Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO210043S
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00:25 Hello, I'm Jill Morikone,
00:26 and welcome to 3ABN Worship Hour. 00:28 I'm so glad that you have joined us 00:30 as we open up the Word of God 00:32 and discover more about who He is and His character. 00:36 Our topic today is an interesting one to me. 00:38 It's one I've been studying 00:41 and I wouldn't say I've arrived, 00:43 but it's amazing to see 00:45 more of God's character as I study His Word. 00:48 Our topic is God of love, God of justice. 00:53 How do you reconcile a loving God 00:55 with a God who brings judgment? 00:58 He clearly is a God of love. 01:00 He's the God who raises the dead 01:02 and heals the sick and sets the captives free. 01:05 He's the God who enables the lame to walk, 01:08 the blind to see, the deaf to hear. 01:12 He's the God who forgives sins and transforms hearts 01:15 and homes and breaks 01:16 the chains of sin and addiction. 01:19 He's also the God who forgives 01:22 and heals, who loves, accepts, cherishes, 01:26 who redeems and sanctifies and cleanses. 01:32 But yet He is also a God of justice. 01:35 He's the God who delivered the Israelites, yes, 01:38 but He delivered them 01:39 by destroying Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea. 01:44 He's the God who ordered 01:45 the destruction of the Canaanite nations 01:48 when the children of Israel were released 01:51 from bondage in Egypt 01:52 and they came back to Canaan, God authorized, 01:55 ordered the destruction 01:57 of the surrounding Canaanite nations. 02:00 He's also the God who will cast the wicked 02:02 into the lake of fire at the end of time, 02:05 where they will be burned up. 02:07 So that sin, it can be eradicated forever. 02:10 So how do we reconcile this God of love 02:13 with a God who brings judgment or a God of justice? 02:19 Our opening scripture is 1 John Chapter 4. 02:21 You probably know it. 02:23 You can quote it with me. 02:24 1 John 4:8, "He who does not love 02:28 does not know God, for God is love." 02:33 Let's pray. 02:34 Holy Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus. 02:36 Right now, would You open up our minds 02:39 and hearts to Your Word. 02:42 Would You speak, would You show us 02:44 more of Your character 02:47 and that character of love in Jesus' name. 02:50 Amen. 02:51 I was 13 years old, 02:54 just breaking into adolescence thinking 02:57 I knew better than mom and dad. 02:59 Thinking I could do my own thing. 03:03 And my parents incredibly godly, 03:05 wonderful parents. 03:07 At that point in my life, 03:09 I was involved with some friends 03:12 that you could say, 03:13 maybe weren't the best influence in my life. 03:16 I liked to hang with them. 03:18 I liked to associate with them. 03:20 I wanted to do things with them. 03:22 And I remember my mom coming in and saying, 03:24 "Jill you really need to cut off association 03:26 with those people." 03:28 And I said, "What are you talking about? 03:29 I'm not going to cut off association with them. 03:31 They are my friends. 03:34 I like them. 03:36 I want to be with them." 03:39 And I remember my parents. 03:41 Remember I'm 13 giving me this ultimatum and saying, 03:47 "You will cut off your friendship 03:49 with these people." 03:51 And I remember getting mad and I hated that decision. 03:57 And to be honest, 03:59 I hated them as well for a few months, 04:03 but I'm only 13, I didn't run away from home. 04:07 I cut off the relationship 04:09 with these people, the association. 04:12 And um, I've recognized later, not at that time 04:17 because I was pretty mad, 04:18 but it only took a couple months 04:20 to realize that 04:22 their influence was pulling me from God. 04:27 You see love. 04:28 My parents loved me dearly. 04:30 Love had to set boundaries. 04:33 Love brought judgment, you could say in my life. 04:37 But eventually that resulted in redemption. 04:42 How do we reconcile this God of love 04:44 with this God of justice? 04:47 I want to start with the God of justice part. 04:50 I call it the apparent harshness of our God. 04:53 The reason I used the word apparent is it appears, 04:57 or it seems like he can be harsh. 05:00 I think of Deuteronomy, 05:02 turn with me to Deuteronomy Chapter 32. 05:04 This, of course, is Moses' song. 05:06 This would be right at the end of his life. 05:09 And Joshua was already been given 05:11 the charge to lead the children of Israel. 05:14 And Moses is reminding the Israelites 05:16 right before he dies 05:18 of their covenant relationship with God. 05:21 And he reminds them of what God did for them 05:24 and what will happen if they turn their back 05:26 and they walk in disobedience to him. 05:29 So we're in Deuteronomy 32:39. 05:32 We see that judgment will come if they forsake him. 05:37 Deuteronomy 32:39, "Now see that I, 05:41 even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me, 05:45 I kill and I make alive, 05:48 I wound and I heal, 05:52 nor is there any who can deliver 05:54 from My hand." 05:56 Then we see another judgment come upon those who hurt 05:59 and oppress others. 06:00 Jump over to the Book of Exodus. 06:02 This is part of the covenant given of course at Mount Sinai. 06:06 When the Ten Commandments are given is Exodus 20, 06:08 but we're going to Exodus 22. 06:10 This is some of that moral and ceremonial laws. 06:13 Exodus 22:22-24, 06:18 "You shall not afflict any widow 06:19 or fatherless child. 06:21 If you afflict them in any way and they cry at all to me, 06:26 I will hear their cry and my wrath, 06:29 it will become hot 06:30 and I will kill you with a sword. 06:33 Your wives should be widows 06:34 and your children shall be fatherless." 06:38 We see here God's special concern 06:40 for the orphans, for the widows, 06:41 for those who are 06:42 the most defenseless in society. 06:46 And we see the judgment that will come upon 06:48 those who hurt and oppress others. 06:52 We see a judgment against the wicked. 06:53 Turn with me to Isaiah. 06:55 Isaiah Chapter 66, 06:56 this is the last chapter in the Book of Isaiah. 06:59 Isaiah 66:14, the second half of this verse. 