1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:06,400 Morning Port City for our Bible reading. 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,560 This morning we will be reading a selection of verses from the 3 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:14,680 book of Nahum. You can find Nahum on page 734 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,160 if you're using the Bible under your chair. 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,360 If you don't have a copy of Scripture of your own, we invite 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:22,560 you to take this copy with you today. 7 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,680 We're going to start by reading the first chapter in its 8 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:31,320 entirety, and then we will read chapter 2, verses one through 4 9 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,920 and then eight through 13, and then chapter 3, verse 1 and 19. 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,640 An Oracle concerning Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum 11 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,720 of Elkhosh. The Lord is a jealous and 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,200 avenging God. The Lord is avenging and 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,680 wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on his 14 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,240 adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,480 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:58,600 will by no means clear the guilty. 17 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,920 His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the 18 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,480 dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it 19 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,000 dry. He dries up all the rivers. 20 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,920 Bashan and Carmel wither. The bloom of Lebanon Withers. 21 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,240 The mountains quake before him, the hills melt. 22 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,840 The earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. 23 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,800 Who can stand before his indignation? 24 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,400 Who can endure the heat of his anger? 25 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,240 His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken 26 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,080 into pieces by him. The Lord is good, a stronghold 27 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,240 in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge 28 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:42,280 in Him, but with an overflowing flood He will make a complete 29 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:45,760 end of the adversaries and will pursue his enemies Into 30 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,640 Darkness. What do you plot against the 31 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,120 Lord? He will make a complete end. 32 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,360 Trouble will not rise up a second time, for they are like 33 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,880 entangled thorns, like drunkards. 34 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:02,000 As they drink, they are consumed like stubble fully dried. 35 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,200 From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a 36 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,600 worthless counsellor. Thus says the Lord, though they 37 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,920 are at full strength, in many they will be cut down and pass 38 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:16,920 away. Though I have afflicted you, I 39 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:20,800 will afflict you no more. And now I will break his yoke 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,520 from off you, and will burst your bonds apart. 41 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,320 The Lord has given commandment about you. 42 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,360 No more shall your name be perpetuated from the House of 43 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,760 your gods. I will cut off the carved image 44 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,000 and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you 45 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000 were vile. Behold upon the mountains the 46 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,640 feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. 47 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,800 Keep your feasts, O Judah. Fulfill your vows, for never 48 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,200 again shall the worthless pass through you. 49 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,600 He is utterly cut off. The scatterer has come up 50 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,240 against you, man the ramparts. Watch the road. 51 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,240 Dress for battle. Collect all your strength. 52 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,040 For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty 53 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,560 of Israel. For plunderers have plundered 54 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,920 them and ruined their branches. The shield of his mighty men is 55 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:13,160 red. His soldiers are clothed in 56 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,840 scarlet. The Chariots come with flashing 57 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:17,760 metal on the day he mustards them. 58 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,360 The Cypress Spears are brandished. 59 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,680 The Chariots race madly through the streets. 60 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:26,360 They rush to and fro through the squares. 61 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,760 They gleam like torches. They dart like lightning. 62 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,080 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. 63 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,840 Halt, halt. They cry, but none turns back. 64 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,920 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold. 65 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,520 There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious 66 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,440 things, desolate, desolation and ruin. 67 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,840 Hearts melt and knees tremble. Anguish is in all loins. 68 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:57,840 All faces grow pale. Where is the lion's den? 69 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,480 The feeding place of the Young Lions, Where the lion and the 70 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,160 lioness went, where his Cubs were with none to disturb. 71 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,840 The lion tore enough for his Cubs in strangled prey. 72 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,000 For his lionesses he filled his caves with prey and his dens 73 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,360 with torn flesh. Behold, I am against you, 74 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,959 declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your Chariots and 75 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,360 smoke, and the sword shall devour your Young Lions. 