The Loss of Stability Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Loss of Stability Part 2. He will be reading out of Isaiah 3:1-19.

Yes, the Bible teaches that Christ will judge all unbelievers at the great white throne judgment, that those who do not believe in Christ will be cast into the lake of fire. And I believe there is a heaven to gain, and there is a real hell to shun. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from The Open Door Church, and we welcome you to the Hope Worth Having radio program.

We’re excited that you are with us today, and we’re looking forward to sharing God’s word with you. We’re in Isaiah chapter three, so I want you to grab your Bible and let’s get right into this study. That’s what’s going on.

I know we don’t like to hear it, and I know that people say, well, I’m for this and I’m for that. Listen to me, my friends, what you need to be is for the Lord Jesus Christ. You don’t need to worry about what political team you’re on.

You need to make sure that you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that you’re on God’s team, amen? I think about all that’s happening, and my heart grieves over what we read, what is popping up on our social media feeds, what is we’re witnessing on television or radio or these things that we’re hearing about. It only helps me understand more of what God says to us in this sense, that God is not the author of confusion. If you’re confused about your identity, if you’re confused about your gender, if you’re confused about your purpose, that didn’t come from God.

That didn’t come from the word of God. The Bible teaches us just the opposite. God is a God of order.

He is a God of structure. He is a God of purpose and great intent, and He has a plan for our lives, and He has a will for our life, and the only way that we will find true significance and true meaning is to follow the will of God. Your significance is rooted in your relationship with Jesus Christ, and to try to go the way of the world, and they’re only going to cause more confusion in your life and more chaos in your life, but God is not the author of confusion, but the world is, and the flesh is, and Satan is, and so this confusion oppresses on our young people, and they’re trying to navigate through all these voices that are telling them this and that as if somehow God made a mistake about their life, but God makes no mistakes, does He? Our God is perfect in His purposes.

We don’t always understand them, and we may not always agree with them in our finite life that we live and that we are not always understanding of the big picture, but we still give praise to God. We still worship the Lord. We understand what is happening, and we know the Lord has a plan, and we fulfill that plan, and what I’m saying to you this morning is that what you’re witnessing in chapter three of the nation of Judah and the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of Judah is exactly the path that America is on.

Thankfully, God is long-suffering, isn’t He? And as even our nation ravagely destroys one another and devours one another, as the Apostle Paul said, we are under the promise that there’s coming a day when God is going to right the wrongs, and God is going to bring peace, and He’s going to bring purity, and He’ll rule and reign with justice and righteousness. The question is, are you ready? Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ? When you see all these things bubbling up and you see the things that are unfolding in our nation, you really ought to take a spiritual inventory on your life. I know it’s easy to curse the darkness, but what you really ought to do is say, where am I at? Am I spiritually ready? Because it seems to me that the signs of the times are imminent upon us, and we can see that His return is very near, and thus, we should be ready to meet our Savior.

Amos said to the people of God, are you prepared to meet your God? Are you prepared? That is not only essential for you and I as followers of Christ, but if you’re here this morning and do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you have never put your trust in Him for your salvation, you must know that judgment is imminent, that it is soon coming. Not only with the return of the Lord, there is going to be judgment upon unbelieving sinners. Yes, that’s what the Bible teaches.

That is what is upon us. And we see, as we read all the way through verse 18, all the way through verse 23, as he describes the different things that the women are trying to do to get attention to themselves, then we come to verse 25, your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty in the war. Her gates shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, shall sit on the ground.

Talking about the nation, the nation. Now, we don’t like to think of God in terms of judgment, but we must remember that God’s judgment is very purposeful. It is purposeful for us as a nation, as a community, and certainly as a church family.

What is God’s purpose in His judgments that He brings upon us? Please remember what I told you earlier, that it’s not that we’re waiting for the judgment of God. What you’re witnessing is the judgment of God upon this nation, a nation that is slaughtered, unborn babies, millions of them. A nation that has turned their back against God, a nation that looks to everything but the Lord for answers.

What is the purpose of God’s judgment? Well, first of all, I would say to you, it displays His glory. The judgment of God displays the glory of God. Revelations 14, 7 reminds us that we are to fear God and give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.