07:03 It says, "The heart of the Lord should be 07:04 known to His servants, 07:06 but His indignation to His enemies." 07:09 Did you catch that? 07:11 The heart of God will be, 07:12 will be soft and tender and kind toward His servants, 07:15 but the indignation 07:18 or wrath will be to His enemies. 07:21 Jump down to verse 16. 07:23 Isaiah 66:16, "For by fire and by his sword, 07:29 the Lord will judge all flesh, 07:32 and the slain of the Lord shall be many." 07:36 Those judged, if you read Isaiah 66, 07:39 you see that those judged actually fought against God. 07:43 They oppressed God's people. 07:45 They walked in hypocrisy and legalism. 07:48 They refused to listen to God. 07:50 They openly worshiped other idols 07:53 and they rebelled against Him. 07:56 Let's jump back. 07:57 We're going to look at one passage. 07:58 One more passage 08:00 before we switch to the God of love. 08:01 One more passage, this is Isaiah Chapter 13. 08:04 Now this is an interesting passage. 08:05 The chapter is a woe or a judgment pronounced 08:10 upon the nation of Babylon. 08:11 Now why was Babylon judged? 08:13 When Isaiah wrote this in Isaiah 13, 08:15 Babylon wasn't even a threat. 08:18 It wasn't even a major superpower 08:19 in the world at that time. 08:22 Assyria was the major superpower 08:24 at that time. 08:25 But later Babylon would come on the national scene. 08:28 They would be a superpower, 08:30 they would judge the children of Israel, 08:33 take them into captivity. 08:34 And after that, 08:36 God judges Babylon for their sins. 08:39 So we're in Isaiah Chapter 13, let's pick it up at verse 4, 08:44 "The Lord of hosts musters the army for battle. 08:47 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, 08:50 the Lord and His weapons of indignation to," 08:54 what's that word? 08:56 "Destroy the whole land." 08:59 So if God is mustering the army for battle, 09:01 clearly He is a warrior 09:05 and He brings destruction. 09:09 They come from a far country to destroy the whole land. 09:15 Let's look at verse 6. 09:16 We are in Isaiah 13:6-8, 09:19 "Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! 09:22 It will come as destruction," there's that word again, 09:25 "from the Almighty. 09:27 Therefore all hands will be limp, 09:30 every man's heart will melt, and they will be afraid." 09:35 God's destruction brings fear to the wicked. 09:39 We see this, we know, remember in Genesis, 09:41 Adam and Eve, 09:43 when they sinned, what happened? 09:44 Instantly sin brings fear and sin brings guilt. 09:49 I wish I could tell you this was a long time ago, 09:52 but it happened actually quite recently. 09:54 There was a situation 09:55 and I just felt a little fear in my heart, 09:59 a little guilt. 10:01 And instantly God said, 10:03 Jill that fear is because there is sin in your life. 10:07 Wow! 10:09 God, I don't want that. 10:10 Will you take that from me? 10:13 So any time that we have that, 10:16 that sense of fear from God 10:18 or that sense of guilt, that is because of sin. 10:21 And we see that happen with Adam and Eve. 10:23 The minute they partook of the forbidden fruit, 10:26 what happened? 10:28 Instantly, they were afraid. 10:31 And we see this at the very end of time, 10:33 the wicked, what will they do? 10:35 They would cry out and say fall on us to the rocks 10:37 because they are afraid to meet God. 10:42 Jump down to verse 9. 10:43 We are in Isaiah 13:9, 10:45 "Behold the day the Lord comes cruel 10:47 with both wrath 10:48 and fierce anger to lay the land desolate, 10:52 and He will destroy its sinners from it." 10:57 Verse 11, Isaiah 13:11, "I will punish the world." 11:02 This is I, God speaking. 11:03 "I will punish the world for its evil 11:07 and the wicked for their iniquity." 11:09 You notice the things that 11:11 the judgment is coming because of evil. 11:13 The judgment's coming because of iniquity. 11:17 I will halt the arrogance of the proud. 11:20 The judgment's coming because of arrogance and pride. 11:25 I will lay low 11:27 the haughtiness of the terrible. 11:29 The judgment's coming because of haughtiness. 11:32 Jump down to verse 15, 11:34 Isaiah 13:15, 11:36 "Everyone who is found will be thrust through." 11:40 That means they're going to be killed. 11:42 "And everyone who is captured 11:44 will fall by the sword." 11:48 The next verse is probably 11:49 the heaviest to me in this section, 11:52 Isaiah 13, it says, 11:54 "Their children also will be 11:57 dashed to pieces before their eyes. 12:00 Their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished." 12:04 Now ravished in Hebrew means to be lain with or violated. 12:10 So their children will be dashed in pieces, 12:12 their houses plundered and their wives 12:14 we could say will be raped. 12:16 Now in war or any place in society, 12:21 if innocent women 12:23 and children are killed, what happens? 12:25 We get upset. Don't we? 12:27 If there's even punishment and judgment 12:30 against people who do that, engage in that. 12:32 You know, they're in the battlefield 12:34 and soldiers maybe seek out women 12:36 or seek out children and hurt them. 12:39 Our moral compass says, something's wrong with this. 12:44 Why are innocent bystander seeming to be killed? 12:49 If that's hard for you to read, I agree with you. 12:52 Some of these passages in the Word of God, 12:56 if I'm being very frank with you 12:57 from my growing up years, 12:59 I avoided them. 13:00 I did not want to touch them. 13:03 I did not want to go there 13:05 because I could not reconcile in my own mind 13:09 this God of love. 13:11 This God who forgives, this God who cleanses, 13:15 this God who will restore. 13:17 How do I reconcile that with a God 13:22 who brings judgment? 13:24 And sometimes it seems like 13:26 it's pretty severe judgment. 13:30 I believe that everything that we read in the Word of God, 13:34 everything that we study 13:37 is to be looked at through the lens, 13:40 glasses of God is love. 13:44 So how do we interpret this God of justice 13:47 or judgment? 