and 412 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:37.480 God will set all things right. And one way we see that care and 413 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:42.719 that love is in his anger. As I said before, the scriptures teach 414 00:39:42.840 --> 00:39:46.880 us that there are times to be angry, be angry, and do not 415 00:39:47.079 --> 00:39:52.559 sin. God does not sin here. And God is angry. And why 416 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:59.440 is he angry? Because he loves us, because he loves his promises, 417 00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:05.719 He loves his people, He loves justice. And he hates sin. He 418 00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:09.280 hates what it does, he hates how it tears us apart. He hates 419 00:40:09.559 --> 00:40:19.079 its evil effects. Just anger and unjust anger are not the same thing. 420 00:40:20.039 --> 00:40:25.440 Righteous anger and unrighteous anger are not the same thing. Sinful anger wants what 421 00:40:25.519 --> 00:40:32.039 it shouldn't have. Sinful anger is quick, immoderate, cruel, excessive, 422 00:40:32.280 --> 00:40:38.760 and doesn't die down. That's not God's anger. God's anger here is slow, 423 00:40:39.519 --> 00:40:45.719 perfectly timed, perfectly just, and as he says and throughout the scriptures, 424 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:52.000 quick to forgive. If you're like me, sometimes when you get real 425 00:40:52.199 --> 00:40:57.719 riled up, it's kind of hard to forgive quickly. I've said things like 426 00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:05.119 I want to, but I'm having a hard time. God's not like that. 427 00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:10.159 God doesn't have to cool down, doesn't have to get his heart right. 428 00:41:12.320 --> 00:41:19.719 He is quick to forgive. Consider, for example, what the king 429 00:41:19.800 --> 00:41:23.880 of Tarsias says, right, this is the king that Jonah goes to the 430 00:41:23.960 --> 00:41:30.679 city of Nineveh, this great capital of Assyria, this pagan kingdom. When 431 00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:35.400 Jonah goes and preaches, the king says, he prays to the Lord and 432 00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:38.559 says, oh, Lord, is this not what I said? Um or 433 00:41:38.599 --> 00:41:42.599 sorry? This is what Jonah says. Uh he Jonah says, a Lord, 434 00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:45.599 is this not what I said when I was yet in my country. 435 00:41:45.639 --> 00:41:49.199 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarsha's for I knew that you 436 00:41:49.239 --> 00:41:53.960 are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast 437 00:41:54.039 --> 00:42:00.599 love and relenting from disaster. That's what we see and that whole story right. 438 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:07.320 This is God's anger on display, God's steadfast love on his display, 439 00:42:07.360 --> 00:42:15.320 and his quick mercy, his relenting from disaster on display. This is who 440 00:42:15.400 --> 00:42:22.159 God is. God's anger, unlike unjust and sinful anger, has a good 441 00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:29.039 basis, and its basis here is to protect what he loves, and what 442 00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:37.920 he loves is us, his people. And what he loves is fairness and 443 00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:45.480 justice, and what he loves is forgiveness. Yes, God will come hard 444 00:42:45.679 --> 00:42:52.320 against fedom, but in protecting Israel in this way, he makes Israel a 445 00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:58.480 light to all the world. He is keeping even in this moment, his 446 00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:04.320 big, long term promises that Israel will be a blessing to all of the 447 00:43:04.440 --> 00:43:14.400 nations, even Edomites. God promises that through this people and his son that 448 00:43:14.519 --> 00:43:21.079 comes out of these people, Jesus, the True Israel, that everyone who 449 00:43:21.119 --> 00:43:30.239 turns to him we'll find salvation, will find forgiveness. In fact, Jesus 450 00:43:31.199 --> 00:43:38.320 John says, is a propitiation for our sins. He turns aside God's wrath 451 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:46.320 by a sacrifice. God, in keeping his promises, provides himself out of 452 00:43:46.400 --> 00:43:52.039 his love so that when we look to him we can have both justice and 453 00:43:52.239 --> 00:44:00.360 mercy In the same place on the cross. On the cross, God looks 454 00:44:00.400 --> 00:44:06.079 at sin square in the eye and says, enough, it's over. It's 455 00:44:06.199 --> 00:44:16.679 done, and he puts to death his own son, who willingly goes out 456 00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:22.440 of love and out of obedience, to take on all of our sin and 457 00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:28.239 just deal with it once and for all, in such a way that the 458 00:44:28.280 --> 00:44:31.360 apostle Paul says to us, for those of us who are in Christ, 459 00:44:31.719 --> 00:44:37.920 for those of us who look to the cross, there is no condemnation. 