When we see the manifestation of the judgment of God, we ought to worship God and give glory to God because we are reminded that our God has not forgotten us, that He is bringing attention to the matter, and that He is letting things unfold in a purposeful way to bring about the most glory to Him. My life and your life is about the glory of God. It has been written by our forefathers that the chief end of man is to glorify God.

Every day that we rise up, it is to glorify God. But yet, even in the judgment of God, whether that is upon me personally or that is upon a nation, we can bring glory to God Almighty. Why else would God bring judgment? To vindicate the righteous.

To vindicate the righteous. The Bible says in Revelation 6, 10 that they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? We understand the scriptures to teach us that it won’t be long before the church of Christ is raptured out of here. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the trump will sound.

The dead in Christ will rise from the grave. That’s some of our loved ones, isn’t it? And they will rise from the grave, united with their soul and spirit. And then the dead in Christ who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with the Lord to be with Him forever.

Can God’s people say amen? That will usher in a seven-year tribulation. The seven-year tribulation will be about God getting the attention of the nation of Israel so it all can culminate within this seven years to Romans chapter 11, verse 26, which the scripture says that all Israel shall be saved. In the midst of that, people have said, Well, in the tribulation, you can’t get saved.

But that’s wrong. Because Revelation chapter 6, which is in the midst of the tribulation period, says that there are those who were martyred during the tribulation who are before the throne of God, and they’re asking God the question, How long before you avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Here’s what they’re saying. Lord, how long will it be before you right the wrongs? During the tribulation, the Antichrist will take over, and he will rule the world in a one-world government system, a one-world economic system, and a one-world religious system.

He will control everybody. And those who refuse to take his mark, the mark of the beast, will be martyred. They will flee to the mountains.

They will hide from the Antichrist and his cohorts, who will try to do everything that they can to destroy those who will not align with the Antichrist. What will be the result is that there will be many who have come to Jesus Christ during the tribulation period, because the Bible says that there’ll be 144,000 evangelists who will be raised, and they will spread the gospel to every person on every planet. Can you imagine 144,000 Billy Grahams telling people to get right with Jesus Christ and to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Isn’t that going to be awesome? And these 144,000 will be invincible.

They will not be able to be stopped by the Antichrist, and they will continue to march forward to fulfill the purpose of God. People will come to Christ. They will refuse the mark of the beast.

They will be martyred for the cause of Jesus Christ. They will stand before the throne, and they will say to the Lord, how long, how long before you avenge our blood? We read in the book of Revelation, when you read about the bowls and the vials and the trumpets, these are the outpouring of the judgment of God. What is going to be taking place in this seven-year tribulation is not only all of hell will be opened up and the wrath of Satan will be poured upon the nations and the people, but all of heaven will be opened up, and the wrath of God and the judgment of God will be poured upon the people through the expression of trumpets, bowls, and vials, and they will then experience the wrath of God and Satan so much that they will desire to be hidden in the cliffs and the rocks because they cannot stand all that they are experiencing.

And why is it that God is allowing this to unfold? Two purposes, church. Do not forget it. Number one is to vindicate the righteous.

And number two, to bring the nation of Israel to true salvation. God’s judgment is purposeful not only to display his glory and to vindicate the righteous, but to defend the weak. The psalmist said in Psalm 140 verse 12, I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor.

It’s so unfortunate to see people take advantage of the poor and to afflict the weak, but the day is coming that God will judge and he will vindicate those and defend those who are weak among us. Why is it that God’s judgment is purposeful, as we already mentioned, to bring salvation to people? We already went through that, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time, but simply to say this, that even in the judgment of God, people can come to the Lord Jesus Christ. We look at judgment as being an evil thing or a bad thing, and perhaps there are times that could be, but I’m telling you, when the judgment is from God, he has a purpose and he’s working out his purpose.

You remember the story in the gospels when there was this large tower that had fallen upon the innocent and fallen upon the people. It was a great tragedy. It brings up the great question, why do good people suffer and why do people face such dramatic tragedies? When they went to Jesus and said, why do you think that this happened? He said to them, do you think you’re better? Do you think that you’re better than other people? That somehow you escaped this tragedy and this suffering because somehow you were better? He reminds them, it is a reminder to you to repent and believe that God even uses the tragedies and the sufferings of this world to draw our attention to the brevity of life and that just like that, life can be over.