13:49 If we look at it through the lens of God is love. 13:53 Remember our opening scripture, 13:55 1 John 4:8, "He who does not love 13:58 does not know God, for God is love." 14:01 It doesn't say God does love. 14:03 It doesn't say God acts like love. 14:05 It says God is love. 14:09 I would submit to you that 14:10 there are five keys 14:12 to understanding the character of God. 14:16 And if we understand, 14:18 begin to learn what these five keys are, 14:22 it helps us in our understanding 14:25 of this apparent harshness or judgment from God. 14:30 I'm going to give you the five keys 14:32 and then we will unpack each one. 14:34 Key number one, love is holy. 14:38 Key number two, love is jealous. 14:43 Key number three, love is disciplinary. 14:48 Key number four, love is fair. 14:52 And key number five, love is redemptive. 14:57 So let's unpack each one of those keys 14:58 as we seek to get a better understanding 15:00 of the character of God and who He is. 15:04 Key number one, love is holy. 15:06 God's judgment can only truly 15:09 be understood in light of the purity 15:13 and holiness of God 15:15 and the dissonance or the disconnect 15:17 that creates between holiness on this side 15:21 and sin on this side. 15:24 Sin cannot exist in the presence of God. 15:28 And we don't even 15:29 have a clear perception conception 15:32 of the distastefulness of sin, 15:35 of the ugliness of sin, of the end result of sin 15:39 until we look at the cross, 15:41 and we see the end result of sin is that Jesus, 15:46 the spotless Lamb of God was crucified 15:49 for your sins and for mine. 15:52 We referenced just a few moments ago 15:54 in Genesis 3:8. 15:57 This is, of course, when Adam and Eve, 15:58 after they partook of that forbidden fruit. 16:01 Genesis 3:8, "They heard the sound of the Lord God. 16:05 This is Adam and Eve walking in the cool of the day. 16:08 And Adam and his wife hid themselves 16:10 from the presence of the Lord God, 16:13 among the trees of the garden." 16:16 It was just the sound of His voice. 16:20 He didn't condemn them, 16:23 just the sound of Him, and they ran and they hid. 16:28 Now we see this with little kids. 16:30 Do you not? 16:31 You say, now what did you just do? 16:32 Did you just take that cookie? 16:34 And their hands still in the jar, 16:35 and they look and go mm-hmm 16:37 because they don't want to confess 16:39 about what they have just done. 16:42 And all through humanity from the beginning, 16:46 from the garden all the way down 16:48 the stream of time to the end of time, 16:52 we see that sin brings separation from God. 16:57 Why? 16:58 Because love is holy and sin cannot exist 17:02 in the presence of a Holy God. 17:05 We see all the way down. 17:06 We started in Genesis. 17:08 We go to Revelation, turn to Revelation Chapter 6. 17:10 This is of course the sixth seal. 17:14 This is a judgment right 17:15 before the second coming of Christ. 17:17 Revelation Chapter 6, let's pick it up in verse 16, 17:21 "The wicked cry out, fall on us and hide us 17:25 from the face of him sitting on the throne 17:28 and from the wrath of the Lamb." 17:30 The next verse, verse 17, 17:32 "For the great day of His wrath has come 17:34 and who is able to stand." 17:36 So they're saying, we are sinful and we recognize 17:40 that we cannot exist in the presence of God. 17:43 Why? Because love is holy. 17:48 God is holy. 17:51 Who are the holy ones who can stand in His presence? 17:53 If you look at the very next chapter in Revelation 7, 17:56 you see this whole process of feeling 17:59 of those who choose to follow Jesus. 18:02 And we find out that God makes them holy as well. 18:06 We see this in Revelation 14. 18:09 Revelation 14:1, "I looked and behold a lamb 18:12 standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000 18:15 having the Father's name written in their foreheads." 18:20 Jump down to verse 4. 18:21 Revelation 14:4-5, 18:24 "These are the ones who are not defiled 18:26 with woman, for they are virgins. 18:28 These are the ones who follow the Lamb, 18:30 wherever He goes. 18:31 These were redeemed from among men, 18:34 being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 18:37 And in their mouth was found no deceit, 18:41 for they are without fault before the throne of God." 18:46 David tells us the same thing in Psalm 24:3-4, 18:50 "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? 18:52 Who may stand in His holy place? 18:55 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 18:58 who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, 19:01 nor sworn deceitfully. 19:03 He shall receive the blessings from the Lord." 19:07 First key, love is holy. 19:09 God's judgment can only truly be 19:12 understood in light of the purity 19:14 and holiness of God and the dissonance that 19:16 that creates between holiness on the one side 19:19 and sin on the other side. 19:22 Second key, love is jealous. 19:26 God's judgment can only truly be understood 19:30 in the light of an idol that we hold in place of Him. 19:35 Let's look at the Ten Commandments. 19:37 Exodus 20:5. 19:39 You might think, how could love be jealous? 19:42 I thought jealousy was a bad thing. 19:45 I grew up being told you 19:47 are not supposed to be jealous of others. 19:49 And that is true. 19:50 So how can love be jealous and that be a good thing? 19:53 Let's look at that. 19:54 Exodus 20:5, you shall not, 19:58 this is part of the Ten Commandments. 19:59 "You shall not bow down to them nor serve them," 20:02 meaning other idols, "for I the Lord your God, 20:06 I'm a," what's that word? 20:09 Did you catch that? 20:10 "I, the Lord, your God am a jealous God 20:14 visiting the iniquities of the fathers 20:16 upon the children, 20:18 to the third and fourth generations 20:19 of those who hate Me." 20:22 Now that word jealous in Hebrew qana. 20:24 It is used six times and every single one 20:28 of those six times, it always refers to God. 20:33 Not you and I, not our type of human jealousy, 20:37 which is quite sinful. 20:38 It refers to God and His jealousy. 20:42 So is there a difference between sinful jealousy 20:44 on the one side 20:46 and a godly jealousy on the other side? 20:49 Absolutely. 20:51 Godly jealousy is jealous for us. 20:55 That's the divine truth. 