76 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:26,720 I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your 77 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:28,880 messengers shall no longer be heard. 78 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,400 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder. 79 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:38,680 No end to the prey. There is no easing your hurt. 80 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:42,760 Your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you 81 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,160 clap their hands over you, for upon whom has not come your 82 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,560 unceasing evil. This is God's true word. 83 00:05:00,540 --> 00:05:02,220 Good morning. Poor city, family and friends. 84 00:05:02,220 --> 00:05:06,680 How are we doing? That was OK Hope you guys are 85 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,160 doing better than that was. But my name is Ron. 86 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:14,040 I am one of the pastors here. And last weekend I was at one of 87 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:19,080 my boys YMCA basketball games and there was this parent that 88 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:24,120 was about to absolutely crash out because their team was not 89 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:28,120 getting fouls called against them or for them rather. 90 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:30,800 And so I'm thinking to myself, man, like, calm down. 91 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,680 This is just YMCA basketball. It's not a big deal. 92 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,040 They are doing the best that they can. 93 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,960 But if I'm honest with you, you know, let it be my child who is 94 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,280 on the other side of that and he's getting hacked. 95 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:47,760 I'd be like, I, I need to see the supervisor. 96 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:53,440 Like right now, I would 100% be sort of irate as this gentleman 97 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:55,440 was. You know, it's, it's funny how 98 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,240 calm, you know, we can be if things are going, you know, for 99 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:00,960 us or if it's affecting someone else. 100 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:05,120 But how passionate we become when it's about us or when it 101 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,080 affects us, right? So if someone, you know, lies to 102 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,040 you or dishonest, you want justice, right? 103 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,880 If someone exploits the vulnerable, you want justice. 104 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,200 If somebody what's in front of you at the Chick-fil-A line, 105 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,040 which is already long and you're having to wait even longer, you 106 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,680 want justice. But when you fail, or when you 107 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,600 speak too fast, or when you compromise, or when you do 108 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,600 something that is dishonest, you want mercy. 109 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,920 We instinctively long for justice when we are wounded, but 110 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,360 we want mercy when we are exposed. 111 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,000 And I see that tension in my job every single day as the Dean of 112 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,440 students. When students are wronged, they 113 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,400 want accountability. They want consequences. 114 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:57,000 They want fairness, right? But let it be them who was 115 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:58,560 caught. They want understanding. 116 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,240 Please don't tell my Mama, you know, my hand accidentally hit 117 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,160 him. You know, like he ran into, I 118 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,000 get all kinds of stuff, right? And so, but if we're honest, 119 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,840 right, we often want a guy that operates in the same way. 120 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:16,600 We want a guy that is patient with us, but swift with them. 121 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,560 We want in the pride of our hearts, we want a God who judges 122 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,800 them but yet forgives us. And that tension, that sort of 123 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,400 internal contradiction is exactly where the the book of 124 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,960 Nahum meets us. If you are new, I want to say 125 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,320 welcome. We have been journeying through 126 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,160 a series in the Minor Prophets and today we are looking at the 127 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:43,560 book of Nahum. And so for context, Judah has 128 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,640 been God's people has been living under fear. 129 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:51,320 The Assyrian Empire is a superpower and they have crushed 130 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,960 nations, they've destroyed cities, they've deported 131 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,560 families, they've ruled in terror. 132 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:01,480 And Nineveh is the capital city and it's it's infamous for its 133 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,720 violence, for its brutality. This is not like a mildly fault. 134 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,480 Flawed people, like they are violently oppressive. 135 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,240 And so God's people are asking God, you know, where is God? 136 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,880 Does God see what's happening? Does evil? 137 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:24,200 When is violence the final word? And into that fear comes the 138 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,480 prophet Nahum with a message of comfort. 139 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:29,920 That's what his name means, comfort. 140 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:34,840 And he has a message that says, no, God sees, God remembers, and 141 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:39,159 God will act. And the book of Nahum also 142 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:43,159 forces us to wrestle with this question that, you know, is a 143 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:45,440 God who never judges. Is he really? 