That I can jump in a car after church today and I can pull right onto Grandview Avenue and bam, somebody run right into me. That I can go to a restaurant and eat a wonderful lunch and then bam, have a heart attack. That’s how brief life is.

A tragedy can happen, something that we’ve never anticipated, but it’s a send a message to all of humanity. Life is like a vapor. It’s here today and gone tomorrow.

Are you prepared to meet the Lord? Are you ready to stand before Jesus Christ, which brings us to what I believe to be the ultimate purpose of the judgment of God. It is to turn people to God. Hebrews 12, verse 5 and 6 reminds us that God disciplines us even as believers and he says, and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, my son do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor faint when you are punished by him for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he punishes every son whom he accepts.

When you and I get off track, when we start going our own way, instead of the way of the Lord, the Lord knows how to bring us back in alignment with him. He just does. Just like your parents did, or at least they should have.

I know people say to me, pastor, I’m against spanking and I always feel like maybe I was one spanking away from being a good kid, amen. Judgment serves as a means of getting our attention. God’s punishment is both corrective and restorative.

It is not to destroy. God is not trying to destroy our lives as much as he’s trying to correct our lives and he’s trying to restore our lives back to him, to fully faithful, devoted followers of Christ. Isaiah 19, verse 22 says that the Lord will strike Egypt, he will strike and heal it and they will return to the Lord and he will be entreated by them and heal them.

God knows how to get our attention. Temporal judgments may turn people to God and save them from eternal judgment. I want you to take your Bible this morning very quickly to 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians, those of you that are able, you have your Bible. If you don’t, grab one in front of the pew there. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, I want you to go there if you will.

If you are with us on a regular basis, you know that when we have our communion services that we often reference 1 Corinthians chapter 11. We take it very serious. The Bible instructs us that we are to approach the Lord’s table in a manner that is worthy unto God, worthy of what he has accomplished for us.

That is that we don’t bring grudges to the Lord’s table. We don’t bring our guilt to the Lord’s table. We don’t bring our grievances to the Lord’s table.

We don’t bring our pride and glory to the Lord’s table. We come as humble servants and that’s why we are instructed in verse 28 of chapter 11, let a man examine himself and let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Why? Because verse 29 says, he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

He’s not talking to the unbeliever in this passage. He’s talking to you and me because the only people that are allowed to come to the Lord’s table are those who love Jesus Christ, those who believe in Christ. And yes, the word judgment is in the Bible.

How about that? And he says that if you come with the wrong heart, you are eating and drinking judgment to yourself because you’ve disrespected what Christ has accomplished. He goes on to say in verse 30, I want you to stay with me, church. For this reason, many are weak and sick among you and many sleep or have died.

These are not Mike’s words. These are the words of God. God takes it so serious that part of this judgment may manifest itself in sickness, weakness, and even death.

But what is the remedy? Look at verse 31. If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. And I might add this by God.

If you had the courage and the faith to judge your own sin now, you would not have to be judged later by God. If you had the faith to confess your sin now, to come clean with God now, it would all be under the blood. For if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to cleanse us and to forgive us of our sins.

And yet too many believers are holding on to their sin. They’ve got it tucked into that closet. It’s a secret sin.

Nobody knows about it. They’ve not come clean and honest before God, and they are keeping it from everyone. And God says, you need to deal with it.

And it’s better to deal with it now. Your doctor may say, hey, it’d be better if you dealt with this now than wait till later. And God is saying spiritually, it’d be better if you dealt with it now than wait till later than wait till later.

Some people think that Jesus is too kind to judge anyone. However, Jesus spoke more about hell than he ever did about heaven. Jesus spoke often about the reality and the seriousness of God’s judgment.

And his disciples and apostles taught the same in the word of God. I want you to later this day, maybe as you close out the Lord’s day, you could spend some time in the scriptures today. But in the gospel of John chapter five, verse 22, 27 and 30, we’re reminded of how God does bring judgment.

Well, I know that’s heavy. It’s hard for us to digest all the pastor Mike’s saying here. Imagine Judah as they heard the prophet Isaiah say all this.

And I’m being a lot nicer than Isaiah was. But what do we do about this, Mike? What do we do about this? My final thoughts and I’ll set you free. For us to remember that Jesus is the only savior and his gospel is the only gospel.