20:56 Sinful jealousy is jealous of us. 21:01 Let me explain what I mean. 21:03 Let's start with a sinful jealousy. 21:04 Sinful jealousy of such is being jealous 21:07 of something that you don't have. 21:11 It could be being jealous of someone else's gifts. 21:14 Boy, I sure wish I could play the piano 21:16 like Tim Parton. 21:17 Okay. That's jealous of someone else. 21:20 I wish I could sing like Dr. Yvonne Shelton, 21:22 jealous of someone else's gifts. 21:26 We can be jealous of someone else's position. 21:29 Do we have that position? 21:30 Absolutely not, but we wish that we had it. 21:35 We can be jealous of someone else's spouse. 21:37 Do we have that spouse? 21:38 Absolutely not, but we wish that we had them. 21:43 We can be jealous of someone else's money 21:46 or house or family. 21:48 There's so many different things. 21:50 Sinful jealousy is being jealous 21:51 of something that you don't have. 21:54 By contrast, godly jealousy 21:57 is being jealous of something 21:58 you already own, 22:02 jealous for something you already own. 22:06 You see, we already belong to God. 22:08 He's jealous of us 22:10 because He owns us you could say. 22:13 We're twice bought first is by creation, 22:17 because He made us. 22:18 Second is by redemption 22:21 because He bought us back to Himself. 22:26 Why is God jealous for us? 22:29 Because if love is holy, which it is. 22:32 God wants nothing in our affections 22:36 between Him and us, 22:38 nothing that supersedes the place in our affections, 22:41 nothing that we put as an idol 22:45 as it were in our hearts above God. 22:48 Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 10. 22:50 He uses the analogy of marriage. 22:53 2 Corinthians 10 verses... 22:56 2 Corinthians 11. 22:57 I gave you the wrong reference. 22:59 2 Corinthians 11:2, 23:01 "For I'm jealous over you with godly jealousy. 23:05 For I have betrothed you to one husband 23:08 so that to Christ 23:09 I might present you as a pure virgin." 23:11 So he's talking about the relationship of us 23:14 as the church with Christ as the bride, 23:18 and He's jealous for us. 23:20 Why? Because He owns us. 23:23 I love that in Isaiah 43:1, "Now thus says the Lord, 23:28 who created you, 23:29 remember He made us in the beginning, 23:31 O Jacob and he who formed you O Israel. 23:35 Fear not, for I have redeemed you. 23:39 I have called you by your name. 23:41 You are mine." 23:43 You see that ownership. 23:44 He says what? We belong to Him. 23:47 Love is holy and cannot handle sin in my life. 23:52 Love is jealous 23:55 and cannot handle others in my life. 23:58 Let's look at key number three, love is disciplinary. 24:02 Ooh, this one's hard sometimes. 24:04 I don't know about you 24:05 but sometimes I don't even like to look at this one. 24:08 Love is disciplinary God's judgment 24:11 can only truly be understood 24:13 in light of a redemptive judgment 24:16 from a parent, 24:18 who loves their child and simply wants to save them. 24:22 Let's look at Hebrews 12. 24:24 Hebrews 12, we'll start in verse 5. 24:28 So tell me as I read this passage, 24:30 what words jump out 24:32 at you that sound like discipline? 24:34 Remember, love is disciplinary. 24:37 What word sound like discipline? 24:39 My son do not despise the chastening of the Lord. 24:42 Does that sound like discipline? 24:44 It's because it is. 24:45 In Greek, it means the rearing of a child or training them. 24:50 So what is Paul saying? 24:52 Do not despise the chastening or the training 24:56 or the discipline of the Lord nor be discouraged 25:02 when you are rebuked by him. 25:06 For whom the Lord loves, He chastens. 25:10 There's that word again and scourges every son, 25:14 we could say, or daughter whom He receives. 25:17 So did you catch that? 25:18 When we go through a situation 25:21 or a trial or something difficult? 25:23 Sometimes I'm just being honest with you, 25:25 my first thought is, 25:26 why is God allowing this to happen? 25:28 Now clearly we know that 25:30 Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. 25:32 Jesus said this in John 10, 10. 25:35 Jesus said, "I've come that they would have life 25:37 and have it more abundantly." 25:38 So we know God does not cause evil. 25:40 Evil is the result of sin and Satan. 25:45 Let me be very clear on that. 25:47 However, there are times in life 25:51 where God allows something, to allow that 25:55 outworking of the great controversy, 25:58 to allow the full fruit, as you can say, 26:00 of sin to ripen and to be seen. 26:05 Sometimes we need a little discipline. 26:09 I don't know about you, but I need a little discipline. 26:12 For whom the Lord loves. 26:13 He doesn't discipline because He doesn't love us. 26:16 He disciplines 26:17 because He loves us for whom the Lord loves, 26:20 He chastens and scourges every son 26:22 whom He receives. 26:24 Jump down to verse 11 we're in Hebrews 12:11. 26:28 Now, no chastening 26:30 or discipline seems to be joyful 26:33 for the present but painful. 26:35 Nevertheless, afterward it yields 26:38 the peace of the fruit of righteousness 26:40 to those who have been trained by it. 26:44 So I want to ask you a question 26:45 and I want you to be honest 26:49 in your own heart with me and with God. 26:52 Do all things really work together for good? 26:56 Romans 8:28. 27:00 What does it say? 27:01 We know that just a few things, the things that I like, 27:04 the things that I want. 27:05 No, we know that all things work together 27:10 for good to those who love God, 27:14 to those who are called according to his purpose. 27:19 Does that mean God can work out 27:22 those painful parts for my good? 27:25 Does that mean that there's something 27:28 I can learn even in the midst of pain? 27:36 I walked into a large room. 27:39 It's probably like the size of the room 27:40 we're in now and you can't really see 27:41 how large this room is 27:43 because you can only see on one side of the cameras. 27:45 But I walked into this room and I saw my friend over, 27:48 across the way at the other side. 27:49 And I was all excited and I thought, 27:51 oh here's my friend. 27:53 And I'm going to go talk to her. 27:54 And I just started across the room 27:55 and I noticed there's a whole crowd of people 27:57 around her. 27:58 And I thought, oh that's great. 