NAU Isaiah 26:8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls. 9 At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Observation: At the heart of the Advent Hope is the proclamation of Judgment as Good News.
NAU Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."
What is this everlasting gospel that this angel bore with him. I believe it is what He proclaims: "Stand in awe of Jesus Christ, and give Him glory, because the time for Him to judge has come."
Judgment is always good news for the people of God because the people of this world will learn righteousness. Those who have battered, abused, beaten, and persecuted God's people will be brought to justice. There will be no more rape, no more incest, no more theft, no more gluttony, no more indulgence of the flesh. All who have abused themselves and others and have refused the saving and life-transforming grace of Jesus will be destroyed. This is sobering and yet relieving news for the righteous. News that allows us to say, there is hope, there is healing, there is closure coming. Relief from the heartache and sorrows caused by the wicked of this world. This is the good news of the judgment.
In addition, the judgment is good news because the Lord's ruling will be in our favor:
Daniel 7:21-22 21 "I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.
NAU Psalm 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 7:6-8 6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries, And arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment. 7 Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You, And over them return on high. 8 The LORD judges the peoples; Vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
Psalm 9:4-5 You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously. 5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
Psalm 35:24-27 24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them rejoice over me. 25 Do not let them say in their heart, "Aha, our desire!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up!" 26 Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me. 27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
Psalm 37:6-9 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. 8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. 9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
Psalm 58:11 "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!"
Psalm 68:5-6 5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. 6 God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
Psalm 135:14 the LORD will judge His people And will have compassion on His servants.
In addition to vindicating us, and giving us possession of the kingdom, God give us the responsibility of judgment. His word declares that we will judge the angels and the inhabitants of the earth.
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
Revelation 20:4 4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Psalm 149:5-9 5 Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, 7 To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples, 8 To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron, 9 To execute on them the judgment written; This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!
This last passage is especially interesting because it declares the job of the saints to be executing the judgment that is written. To declare the praises of their God with a two edged sword in hand. What is this two edged sword? According to Bible it is the Word of God:
NAU Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
If God's word is the instrument of judgment, what is the key judgment message? The message which bring people to the point of decision. The message with the power to cut to the heart of men. Why it is none other than the message of the cross:
John 12:31-32 31 "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
1 Corinthians 1:23-25 we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 2:2-5 I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Application: Hallelujah, everything comes back to the Cross. This is the fulcrum of salvation history. The pivotal point of the judgment hour message. Without the cross the judgment has no meaning and no power. But at the cross, God ruled in my favor. And when I accept this ruling, I also accept His vindication at the coming of Christ. When I embrace my suffering servant, I also receive my conquering king. The one who died on my cross, will come on my cloud.
Oh glory, there is a place in the clouds waiting for me, I shall join Him in His chariot of fire. When I go, I want to go out like Elijah. And by the glorious vindicating Judgment of my King, I will.
But until then, I must embrace His cross. Until then, His call is to die daily.
"If we endure, we will also reign with Him." NAU 2 Timothy 2:12
"Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus." NAU Revelation 14:12
Prayer: Lord Jesus, take my heart this morning. I lay down my life. Erik was right yesterday when he said we need to let go of our need to be in control. Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me die to self this morning.
I have been wrapped up in the music of passion. At the heart of their ministry is the 268 Decleration:
268 Declaration
"Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your Truth,
we wait eagerly for You,
for Your name and Your renown
are the desire of our souls."
Isaiah 26:8
I desire that my life be a part of a generation that lives
for the glory of Your name. (Psalm 86:11-12)
My desire is reflected by the following statements and prayers:
Because I was created by God and for His glory, I will magnify Him as I respond to His great love. My desire is to make knowing and enjoying God the passionate pursuit of my life.
[God, give me a desire for You like the desire that You have for me.]
Colossians 1:16-18, John 17:3, Revelation 3:20, Philippians 3:7-10, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Psalm 73:25-28, Psalm 16:11, Isaiah 43:7
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Because Christ established the Church for God's glory, I desire to magnify God as I use the gifts He has given me to serve and build up the local church. I will pray for continued renewal in my church through the work and power of the Holy Spirit.
[God, renew in me a love for Your Church, the Body of Christ.]
Ephesians 3:20,21, 4:1-13, 5:25-27, Hebrews 10:23-25, Acts 2:41-47
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Because God is glorified greatly when believers love each other, I desire to magnify Him as I humbly yield to and pray towards unity among all Christians on my campus.
[God, give me a desire to lift up Your name above all other names.]
John 17:20-26, John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 3, Psalm 133:1, Colossians 3:12-17
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Because many on my campus are hopelessly separated from God, I desire to magnify Him by sharing the life and love of Jesus where I live. As I share, I will earnestly pray for revival on my campus and in my world.
[God, break my heart for those with whom I live.]
Romans 10:11-15, Isaiah 6:1-8, 62:6-7, Matthew 5:13-16, 1 Peter 2:9-12, Philipians 2:12-16, 1 John 5:14-15
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Because God is seeking worshipers of all peoples, I desire to magnify Him among the nations. I actively commit my life and energy to participation in His global purposes in my generation.
[God, kindle in me the desire to go anywhere, at anytime, at any cost, to do anything to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.]
Psalm 86:9, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Isaiah 49:6, Revelation 5:9-14, Matthew 28:18-20, Psalm 67, Acts 1:8
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Lord, as I have read through this prayer, what I see missing is the message of judgment. The reality that You are judging the world. The good news of your judgment. The good news of your righteous indignation.
Father with all humility, I want to declare your anger to the nations. The hope of a God who will put an end to injustice. Rob Bell really said it well in his message entitle "Jesus is Difficult: Part IV."
Thank You so much for the difficulty of Your anger. Thank You for caring enough to be angry about injustice.
I'm reminded of the words of Rich Mullins:
Quoting Deuteronomy to the Devil
John the Baptizer
By the Jordan brook
Up comes this brood of vipers
Just to take a look
John says, "There's a comin' of glory
There's a comin' of wrath,
Some mighty things are comin'
Comin' to pass"
Peter was a-preachin'
At the Pentecost
Says you must turn around
And you must be washed
'Cause there's a comin of glory,
There's a comin' of wrath,
There's some mighty things a-comin' to pass
Comin' to pass
Lord God Almighty
Came as a preacher man
Fastin' down in the wilderness
Quotin' Deuteronomy to the Devil
And then He set His face like a flint
Toward Jerusalem
Well they tried to silence Stephen
With the sticks and stones
But his voice is still ringin'
You can hear it in a gospel song
Singin' there's a comin' of glory,
And there's a comin' of wrath,
There's some mighty things comin'
Lord they're comin' to pass
There's a comin of glory,
There's a comin' of wrath,
There's some mighty things comin'
Comin' to pass
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