The word gospel means good news. And the reason the good news is so good to us, because the bad news is so bad to us. When you read Isaiah chapter three, you can be overwhelmed with the bad news.

You can be overwhelmed with sin and you can be overwhelmed with the judgment of God. But I’m here to bring you good news, church. And that is the gospel of Jesus Christ, not the gospel of the world.

That is a fleeting good news. That is a good news that will not lead to salvation. I’m not bringing you the good news of false teachers who promise you so much more than whatever could be delivered to you.

But I’m bringing you the good news of Jesus Christ. Yes, the Bible teaches that Christ will judge all unbelievers at the great white throne judgment. Yes, the Bible teaches us that those who do not believe in Christ will be cast into the lake of fire.

And I believe as I took you through that series on heaven and hell, I believe the word of God and I believe what it says. And I believe there is a heaven to gain and there is a real hell to shine. I believe it, church.

And if I didn’t, I would not stand up here and go through all that I go through. Just for nothing. You understand that? And neither would you.

Neither would you. If there is no heaven and there is no hell, let us eat, drink and be merry and live selfishly however we want to. But there is a heaven and there is a hell.

And so what do we do? Well, for those of you that trust in Christ, Christ has already judged our sin on the cross. We deserve God’s judgment, but Jesus took our place on the cross. Thus, we hold on to the promise of Romans chapter 8 verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

That’s why Isaiah encouraged them in verse 10 of chapter 3 that there is this remnant and this remnant will be rewarded. And this remnant of believers are safe and protected by God. And listen, no matter how difficult this world gets, whether it’s in your personal circumstances or in a national political sense or whatever direction this nation goes, we can still love God.

We can still live for Christ. Why? Because we have the hope that there is no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ. Church, I don’t have to be afraid.

I don’t have to worry because why? Jesus went to the cross for me. He took my place on the cross. Christ took all the fury of God’s wrath.

We deserved. He bore the punishment, the guilt, the shame of all who believe. That’s why the gospel is such good news.

That’s why Paul would go on to say in verse 32 of chapter 11, first Corinthians, in which we just read. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. Why is it that God would chasten us? Why would he discipline us as believers? Because we’re not acting like we should.

We’re not representing the faith. We’re not representing the cause. We’re not representing the mission.

And so God will align us. He will discipline us. But we’re not condemned with the world.

Why? Why are we not condemned with the world? Why is it that this judgment that is coming upon the world? Why is it that we escape it? Because first, we’re not ordained to it. But second of all, because we have put our faith in Christ and what he did on the cross for our sins. And God’s people said, men, church, knowing the wrath and judgment of God should cause each of our hearts to cherish the gospel.

God delivers his people from the judgment of sin through the sacrifice of Christ. It is no wonder the apostle said that we are not to be shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven. Yes, we read chapter three and we say, that’s a mess.

We see our world and we say, that’s mass confusion. But church, you keep trucking forward for Christ because he died for your sins and you have the hope of the gospel and you have something to look forward to every day no matter how messed up this world gets. And you cling to that old rugged cross and you give thanks to God that at the bare minimum, you know Jesus Christ and you are protected and shielded from the wrath and the anger and the judgment of God because you are in Christ and there is no condemnation.

But we do not well, church, if we just hold this good news to ourselves. Let us fan out into this community and continue to have spiritual conversations with our friends, our family, strangers, people that God puts in our path. And as they talk about the bad news of the world, and they will remind them of the good news in Jesus Christ.

Well, this has been a straightforward message and God pulls no punches and through his prophet, he is reminding us how important it is to build our lives on the solid rock of Jesus Christ and how important it is for us to stay focused in our walk with him. And so we hope that you are striving and that you are giving all your energy and that you are living for Jesus Christ and that God will use that to create spiritual stability in your life and help you to be a solid person for him. Now, we do remind you that we have a podcast and we have blogs and you can check all these out on HopeWorthHaving.com and you just go under the About Us, the different ministries we have, and these things will pop up and you’ll see whether you like to read, listen, exercise, listening, whatever works for you.

And you can continue to be challenged in the word of God. You also have it all on video and you can take advantage of that through our YouTube channel. And we hope that you will use these tools for God’s glory.

This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.