27:59 I'm going to go say hi to her. 28:01 And all of a sudden I realized that she's talking about me. 28:04 The words started to come forth, 28:08 hateful words, critical words. 28:13 They were, um, if I'm being honest with you, 28:16 untrue words. 28:18 And I remember I just stood there, 28:20 rooted to the spot. 28:23 I couldn't believe this was my friend. 28:28 Why would she do that? 28:29 And I turned and I ran out to the car 28:33 and I climbed in 28:34 and I remember I just sat in the car. 28:36 I started the engine and I just cried. 28:39 I thought, but I thought we were friends, 28:41 but I didn't expect that but so many questions. 28:45 And I remember going home 28:47 and talking to Greg and thinking 28:50 I would do the Christian thing. 28:53 You know sometimes women and men too. 28:56 I'll have to be honest with you 28:58 are pretty good at gossiping, you know? 29:00 We kind of do it in the... 29:02 We couch it with, would you pray for me for this 29:05 'cause so-and-so did this to me. 29:07 It's nothing but gossip. 29:08 We like to think it's a prayer request, 29:10 but it's gossip. 29:12 And so I thought I'll do the righteous thing 29:14 and I won't talk to other people about 29:16 what this woman did 29:17 and I'll just keep it to myself. 29:18 And I stuffed it and I buried it so deeply that, 29:22 to be honest with you, 29:23 I didn't even know it was still there. 29:25 Months went by 29:28 and I thought I'd gotten over it. 29:29 I still said hi to this person. 29:31 But I hadn't really gotten over it. 29:36 And I was washing dishes 29:40 and right up above the sink 29:44 where I was washing dishes, 29:45 I like to put scriptures so that I can work 29:48 on putting the Word of God 29:49 in my heart and memorize scripture, 29:51 you know, redeem the time. 29:53 So take advantage of that time. 29:55 And so I had a particular scripture up there. 29:57 It was Hebrews 12:14-15. 30:00 I was working on memorizing it 30:02 and it goes something like this, 30:03 "Follow peace with all men and holiness, 30:06 without which no one shall see God." 30:09 And I remember I'm scrubbing plates 30:11 and I'm thinking, thank you God, 30:12 that I'm walking in peace 30:14 with my brothers and sisters and I'm doing well. 30:17 And thank you that I can walk in holiness. 30:19 Not realizing that I had bitterness 30:23 against this woman very deep in my heart. 30:26 Not knowing the sin that was in my life. 30:30 And so I'm scrubbing plates, follow peace with all men, 30:33 oh thank you God. 30:34 But the next verse jolted me 30:36 out of that spiritual complacency 30:39 and it says this, "Looking diligently, 30:42 lest anyone fail of the grace of Christ. 30:46 Lest any root of bitterness, 30:49 springing up trouble you 30:51 and thereby many be defiled." 30:55 And as I read that verse, the Holy Spirit 30:59 right then spoke to my heart and he said, 31:01 "Jill, my precious daughter, 31:04 you are holding on to bitterness 31:07 against this woman. 31:09 And if you do not allow me 31:12 to take it from your heart, 31:15 you will ruin your ministry. 31:18 You will ruin your marriage. 31:21 You will ruin your salvation." 31:26 And so I said, "God, I didn't even realize 31:29 it was in there so deeply. 31:30 Would you please forgive me?" 31:32 And he said, "Of course." 31:33 And I said, "Would you help me learn how to forgive?" 31:38 And he said, "I will." 31:40 What did that experience teach me? 31:45 I struggle with forgiveness. 31:47 God, teach me how to forgive. 31:51 It taught me that I can hold a grudge. 31:54 God teach me how to let go. 31:59 It taught me that I care about 32:02 what other people think of me, 32:05 after all I wouldn't have even cared. 32:08 If I didn't care about what other people thought, 32:10 I would not have cared what this woman said about me. 32:15 It taught me that I struggle with pride. 32:19 God, would You teach me Your humility? 32:23 James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man 32:26 who endures temptation." 32:29 Now that word endures literally means 32:33 to stay behind, to wait 32:36 or to remain under the load. 32:42 That means to remain under. 32:46 So blessed is the man who endures, 32:48 who remains under the load, 32:51 for when he's been approved, 32:54 he will receive the crown of life, 32:58 which the Lord has promised 33:00 to those who love him. 33:03 Psalm 119:67, 33:05 "Before I was afflicted, I went astray. 33:08 I did my own thing. 33:09 I walked in sin, but now I keep Your word." 33:15 Psalm 119:71, jump forward just a couple of verses. 33:20 It is good for me. 33:22 Good for me, did you catch that? 33:23 "It is good for me that 33:26 I have been afflicted 33:29 that I may learn Your statutes." 33:35 Love is disciplinary. 33:39 My friend that I prayed with for years, 33:42 she was my prayer partner. 33:44 She always said this and I loved it. 33:46 God uses the gentlest means possible 33:50 to get your attention. 33:53 If you read the Book of Nehemiah, 33:55 you see in Nehemiah Chapter 9, we won't turn there. 33:58 But in Nehemiah Chapter 9, there is a whole cycle. 34:01 I call it the five-fold cycle that the children of Israel 34:05 went through not once, not twice, 34:09 but three times. 34:10 At least in Nehemiah 9, it's referenced three times, 34:14 and the cycle goes like this. 34:15 It starts with disobedience. 34:18 They walked away from God. 34:19 They did their own thing. 34:21 They followed 34:22 after their own heart's desires. 34:25 That's the first step. The second step is judgment. 34:28 Judgment came from God 34:32 to show them their sins. 34:35 The third step is repentance. 34:38 And the repentance, that's a gift from God too. 34:40 We know Romans 2:4 is the goodness of God 34:42 that leads us to repentance. 34:44 Then the next step, step four was mercy that God extended. 34:48 And then I love the last step is deliverance, 34:51 but then they didn't stay in that delivered state. 34:53 They didn't stay in that repentance state. 34:54 They ran all the way back over here 34:56 to disobedience and it went started again. 