God the Supreme (Micah 4:9-13)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:24.219 Mike A, four verses nine through thirteen, micafore verse nine. Now, 2 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:27.820 why do you cry Aloud? Why do you cry Aloud? Is there no 3 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:33.219 king in you? Has Your counselor perished? That pain seized you like a 4 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:37.450 woman in Labor. Writhe and GROAN. O, Daughter of Zion, like 5 00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:41.850 a woman in Labor. For now you shall go out from the city and 6 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:47.570 dwell in the open country. You shall go to Babylon. There you shall 7 00:00:47.609 --> 00:00:52.079 be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. 8 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:57.079 Now, now, many nations are assembled against you, saying, let 9 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:02.119 her be defiled and let our Eyes Gaze Upon Zion. But they do not 10 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:07.950 know the thoughts of the Lord, they do not understand his plan, that 11 00:01:07.109 --> 00:01:14.510 he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh, 12 00:01:14.629 --> 00:01:18.109 O, Daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron and I 13 00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:22.859 will make your hoofs bronze, and you shall beat in pieces many peoples and 14 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:26.900 shall devote their gain to the Lord, their wealth to the low of the 15 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:49.840 whole earth. Men may be seated well tonight. My goal is to help 16 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:57.640 you to see and to remember from micaphor that God is supreme, that he 17 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:04.150 is sovereign, as we have sung, and this is such an important truth, 18 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:09.430 because in all the whirling and turning of our lives and of our world, 19 00:02:10.389 --> 00:02:14.669 it is good to remember and to know that our God is steady, 20 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:22.020 the he is immovable, that he is sovereign, he is not changed by 21 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:25.340 the events of this world, that he is not dependent upon this or that 22 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:31.490 thing. God is not sitting every night watching the news wondering what he should 23 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:38.370 do next. God is sovereign over it all and he has always been this 24 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:44.479 way. Reading these prophecies from thousands of years ago, prophecies which in some 25 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:50.000 ways have been fulfilled, some ways which yet remained to be fulfilled, God 26 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:53.479 is the one who spoke them. God is the one who revealed these things 27 00:02:53.560 --> 00:03:00.229 to Israel, who is pronounced his message in the world, and you should 28 00:03:00.229 --> 00:03:07.629 trust him. You should trust him. In this book, through the prophecies 29 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:13.099 to his people, we have learned about what it means to be disobedient to 30 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:17.539 God. We have looked at the ways in which he is described people who 31 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:23.580 have known so clearly the requirements for justice, for righteousness, for leading the 32 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:30.650 people, for living according to his law, and we have seen how they 33 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:37.129 and we have fallen short of it, and how when we fall short of 34 00:03:37.250 --> 00:03:42.680 God's law, we're condemned by it, that there's judgment for it. Not 35 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.759 because God is mean, but because he's sovereign and he's a king and he's 36 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:52.599 a judge, because he judges injustice. He doesn't look the other way, 37 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:58.150 like false judges do. He doesn't take bribes, he doesn't sweep things under 38 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:01.590 the rug. No, God looks at sin, he recognizes for what it 39 00:04:02.110 --> 00:04:06.150 is, for what it is and he punishes it. And we've seen that 40 00:04:06.389 --> 00:04:12.340 in the ways that he is, I'm calling down these punishments upon his people 41 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:17.060 for breaking the law. He has shown us that those who do not trust 42 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:23.019 in the Lord, who presume upon his kindness, who presume upon His grace 43 00:04:23.300 --> 00:04:28.610 and do what they want no matter what the consequences are. That, for 44 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:33.970 them, is wrath and justice. But he has also shown us that, 45 00:04:34.089 --> 00:04:41.240 despite our sins, he is a gracious God. And then he turns to 46 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.759 us and to all who trust in him and turn away from their sin. 47 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:50.279 That God has promised redemption of all things and a citizenship in a kingdom where 48 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:56.870 he will rule and make all things at peace. This we thought about last 49 00:04:56.870 --> 00:05:01.149 