460 00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:45.280 There's no condemnation and no punishment for sin, because it's all been taken care 461 00:44:45.320 --> 00:44:51.440 of. Justice has been done. Whatever happened to eat them here, in 462 00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:57.239 all of the desolation and waste and bloodshed, it doesn't even begin to compare 463 00:44:57.480 --> 00:45:02.960 what Jesus endured on the cross when he paid not just for one sin or 464 00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:07.880 two sins, or a people sins, but the sins of all his people 465 00:45:07.559 --> 00:45:17.159 for all time. God was angry over sin, and God loved us, 466 00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:22.280 and that's why he came into the world, and that's why he died on 467 00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:27.280 the cross, and that's why we are saved from sin and know that we 468 00:45:27.360 --> 00:45:32.559 are protected from it as well as all of God's enemies and ours as will. 469 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:38.840 If God were not angry about sin, we would not be saved. 470 00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:46.639 If God didn't do something about that problem. If God did not love us 471 00:45:46.920 --> 00:45:52.159 so much that he would send his son into the world to die for sin, 472 00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:57.280 to take on and endure wrath and punishment for sin. If God were 473 00:45:57.320 --> 00:46:02.360 not powerful enough to act, we would not be saved. We'd still be 474 00:46:02.440 --> 00:46:09.280 in our sins, evil people living under an evil king. But none of 475 00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:15.320 that happened in God's powerful justice, in his judgment, in his wrath. 476 00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:23.639 He poured out all of that on himself because he loved us. Why did 477 00:46:23.639 --> 00:46:30.239 he love us, I don't really know, but he did, and he 478 00:46:30.280 --> 00:46:34.440 loved us so much that he takes it, takes away that punishment so that 479 00:46:34.519 --> 00:46:39.159 we can look to him in every single moment of our lives. Even if 480 00:46:39.199 --> 00:46:43.719 we're in a moment where we be area where we are being put in jail 481 00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:49.199 or beheaded or burn or torn into or any of the number of things that 482 00:46:49.239 --> 00:46:53.440 have happened to the Lord's saints, we can put our faith in Him and 483 00:46:53.519 --> 00:46:59.800 know that we have life, eternal life in him, because he is powerful 484 00:46:59.840 --> 00:47:04.880 to judge, he is powerful to save, and he is our God who 485 00:47:04.960 --> 00:47:12.119 keeps his promises. Let's pray, Lord, God of heaven and Earth, 486 00:47:12.199 --> 00:47:15.880 we look to you and not to the hills. When we consider the stars 487 00:47:15.960 --> 00:47:21.920 and the sky, the the the great canyons of the earth. As we 488 00:47:22.039 --> 00:47:30.360 consider um, your marvelous providence and creation, we see you, We hear 489 00:47:30.440 --> 00:47:37.639 you. We see your fingerprints over everything. We hear your voice echoing and 490 00:47:37.719 --> 00:47:44.199 resounding through all that you have made. Teach us, then, Lord, 491 00:47:44.280 --> 00:47:47.800 not to trust and the things of this world, Not to love idols and 492 00:47:47.880 --> 00:47:55.280 foolish things. Not to look anywhere except to You and the cross of Jesus 493 00:47:55.360 --> 00:48:01.559 Christ, for the salvation of our souls, the tection and restoration of our 494 00:48:01.639 --> 00:48:10.119 bodies, in the building of a kingdom. They will not fall away, 495 00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:17.079 beaten up by moths, were lost, but a kingdom that is forever. 496 00:48:19.679 --> 00:48:23.920 Lord is citizens of that kingdom. We asked that you would give us confidence 497 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:29.920 each and every day, and whether we find ourselves in a big, dramatic 498 00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:35.000 life moment in which we are called upon to testify to our belief even at 499 00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:38.920 the cost of our life, or whether we are in a little moment where 500 00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:45.440 we are trying to let go of sinful anger, when we are trying to 501 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:50.679 not steal and take things that don't belong to us. When we are fighting 502 00:48:50.760 --> 00:48:55.559 our sins of pride and bloodshed. We asked that you would help us to 503 00:48:55.639 --> 00:49:00.480 look to you, and that you would be there in that moment, strengthening 504 00:49:00.599 --> 00:49:06.920 us, guiding and guiding us, and helping our faith to be strong in 505 00:49:07.119 --> 00:49:10.360 you. Lord, We thank you for all of your promises to us. 506 00:49:12.360 --> 00:49:15.119 We thank you that you are so much bigger than we could ever imagine, 507 00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:20.360 and that we can look to you for safety and protection in all things. 508 00:49:21.280 --> 00:49:25.280 And finally, Lord, we give you praise and we adore your name for 509 00:49:25.320 --> 00:49:30.679 the forgiveness we have. If it were not for your work for us, 510 00:49:30.960 --> 00:49:36.400 if it were not for Jesus's shed blood, we would still be in our 511 00:49:36.480 --> 00:49:43.599 sins and under your righteous wrath, your just punishment, not only in this 512 00:49:43.719 --> 00:49:49.760 life, but in the life to come and forever. You have saved us 513 00:49:49.800 --> 00:49:54.159 though, and you have given rest to our souls. We praise your name 514 00:49:54.920 --> 00:50:00.000 and give you thanks. Help us to share this word not only with ourselves 515 00:50:00.400 --> 00:50:06.280 in our own hearts, but with all the world that many would see and 516 00:50:06.440 --> 00:50:13.239 know of your fast mercy and your abounding love. We pray this in Jesus 517 00:50:13.320 --> 00:50:14.480 name. Amen.