34:59 But this time the judgment was a little harder. 35:01 Why? 35:03 Because God uses the gentlest means 35:06 possible to get our attention. 35:08 And why is that? 35:10 He's not willing that any should perish, 35:13 but that all should come to repentance. 35:18 God wants you and I in the kingdom so badly 35:22 that He is willing to allow some pain, 35:27 some trials, some judgment in our lives, 35:32 so that we turn to Him and let Him change us. 35:38 Key number four, love is fair. 35:41 Remember, key number one was love is holy. 35:43 Number two, love is jealous. 35:46 Number three, love is disciplinary. 35:49 Number four, love is fair. 35:52 God's judgment can only truly be understood 35:55 in light of His law and fairness. 36:00 Romans 7, turn with me to the Book of Romans. 36:02 Romans gives like the most incredible treatise 36:04 on justification by faith, 36:06 on the law, on sin and what it is in salvation. 36:09 I love Romans. 36:11 Romans 7:12, "Therefore the law is holy 36:14 and the commandment holy and just and good." 36:17 Is there anything wrong with God's law? 36:19 Absolutely not. 36:20 His law is perfect. 36:21 His law is holy. His law is good. 36:25 Romans 3:23, "We know all have sinned 36:29 and fallen short of the glory of God." 36:30 So His law is here. His law is perfect. 36:32 His law is holy, but you and I, we've transgressed that law. 36:37 We jumped on to Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." 36:40 That is the penalty 36:42 for breaking God's law is death. 36:46 But the gift of God, 36:47 I'm so glad it doesn't stop there. 36:49 The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 36:53 You see, we all should have died. 36:55 We all deserve to be punished. 37:00 If God is holy and His law is perfect. 37:03 You and I, we surely don't meet that standard. 37:07 The sins of Adam and Eve, the sins of you and I, 37:09 the sins of all humanity needed to be blotted out. 37:14 And that's where we come 37:15 to the redemption of Christ at the cross. 37:17 And we'll get there, that's point number five. 37:20 But as we look at point number four, 37:22 love is fair. 37:23 God is not only fair 37:24 in His upholding of His law 37:26 and the punishment of breaking that law. 37:29 He is fair in His dealings with others 37:31 and in bringing justice 37:32 and judgment to those who don't follow Him. 37:36 There is sort of a dichotomy that we see here. 37:40 We plead with God to right our wrongs, 37:42 have you ever done that? 37:44 We plead with God to rescue our families. 37:46 We plead with God to show up. 37:49 Yet when He does arise, what happens? 37:53 We criticize and we say, why is God being harsh? 37:58 Why is God bringing judgment? 38:01 Think about the martyrs. 38:03 This is Revelation talks about this. 38:05 The martyrs who are under the altar 38:08 crying out to God, think of the Christians 38:11 who have been persecuted 38:12 down through the ages, crying out. 38:15 In Revelation it says they cry out, 38:16 how long, oh Lord? 38:18 How long until our mistreatment, 38:21 our abuse, our torture, our death. 38:23 How long until it's vindicated? 38:25 How long until our wrongs are righted? 38:29 We see David crying out in Psalm Chapter 73, 38:33 that chapter is heavy. 38:34 I don't know if you've ever read it, 38:35 but when you read Psalm Chapter 73, 38:38 you see why are the wicked prospering? 38:40 Why does it seem like 38:41 everything is going well for them? 38:43 Why are they not having a hard time? 38:45 And why are the righteous seemingly oppressed? 38:51 Why do the righteous suffer, yet the wicked, they escape? 38:57 We cry today 38:59 because of what we see as injustice 39:02 and pain that goes on in this world. 39:06 Greg and I were in Arizona. 39:07 This is several years ago 39:09 and it was at the end of a church service 39:11 and a woman came up and said, "Can I talk to you?" 39:13 And I said, "Sure." 39:14 And she said, "You know, I'm really struggling. 39:17 And I'd like to tell you my story." 39:19 We'll call her Susie. 39:20 That's not her name. 39:22 And Susie said, you know, 39:23 my husband and I couldn't have kids 39:25 and I could relate 39:26 because Greg and I don't have any kids. 39:28 And then she said, well, we dealt with the pain of that, 39:30 we really wanted kids. 39:32 And we tried for years and we couldn't have kids. 39:34 And then she said, "We decided to adopt. 39:37 And we found a foreign company that would, 39:40 we could do an overseas adoption. 39:42 We were so excited. 39:43 We wanted to be able to have children." 39:47 She said, "We paid a great deal of money 39:50 in order to go through with this adoption. 39:52 The adoptive agency sent us two little girls' pictures. 39:57 We were going to get two little girls." 39:58 And we'll call them Sarah and Mary. 40:00 And so they put Sarah 40:01 and Mary's picture on the fridge, 40:03 and they were so excited. 40:04 And she said, "We named them 40:06 and we prayed for them every day. 40:07 And we could not wait till they came home. 40:08 And then one day Jill, 40:10 I got the news that the two little girls 40:13 that were going to be ours, 40:14 the two little girls we had bought," 40:16 they had paid for them, remember? 40:18 "The two little girls that we would, 40:19 we would love and we would, 40:22 they had been sold in the sex trade, slave trade." 40:28 And she said, "Every day I live with the knowledge 40:31 that my little girls could be dead 40:33 or even worse. 40:36 So we cry out." 40:38 She said, "How do I forgive?" 40:41 We cry today, how long God? 40:43 How long until You rescue those in slavery? 40:46 How long until you release 40:48 those who are abused and neglected? 40:50 How long until You recover hurting families? 40:54 How long God until You feed the starving children 40:56 and until You free persecuted Christians? 40:59 How long until You fight for those who are abused 41:02 and trafficked? 41:03 How long God until You vindicate Your name? 41:06 How long? 41:08 And yet, when He does rise up, 41:10 we don't have time to get into that. 41:12 But the Canaanite nations, think of the children of Israel 41:15 when they were told to destroy 41:17 and to kill those in the Canaanite nations. 