time, as we considered the rule that he establishes and Mountain Zion, this 50 00:05:01.310 --> 00:05:06.300 rule in which all the nations of the world will finally be at peace, 51 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:15.899 finally come to Him for judgment and for Justice and for righteousness. But today, 52 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:20.850 as we consider these verses nine through thirteen, were reminded that until he 53 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:27.089 brings all things to completion, until the Lord Jesus comes in, all things 54 00:05:27.089 --> 00:05:32.730 are put into subjection under his feet. We must live by faith, we 55 00:05:32.850 --> 00:05:46.600 must wait, wait and wait on the Lord. It's seems to US sometimes 56 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:51.470 that God is slow in bringing about the kingdom we see. It seems sometimes 57 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:57.990 that the world is hard, that it oppresses us, that it hurts us, 58 00:05:58.110 --> 00:06:02.629 that the devil is actively at work, that he and his minions are 59 00:06:02.870 --> 00:06:11.660 doing much damage in our societies and our churches. Even and sometimes it can 60 00:06:11.699 --> 00:06:14.300 be very hard to wait on the Lord. It can be very hard to 61 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:19.930 understand why things are still the way they are. But the scriptures remind us 62 00:06:19.930 --> 00:06:27.209 that God is not slow, he's not delaying or he's not being lazy or 63 00:06:27.649 --> 00:06:31.250 trying to figure out what to do. He is being patient. He is 64 00:06:31.410 --> 00:06:39.120 inviting people in while things are not yet complete. He or while things have 65 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:44.720 not yet been consummated. In this way, he is calling, in kindness 66 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:48.990 and mercy, people to come to him. But in this in between time, 67 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:55.470 we who have trusted in him do sometimes find ourselves in times of great 68 00:06:55.629 --> 00:07:00.110 distress. Life can be very, very hard, and it's in moments like 69 00:07:00.230 --> 00:07:05.579 that that we must remember passages like this and remember to trust in the Lord. 70 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:15.420 Our bodies and our minds are our souls. We often find ourselves aching, 71 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:21.569 aching with loss, aching with the struggle to live, to live as 72 00:07:21.930 --> 00:07:28.009 people that are free. We struggle to put to death the remaining flesh in 73 00:07:28.129 --> 00:07:31.959 us. We struggle to serve the Lord as we ought, as we've seen, 74 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.360 and like a three, I'm even those who are called to lead US 75 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:40.560 often fall into sin, and then his people are left leaderless, and these 76 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:44.120 are hard times. There are times when God's people, even them, find 77 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:50.470 themselves severely oppressed. We can think around the world about Christians suffering for their 78 00:07:50.550 --> 00:07:57.709 faith in work camps, Christian suffering for their faith, being told that they 79 00:07:57.829 --> 00:08:03.019 cannot make money, they cannot pursue honest work unless they give up on their 80 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:09.259 savior. Christians losing their heads, losing their lives for the sake of Christ 81 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:15.370 and situations like that, it can feel that the kingdom is not here, 82 00:08:15.569 --> 00:08:20.089 that God is delaying, that God is not doing what he promised to do. 83 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:26.319 But what Mica for and so many of the scriptures remind us is that 84 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:33.720 God is supreme, that God is sovereign and he and he is he will 85 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:41.159 bring all things to their rightful and what we must remember is that our trials, 86 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:45.070 no matter how long they seem to us to be, no matter how 87 00:08:45.389 --> 00:08:50.789 hard they are, they are not forever. God will make all things right. 88 00:08:52.269 --> 00:08:58.460 God is good and he will bring rescue, whether it's our own sinful 89 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:03.980 flesh or the devil's working in the powers of this world, God will bring 90 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:09.419 us rescue, and this is the simple but powerful message here at the end 91 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:15.169 of MIC aphore. Israel has been told of Zion. Israel will be told 92 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:20.250 in our next sermon on this about the coming Messiah from Bethlehem. Will Get 93 00:09:20.250 --> 00:09:26.720 to sing some Christmas songs next week. But Israel must wait. And you 94 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:31.519 know what is sort of one thing that sort of strikes me as important to 95 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:37.000 mention is that is Israel is called to wait here, and was indeed, 96 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:41.070 I'm given the the tools and the revelation to wait. How much better. 