144 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,360 Is he really good? See, at the core of Nahum's 145 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:55,360 message is judgment and really the, you know, the violent fall 146 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,720 of an empire. Through that judgment, we see 147 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:03,000 something essential, and this is the main idea for the text 148 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,840 today. We see that God's goodness is 149 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:12,440 revealed in his refusal to allow violence and evil have the final 150 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,800 word. Regardless of where you are 151 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,200 today, whether you are a believer in Christ or whether 152 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,800 you are seeking, you know, you are exploring the faith, don't 153 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,920 you want that to be true? Don't you want there to be a God 154 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:32,240 who sees what's evil and judges it rightly? 155 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,640 In light of what we are facing right now, I think the book of 156 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:41,200 Nahum is a very timely word. And so I'm going to pray for us 157 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,920 really quickly and then we are going to dive in to what is not 158 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,400 an easy book. Will you pray with me? 159 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,640 God? I only want to bring you glory. 160 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,840 Father, would you please use me? Holy Spirit, speak through me. 161 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,680 God, would you open our eyes to see? 162 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:03,600 Would you open our ears to hear your word? 163 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,560 Would you open our hearts this morning to receive your word? 164 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,400 It's in your beautiful name we pray. 165 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:14,080 Amen. All right, so a century earlier, 166 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:19,160 this very people, the people of Nineveh, God has sent a prophet 167 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,080 to them. His name was Jonah. 168 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:26,280 And Jonah brought this message. They repentant and God relented, 169 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,240 right? And so in our series, you might 170 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:30,440 have noticed we did skip the book of Jonah. 171 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,880 That is because Pastor Tanner is going to be preaching Jonah for 172 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:36,240 Easter. All right, so you should come 173 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,080 back. In some ways, you know, Nahum is 174 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,800 a sequel to the book of Jonah. So I guess you got to come back 175 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,200 for part A because this is kind of Part B. 176 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,800 But we hope you you'll come and be with us for Easter. 177 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:51,920 And so, you know, again, the but it by the time Nahum comes 178 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:56,040 around, the people have returned to their wickedness. 179 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,920 They have returned to violence, return to cruelty. 180 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,080 It has escalated and their pride has deepened. 181 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:08,080 And so again, I mentioned the book of Nahum is not a, it's not 182 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,320 a soft book, it's not an easy one, but it is a comforting 1. 183 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:15,320 And it certainly was comforting for the people of Judah. 184 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,360 And so we're going to take the book in three turns, all right? 185 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:22,480 And so I've kind of set this up in a way that we're going to, in 186 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,720 the backdrop are going to be 3 questions that you can use when 187 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,560 you are doing your personal Bible study. 188 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,520 You anytime you're reading a text, you can ask these three 189 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,520 questions and they will help you sort of get to the, the heart 190 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,080 and the meaning of the text. The 1st is what does it say 191 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,040 about God? What does it say about humanity? 192 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,160 And how should this shape us? What should we do in light of 193 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:42,640 this text? All right. 194 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,120 And so the first point we're going to see is we're going to 195 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,760 see God's character and and we're going to see what this 196 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:53,120 reveals about God. And so Nahum, it does not begin 197 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:54,520 with Nineveh, it begins with God. 198 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,240 So starting in verse 2, it says the Lord is a jealous and 199 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,200 avenging God. The Lord is avenging and 200 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,720 wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on his 201 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,680 adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. 202 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,960 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power. 203 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,000 And the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. 204 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,320 His way is in the whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the 205 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:20,760 dust of His feet. Now that is not sentimental 206 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,280 language at all. If you were looking for a new 207 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,320 throw pillow, you are probably not going to have those verses 208 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,160 on it, right? Not on a mug, right? 209 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,960 But it is deeply revealing about God's character. 210 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:34,600 So let's walk through it carefully. 211 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:37,320 God is jealous. Say jealous. 212 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,760 Now listen, when we think jealous, we immediately think 213 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,680 insecurity, right? So, you know, like being jealous 214 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,120 of someone's shoes or their outfit, you know that you ain't 215 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:51,880 got it. But God's jealousy is not, not 216 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,480 that way at all. God's jealousy does not come 217 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,360 from lack. It doesn't come from insecurity. 218 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:01,480 Biblical jealousy is covenant language, right? 219 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,600 Think about a marriage, right? A you know, it is a covenant 220 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,600 commitment, like a husband who refuses to share his wife, 221 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:11,560 right? If if the husband didn't care 222 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,640 who the wife went home with, that'd be a problem, right? 