41:19 Why? 41:20 Because these practice, they practice these very things 41:23 because there was sin and iniquity 41:25 and child sacrifice and all kinds of wickedness. 41:28 And yet when God does arise, we get mad. 41:32 And we say, 41:34 "Why is He such a God of judgment?" 41:36 When all the times 41:37 before we had pleaded for justice. 41:41 You see love is holy. 41:44 Sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God. 41:48 Love is jealous because not jealous of us, 41:52 but jealous for us because He created us 41:55 and He redeemed us and He owns us. 42:00 Love is disciplinary in the midst of the situations 42:05 and the things that we go through. 42:07 God truly is working 42:10 all of those things out for good, 42:13 because He loves us 42:15 and He wants to make us into His image. 42:20 And love. Love is fair. 42:23 God's judgment can only truly be understood 42:26 in light of His law and fairness. 42:28 Key number five, love is redemptive. 42:32 God's law judgment can only truly be 42:35 understood in light of His redemption. 42:38 Turn with me to 1 Peter. 42:39 1 Peter Chapter 2, 42:40 we see Christ bearing your sins and mine on the cross. 42:46 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins 42:51 in His own body on the tree." 42:53 He took what was mine. 42:55 He took the punishment that I deserved. 42:56 Remember God's law is holy, God's law is perfect. 43:00 And yet you and I, we broke that law, 43:03 and the wages of sin should be death, 43:05 but Jesus took our punishment. 43:09 Jesus took my guilt. 43:11 He took my shame. 43:13 He took my suffering and agony on the cross 43:18 that we having died 43:20 to sins might live for righteousness, 43:23 for by His wounds you were healed. 43:27 I love 2 Corinthians 5:21. 43:29 It talks about that double exchange 43:31 that takes place. 43:33 For He made Him, God made Jesus, 43:36 who knew no sin. 43:38 Because He's perfect to be sin for us, 43:41 that we might become 43:42 the righteousness of God in Him. 43:44 What is he saying? 43:45 My sin, my unrighteousness, 43:48 my breaking of the law was given to His account. 43:52 And by contrast, I took the righteousness, 43:57 the blood of Jesus to cover my sin. 44:02 How do you reconcile a loving God, 44:04 allowing His only Son 44:07 who He left to die a wicked death 44:11 because He is holy, because He is fair 44:16 and the demands of the law, they need to be met 44:19 because the wages of sin is death, 44:21 but the gift of God is 44:22 eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 44:25 Because He is redemptive, 44:29 not willing that any should perish 44:32 but that all should come to repentance. 44:35 You see, I believe God 44:36 does not have multiple personalities. 44:38 You know, they have this whole cycle of stuff 44:40 about psychology, 44:41 about people having multiple personalities. 44:43 And while they are this way one day 44:44 and to be honest with you, 44:46 there's got to be some truth in it 44:47 because I don't know about you, 44:49 but I've met some people like that. 44:50 One day, they're all happy and everything's good. 44:51 And the next day they might get mad 44:53 or they might be upset or they might cry a lot. 44:56 And you think what's the disconnect here? 44:58 What is going on? 45:00 But God is not like that. 45:02 The God of love and the God of justice 45:08 are one and the same. 45:10 How is that? 45:12 Because love is holy and God is holy 45:16 and sin cannot exist in His presence. 45:19 Why? 45:21 Because love is jealous and sin 45:23 and idols that we hold in place of God, 45:28 He wants to get rid of those 45:30 because love is disciplinary and love is fair. 45:35 And most importantly, 45:37 love is redemptive. 45:42 I want to give you a key number six, 45:43 which really has nothing to do with the rest of them. 45:45 All the rest of them 45:47 were understanding the character of God. 45:49 But key number six doesn't help me 45:51 understand God's judgment at all. 45:53 What it does is it helps me walk through it. 45:58 It helps me walk through those difficult, 46:00 hard times in my life. 46:04 Key number six, love is present. 46:08 Do you want a God who walks with you 46:11 through those times in your life? 46:13 Do you want a God who will be present in your life? 46:17 Hebrews 13:5. He says what? 46:19 "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you." 46:24 It was one of the first hot humid days of summer. 46:28 Greg and I had come home and it was so hot. 46:30 I thought I want to go out for a walk, 46:32 but it seems almost too hot. 46:33 So we had dinner first and then I said, 46:35 maybe it's cooled down a bit. 46:37 Maybe we can go outside. 46:39 And he checked the radar 46:40 and he said, boy, a storm's coming. 46:41 If we go, we better go now. 46:43 So we stepped out into the garage 46:44 and I remember the heat hit me in the face. 46:47 It was a flat 95 degrees, 46:50 hot, humid, stifling. 46:56 And so we began to walk and you could look angry, 46:58 black clouds overhead. 46:59 There was clearly a storm brewing 47:02 and we turned down on gravel road. 47:03 And just when we walked out to 47:05 where it opens up into a field 47:09 and it looked like 47:10 a line coming to approach us. 47:12 And I don't know if you've ever seen 47:14 one of those, like the line of rain 47:15 when a torrential rainstorm comes, 47:17 but it looked a little different. 47:19 It was a line. 47:20 I'm not sure I've ever been out when this happened, 47:22 but it was a line of wind. 47:26 And all of a sudden the wind hit us, 47:29 detaching leaves and twigs, and pollen, 47:32 even small branches tossing them 47:35 about in the swirling air currents. 47:38 And Greg was like Jill, we've got to go home now. 47:41 And he turned around and he started to hurry. 47:43 And I just seemed frozen in place. 47:45 I don't know why. 47:46 It was like, I couldn't move. And I was a little scared. 47:49 It seemed like the forest had turned 47:51 into this living breathing thing, 47:54 and I didn't know what to do. 47:56 And then the first large drops of rain began to fall. 48:00 And then somehow my legs began to work and I started running 48:03 and we jogged toward home and just as we hit the garage, 48:07 got to the safety of our garage, 48:09 the rain began in a torrential downpour. 