97 00:09:41.149 --> 00:09:46.789 Are we now in a position to wait on the Lord? We're so much 98 00:09:46.950 --> 00:09:50.789 closer to the end. Right the Lord has told us that we are in 99 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:54.899 the last days, that Jesus Christ has come in the fullness of time, 100 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:01.139 that in these last days God has spoken through his son that the Promised Messiah 101 00:10:01.139 --> 00:10:05.779 has come. All of the things which people longed and waited for have arrived. 102 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:13.330 We're just so close. And if God could ask his people to wait 103 00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:18.730 thousands of years ago and say I will be with you and I will shepherd 104 00:10:18.769 --> 00:10:22.440 you and I will be your king, surely we can wait now, knowing 105 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:26.720 who the son is, knowing the work that God has done in Christ, 106 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:35.559 the power of the Cross, that the resurrection has already begun in the first 107 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:43.830 fruits of our savior. We must wait too, but sometimes that will be 108 00:10:45.070 --> 00:10:50.580 hard, and it is important to recognize that, not minimize that. Listen 109 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:58.899 to verses nine and ten. Now, why do you cry Aloud? Is 110 00:10:58.940 --> 00:11:03.100 there no king in you? Has Your counselor perished? That pain seesed you 111 00:11:03.289 --> 00:11:09.330 like a woman in Labor. Writhe and Grown, Oh daughter of Zion, 112 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:13.610 like a woman in Labor. For now you go out from the city and 113 00:11:13.690 --> 00:11:22.559 dwell in the open country, you shall go to Babylon. Versus nine and 114 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:28.799 ten begin with a question, a question that identifies the difficulty of a God's 115 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:33.110 people in their situation, a difficulty that, by the way, didn't just 116 00:11:33.309 --> 00:11:37.470 happen upon them. It happened because they have sinned, and sinned grievously, 117 00:11:37.029 --> 00:11:43.029 over and over and over again, and now they are without leadership, now 118 00:11:43.190 --> 00:11:48.500 they are without good judges, without good kings, and they are desperate. 119 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:56.100 He describes their pain as like a woman in labor and says writhe and grown. 120 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:03.289 You ladies who have been in labor, or perhaps you husbands or others 121 00:12:03.330 --> 00:12:09.610 who have been with them, know exactly what he is talking about. It 122 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:18.000 is a hard time, a painful time, and the the reason for this 123 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:22.320 is described in the last part of verse ten, because he says that they 124 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:26.399 will go out from the city, out from this place of protection, and 125 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.870 they will be exposed, they will be in the open country. This is 126 00:12:33.029 --> 00:12:39.149 not the place where where you go and you're trying to protect and defend yourself. 127 00:12:39.990 --> 00:12:43.340 When you're trying to protect and defend yourself, you go to the castle, 128 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:46.820 you retreat to the city, you get behind the walls, you don't 129 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:52.539 walk out into the open country, but they will go into the open country, 130 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:56.259 they will dwell in the open country, they will go to Babylon, 131 00:12:56.419 --> 00:13:07.330 and this exposure is described in very the better word for this, but I'll 132 00:13:07.370 --> 00:13:13.440 say in a more vague way, powerful terms, in verse eleven, when 133 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:20.080 the Nations, who are assembled against her, say let her be defiled, 134 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:28.789 Let our Eyes Gaze Upon Zion. The nations are looking to do a disgusting 135 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:35.070 and despicable act of violation upon God's people. Is What's being described there. 136 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:41.419 They are going to go into the arms of their supposed lovers. For a 137 00:13:41.580 --> 00:13:48.019 long time, for generations, Israel has been whrring after false idels, after 138 00:13:48.100 --> 00:13:52.340 false gods, and in the prophets these images come up over and over again, 139 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:58.049 where Israel is given her heart's desire. But of course it's no good 140 00:13:58.169 --> 00:14:07.049 thing, it's violation, it's terrible, and this is her her danger, 141 00:14:07.330 --> 00:14:18.759 her exposure, her judgment, this terrible situation in which she finds herself in 142 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:24.159 this pain and this trial. I'm particularly I want to go back to the 143 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:30.629 image of of like a woman in Labor. Is Language that Paul picks up 144 00:14:30.750 --> 00:14:35.029 on and uses in Romans Chapter Eight, and this is a helpful thing to 145 00:14:35.269 --> 00:14:41.500 a helpful place to go to and remember, because it describes in particular our 146 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:48.620 situation here now. The applications are more direct and immediate. Let me read 147 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:56.370 at length here, from Romans and eighteen through verse Twenty Five, Paul says, 148 00:14:58.129 --> 00:15:03.889 for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing 149 00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:11.320 with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Not even worth comparing, 150 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:16.799 he goes on, for the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing 151 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:22.710 of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not 152 00:15:22.990 --> 00:15:28.149 willingly but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself 153 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:33.029 will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtained the freedom of the 154 00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:39.580 glory of the Children of God. These language, language that you find in 155 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:43.899 the profits of the lion laying down with the land or the children playing with 156 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:52.129 adders and venomous snakes. Right this language of creation itself being at peace, 157 00:15:52.570 --> 00:16:00.330 is described here before that happens, that creation is described as longing and waiting 158 00:16:00.490 --> 00:16:07.320 for this bondage and corruption that has come upon it to be ended and to 159 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:14.120 participate, the whole Earth participating with the glory of the Children of God, 160 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:19.269 looking for, though, that day of Resurrection, continuing on Verse Twenty Two, 161 00:16:19.830 --> 00:16:25.389 for we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains 162 00:16:25.429 --> 00:16:30.110 of childbirth until now, and not only the creation, but we are ourselves, 163 00:16:30.470 --> 00:16:34.539 who have the first fruits of the spirit, grown inwardly, as we 164 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:41.379 wait eagerly for the adoption of as sons, the redemption of our bodies, 165 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:45.179 for in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is 166 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:48.769 not hope, for who hopes what he sees? But if we hope for 167 00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:55.210 what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. We wait 168 00:16:55.409 --> 00:16:59.570 for it with patience. Paul says, he looks out on the world and 169 00:16:59.690 --> 00:17:04.160 he sees creation groaning and writhing. Why? Because it's under the curse of 170 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:10.440 sin. He looks at even those of us who have received the first fruits 171 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:15.680 of the spirit and sees that we too no longer under the curse of sin 172 00:17:15.710 --> 00:17:21.430 and yet still groaning inwardly, waiting, wanting for the completion of all of 173 00:17:21.589 --> 00:17:26.910 these things, the adoption of sons, particularly defined as the redemption of our 174 00:17:27.390 --> 00:17:40.019 bodies. Some of us are waiting to die. We are tired of this 175 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:47.410 world. We don't understand why it's taking so long. Some of us are 176 00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:52.329 wanting to live, but still don't understand why it's taking quit. It's so 177 00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:56.809 hard to get into that place of life that we long to be. We 178 00:17:57.089 --> 00:18:03.279 want, excuse me, we want the redemption of our bodies. The creation 179 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:08.000 is waiting for the revealing of the Sons of God, is waiting for the 180 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:14.109 resurrection. There is this hope that is set foot before us, but we 181 00:18:14.309 --> 00:18:21.029 have to be patient. We have to there's no shortcut, there's no way 182 00:18:21.069 --> 00:18:26.509 around it, because we want to receive the real deal. We don't want 183 00:18:26.549 --> 00:18:32.980 to receive a halfway resurrection right or just get over this cold or this surgery 184 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:37.819 or whatever this thing is at this moment, right now. We will want, 185 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:45.609 and rightfully so, everything complete he complete peace, complete vindication, complete 186 00:18:45.730 --> 00:18:51.529 salvation, and not just us but all of humanity, and not just all 187 00:18:51.569 --> 00:18:57.279 of humanity but all of creation. That's the goal. That's what our hope 188 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:00.599 is in, that's what we are keeping our eyes on and that's why we 189 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:07.079 wait, because there's no substitute for that. There's no substitute for that, 190 00:19:10.349 --> 00:19:18.029 but it's hard. It's described as being to as being in the pains of 191 00:19:18.950 --> 00:19:27.059 childbirth. Now I hear from a very good source that it's very hard and 192 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:34.019 strange to be in labor when you are literally feeling like you're going to die 193 00:19:36.539 --> 00:19:41.450 and everyone is looking at you saying you're doing a great job, everything's gonna 194 00:19:41.490 --> 00:19:45.690 be okay, keep going, keep trying, this is gonna be a great 195 00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:52.200 day, and you are going, I'm dying, and this is often what 196 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:57.440 life is like as a Christian. We feel like we're dying, we feel 197 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:02.880 like I can't take another week, I can't take another day, I can't 198 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.109 go on another minute, and everyone's standing around you going, keep going, 199 00:20:07.549 --> 00:20:15.670 it's gonna be okay, Paul, saying this present suffering that you're suffering it's 200 00:20:15.750 --> 00:20:19.589 not even worth comparing to the glory it's to come. And we suffer so 201 00:20:19.750 --> 00:20:26.700 much and we say, how could that possibly be? This is so hard. 202 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:38.089 But when a woman takes that baby in her arms, it's not long, 203 00:20:38.130 --> 00:20:45.930 agod, before she has another one. Somehow, somehow, they find 204 00:20:47.009 --> 00:20:49.920 a way. You Amazing Women, find a way to do it again. 