48:12 And as we stood 48:14 in the little doorway of our garage, 48:15 looking out at the yard, all of a sudden, 48:18 my attention was drawn to a starling. 48:22 And I don't know what you think about birds, 48:23 but I have my favorites. 48:26 You know, the blue birds are so cute 48:27 and the cardinals are really pretty and red, 48:31 but a starling is just a simple bird. 48:33 It's a Blackburn. 48:35 It had made a nest 48:37 underneath the eaves of the porch roof. 48:40 We had heard earlier that day, 48:42 because we knew earlier that day, 48:45 we had heard the chirp, chirp, chirp of the little baby birds. 48:48 So we knew that the eggs had hatched. 48:51 And I looked up at the porch roof 48:53 and there was mama starling right on top. 48:56 The wind was buffeting her 48:58 and she was trying to hunker down and come low. 49:00 And I can just imagine 49:02 the babies underneath crying out, 49:05 crying for mama, not knowing that 49:07 she was just above them doing everything 49:12 in her power to protect them. 49:16 And it was like God spoke to my heart in that moment. 49:20 And He said, that's how it is in the storms of life 49:23 when you are troubled, 49:24 when you are buffeted about 49:26 by the storms of temptation of sin of life. 49:29 Trust that I am with you. 49:32 Trust that I am above 49:36 watching over you in love. 49:39 Even if you can't see me, I am here. 49:43 You might have experienced in your life 49:46 what you feel is a God of justice. 49:50 You might feel that 49:52 there's been a lot of judgment in your life, 49:54 a lot of judgment around what you're dealing with. 49:58 And you might say, "God, I can't even find Your love. 50:01 God, I can't even find Your face. 50:04 God, I can't even find who You are." 50:09 My God, your God will never leave you 50:14 even in the midst of what you're going through. 50:17 Even in the midst of that trial and pain, 50:21 He's with you, He is right beside you. 50:25 He wants to be with you. 50:27 He wants to reveal who He is. 50:29 And most importantly of all, He is a God of love. 50:41 I love You Lord 50:46 For Your mercy never fails me 50:51 All my days 50:53 I've been held in Your hands 50:59 From the moment that I wake up 51:03 Until I lay my head 51:08 I will sing of the goodness of God 51:19 All my life You have been faithful 51:26 All my life 51:27 You have been so, so good 51:33 With every breath that I am able 51:38 I will sing of the goodness of God 51:50 I love Your voice 51:53 You have led me through the fire 51:58 In darkest nights 52:01 You are close like no other 52:05 I've known You as a father 52:09 I've known You as a friend 52:15 I have lived in the goodness of God 52:23 All my life 52:25 You have been faithful 52:30 All my life 52:32 You have been so, so good 52:37 With every breath that I am able 52:42 I will sing of the goodness of God 52:49 All my life You have been faithful 52:58 All my life 52:59 You have been so, so good 53:05 With every breath that I am able 53:12 I will sing of the goodness of God 53:21 I will sing of the mercy of God 53:29 I will sing of the forgiveness of God 53:38 I will sing of the goodness of God 53:53 Amen. Thank you, Tim. 53:58 All my life I will sing of the goodness, 54:00 the mercy, the forgiveness, 54:03 the faithfulness of my God. 54:08 Have you had difficulty in your life 54:10 reconciling a God of love 54:13 with a God of justice? 54:16 Maybe it's because there's been 54:18 pain and abuse, maybe it's 54:19 because you have never even captured 54:22 or caught or seen a glimpse 54:26 of who your God is. 54:28 I want to encourage you right now, 54:30 before we pray, spend time in the Word of God. 54:35 If you want to see who Jesus is, 54:37 if you want to uncover the magnificence of our Father, 54:42 if you want to discern who He is 54:44 as a God of love and yes, 54:46 even as a God of judgment but looking at that, 54:50 filtering that through the lens, 54:54 the glasses of Him as a God of love. 54:58 Knowing that love is fair, that love is jealous. 55:04 That love is disciplinary. 55:07 That love is holy 55:10 and love is most of all redemptive. 55:14 Do you want to experience His redemption in your life? 55:17 Do you want freedom 55:18 from those things that bind you? 55:20 Most of all, understanding a greater picture of who He is. 55:26 To me, in my own life, if I can just grasp a picture, 55:31 if I could understand who God is, 55:36 that makes all the difference in the world. 55:40 Holy Father, we come before You right now 55:42 in the name of Jesus. 55:44 Thank You that You are our father. 55:49 And we call on You as Abba, Daddy. 55:53 Thank You that You are our deliverer. 55:57 You are our rock and strength 56:01 and that You want, 56:02 You came to set us free. 56:06 God, I pray for my brothers and sisters right now. 56:09 God, would you set us free, 56:11 set us free from those things that bind us, 56:14 set us free from that sin that ensnares us. 56:17 Set us free from those ways that we have wandered from You. 56:22 Would You draw us back to Jesus 56:25 with Your cords of love? 56:27 Would You open up our minds 56:28 and hearts to receive and understand 56:32 who You are in those pages of scripture. 56:35 Thank you, God, I just ask, I pray for those right now. 56:39 Maybe who've never experienced You, 56:41 who have never seen You, 56:43 who have never known You, 56:46 God, that You would reveal Yourself 56:49 in such an amazing way. 56:52 Thank You God that You have promised 56:54 we can taste and see that You are good. 56:57 And we do that just now wanting to experience You, 57:01 wanting to know You. 57:04 Thank You for the blood of Jesus 57:06 that cleanses us from all sins. 57:09 Thank You that in You, we are new and made whole, 57:14 and we ask all this in the precious 57:16 and holy name of Jesus. 57:19 Amen. 57:20 I want to invite you to join us next time 57:23 for 3ABN Worship Hour as we open up the Word of God 57:26 and study together. |
Revised 2021-04-12