205 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.240 And Christians are like this right, we do it again and we do it 206 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:59.079 again and we go through these pains and we go through these sufferings, not 207 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:03.509 because we enjoy them, but because we know that our God is good, 208 00:21:04.750 --> 00:21:08.789 because we know that he's sovereign, because he know that he has a plan, 209 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:14.230 because we know that, at the end of the day, it comes 210 00:21:14.309 --> 00:21:18.819 out right, it comes out good, and it comes out in a way 211 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:30.059 that it's not even worth comparing to our present suffering. We sold. For 212 00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:34.849 those reasons, we are called to wait with patience, to endure her, 213 00:21:36.490 --> 00:21:40.849 to carry on. It's not because God is not moved by our sorrows. 214 00:21:40.890 --> 00:21:45.890 He became a man of sorrows. He understands our sorrows. He took on 215 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:55.160 our sorrows to save us from our sorrows. What we endure now is to 216 00:21:55.279 --> 00:22:00.000 prepare us for what is to come, and this is why we must learn 217 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:07.069 to see things not from our perspective, but from his. When this includes 218 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:11.910 learning to see our enemies in the right way. And here the image, 219 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:18.420 as are they, as they all are in the prophets, very graphic. 220 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:26.900 Verse Eleven says, now many nations are assembled against you, saying let her 221 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:33.170 be defiled and let our Eyes Gaze Upon Zion. This is a desperate situation 222 00:22:33.529 --> 00:22:38.329 in which Israel will find herself in, and this happens from time to time 223 00:22:38.450 --> 00:22:45.160 in the world. Jesus and his parents experience this at his birth, when 224 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:52.079 Herod went to go and murder the baby boys throughout that region, they ran 225 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:56.519 away to Egypt of all places, to Egypt, the place where God had 226 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:00.349 rescued his people from, and there are they are, fleeing back to Egypt 227 00:23:00.950 --> 00:23:08.589 to save their son. There are times when God's people will find themselves like 228 00:23:08.829 --> 00:23:15.299 there is no way out, like the nations themselves are assembled against us, 229 00:23:15.380 --> 00:23:19.059 that the powers of this world and the powers of darkness at there is no 230 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:26.339 way out in situations like these. God tells us to see things from his 231 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:33.769 perspective, and here it is. Are you ready? Verse Twelve. But 232 00:23:33.089 --> 00:23:41.480 they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. They do not understand his 233 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:52.880 plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. This 234 00:23:52.039 --> 00:24:00.789 is like if you imagine going into your house and pulling together all the papers. 235 00:24:02.509 --> 00:24:03.789 Just pay. I don't know if you have this problem. I have 236 00:24:03.910 --> 00:24:07.230 this problem. Lots and lots of papers, right papers that need to be 237 00:24:07.269 --> 00:24:10.779 shredded, and you imagine you pull all these papers together and you got a 238 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:12.900 big stack and you imagine all these pairs paper, saying, look how strong 239 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:22.539 we are, look how united we are, we're all standing here together right 240 00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:26.450 through the shredder. That's the image that he gives here at these yes, 241 00:24:26.609 --> 00:24:34.170 they are all standing together like sheaves ready to be shredded on the threshing floor. 242 00:24:37.569 --> 00:24:42.640 Rise and Thresh O, Daughter of Zion, for I will make your 243 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:47.359 horn iron and I will make your hoofs bronze, and you shall beat in 244 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:52.039 pieces many peoples and you shall devote their game to the Lord, their wealth, 245 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.950 to the Lord of the whole Earth. Of this, of course, 246 00:24:57.029 --> 00:25:02.710 has not yet come. This is never come from Israel, and it is 247 00:25:02.869 --> 00:25:07.180 not right for the church to take this on as our task. Why is 248 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:12.259 that? We are not being disobedient to God and God's commands here, but 249 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:17.859 because this is a time of grace, this is the time of invitation, 250 00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:22.809 this is the time in which God is calling the nations unto himself. He's 251 00:25:22.970 --> 00:25:29.890 calling people into the wedding feast. But there will come a time when judgment 252 00:25:29.970 --> 00:25:33.849 will come upon the world and people will call out and ask for the rocks 253 00:25:33.970 --> 00:25:41.599 to fall on them rather than come under the wrath of God and his holy 254 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:45.680 ones. We sang a mighty fortress earlier, I might have bookmarked to hear 255 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:55.750 I did you know it says that Dost ask who that may be. This 256 00:25:55.950 --> 00:25:57.470 is God, the man of God's own choosing us, asking me that may 257 00:25:57.509 --> 00:26:00.829 be Christ, Jesus. It is he Lord Sabbah, oath his name. 258 00:26:02.069 --> 00:26:07.460 What does that mean, Sabboth? It means Lord of hosts. The image 259 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:17.059 is of Jesus arrayed with his millions upon millions of fiery angels who are powerful, 260 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:22.130 and his armies ready to do his bidding. These angels who, on 261 00:26:22.170 --> 00:26:26.289 the day of Resurrection, will come into the world, will gather up his 262 00:26:26.569 --> 00:26:36.440 people, rescuing them and bring about Justice in the name of Christ. This 263 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:40.759 is the victory to which we belong and this is the victory which we anticipate. 264 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:47.910 We call, we are calling now. What we are doing now is 265 00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:55.589 we are calling people come over the right side. We're saying, look, 266 00:26:55.670 --> 00:27:00.269 the King is extending His grace. We were sinners like you. Come come. 267 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:04.099 He is warning us, he is calling us, he is telling us 268 00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:08.059 that the Jay of judgment is coming. You do not know, you do 269 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:12.500 not understand the thoughts of the Lord, you don't understand his plan, but 270 00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:18.170 you know what God has revealed his plan. He has told us his plan. 271 00:27:18.569 --> 00:27:23.369 In the fullness of time. I'm his son, has come and revealed 272 00:27:23.529 --> 00:27:30.759 God's will for our salvation. And so that's a God's call to us here, 273 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:34.960 a call to wait, to call to persevere, a call to stay 274 00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:45.069 and remain in the Lord. So how do you wait? How do you 275 00:27:45.230 --> 00:27:49.309 persevere? How do you continue to invite even your enemies to come and to 276 00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:55.470 know the Lord Jesus, that they might have justice in him instead of justice 277 00:27:55.509 --> 00:28:00.019 on themselves? How do you continue on under the hardest and even the most 278 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:08.099 difficult circumstances? Here's how. You remember God's promises and you remember that they 279 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:12.970 were promised by God. You remember what he has said, you remember what 280 00:28:14.089 --> 00:28:17.410 he has said about Zion, you remember what he has said about peace, 281 00:28:17.569 --> 00:28:21.769 you remember what he is done in Jesus. You remember the resurrection, you 282 00:28:21.849 --> 00:28:25.849 remember the Cross, and you say, I will person of your I will 283 00:28:26.009 --> 00:28:32.880 carry on, I will strive and and and continue because I belong to the 284 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:38.200 Lord, because I know his plan, because I know the end, and 285 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:48.670 I will be okay. I'm willing to let goods and kindred go this mortal 286 00:28:48.789 --> 00:28:53.910 life, also the body they may kill. God's truth abide is still his 287 00:28:55.230 --> 00:29:03.140 kingdom is forever. I want to close by reading to you a prayer that 288 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:15.930 you'll find in Calvin's commentaries on the beginning of Micahor Grant, Almighty God, 289 00:29:17.049 --> 00:29:22.130 that as Thou hast been pleased to erect the throne of thy son among us, 290 00:29:22.250 --> 00:29:27.319 we may rely on his protection and learn to resign ourselves wholly to thee 291 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:33.440 and never turn aside here and there, but with true obedience. So submit 292 00:29:33.519 --> 00:29:38.230 ourselves to the king who has been appointed by Thee that he may own us 293 00:29:38.309 --> 00:29:44.109 as his legitimate people, and so glorify thy name, that we may not, 294 00:29:44.190 --> 00:29:48.390 at the same time profane it by an ungodly and wicked life, but 295 00:29:48.589 --> 00:29:53.660 testify by our works that we are really thy subjects and that Thou attainest full 296 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:59.380 authority over us, so that THY name may be sanctified and THY spirit may 297 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:03.819 really guide us. Until at length, THY son, who has gathered us 298 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:08.890 when we were, I'm awfully gone astray, gather us again to that kingdom 299 00:30:10.329 --> 00:30:12.529 which he has purchased for us by his own blood.