223 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,720 Wouldn't be loving at all. And so this jealousy gets at 224 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:22,080 covenant faithfulness. God is jealous for his people. 225 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:27,920 God is avenging and wrathful avenging, you know it. 226 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:34,280 And wrathful avenging doesn't mean explosive or impulsive, you 227 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,600 know, it means morally serious. In other words, it it means that 228 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,200 injustice will not be ignored. It means that violence won't be 229 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,920 shrugged at. It means there is no excuse for 230 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,040 the the I'm sorry. The oppressed will not be 231 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,920 excused, right? God's wrath is not allowing evil 232 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,960 to go unanswered, right? And his anger is not moodiness, 233 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:00,440 right? I know my, my, I'm sorry, my, 234 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,360 his wrath isn't moodiness. I know often times that is mine, 235 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,200 right? I am, you know, if I did not 236 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,160 sleep well or if I'm hangry, right again, God didn't wake up 237 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,840 in a mood and said who didn't have their quiet time? 238 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,880 Let me get him. You know, like that's not. 239 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:19,400 We tend to imagine anger as losing control, but God's anger 240 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,360 is not that. It is controlled. 241 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,280 It is purposeful. It is just. 242 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,360 And so again, if somebody was to walk in here right now and they 243 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,800 begin harming the little children in here, and I said, 244 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,960 whoa, buddy, let's just talk about our feelings right now, 245 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,280 you would be like, what? Like absolutely not. 246 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,760 Like that would not be the right response. 247 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:42,400 That would be disturbing. Why? 248 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,320 Because there is a right response that is like, no, 249 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:49,640 that's a right response to evil. And so that gets at, you know, 250 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,080 God's heart in terms of being eventual and avenging and 251 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,240 wrathful. God is slow to anger. 252 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:00,200 I love this right after describing God's vengeance, 253 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,960 Nahum reminds us that the Lord is slow to anger and great in 254 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,800 power, right. His judgement is not it's not 255 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:11,520 impulsive. It is measured is it is 256 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,960 intentional. Nineveh had already experienced 257 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:20,760 God's mercy in the days of Jonah and God relented and they, you 258 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,520 know, when they repented. So his patience was real in 259 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:27,200 that. But his patience is not 260 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,960 permission, right? Delay is not a denial of 261 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,960 justice. Unrepentant violence will not 262 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,040 last forever. And and you know, guys, delay is 263 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:42,120 not him not caring it it is not that great empower. 264 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,640 If God delays judgement, it's not because he lacks power. 265 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,640 It is because he is merciful and he has a plan and there is an 266 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,240 intention, you know, in in thinking about God's power. 267 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,040 There is no empire that's too big for him, too strong for him. 268 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,800 There is no injustice that is too entrenched that he can't 269 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,080 deliver or redeem. There is no oppressor beyond his 270 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,240 reach. Nineveh in the ancient times 271 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,600 looked invincible and God says I am greater. 272 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:16,480 One way he is showing his Nahum is showing his power is through 273 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,240 his control over creation. Look at verse 4. 274 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,560 It says he rebukes the sea and makes it dry. 275 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:25,400 He dries up the rivers Bashan and caramel Bashans known for 276 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,200 his rich pasture land. Caramel is some mountainous 277 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,160 areas that are known for his beauty. 278 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,640 The bloom of Lebanon Withers. Lebanon being mountains regions 279 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,440 in north of Israel. The mountains quake before him, 280 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,920 the hills melt. The earth heaves before him, the 281 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:48,080 world and all who dwells in it. God rebukes the sea, He drives 282 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:50,080 up the rivers. Mountains quake. 283 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,320 You see, mountains in the ancient world symbolized 284 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:58,960 permanence, and Nahum says that even what looks immovable, 285 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:02,120 right? It melts before me like He is 286 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:04,599 above it all. He is in control of it all. 287 00:17:04,599 --> 00:17:08,400 He's sovereign over it all. And this is not a tame or mild 288 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,079 God. Let's continue. 289 00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:13,839 Again, in the middle of that judgement language comes this 290 00:17:13,839 --> 00:17:18,440 anchor. The Lord is good a stronghold in 291 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:23,560 the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge 292 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,119 in him. Guys, the the placement of this 293 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:30,240 verse is extremely intentional. I want you to notice the timing. 294 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:35,320 It's it says not after the storm, not instead of receiving 295 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,560 judgement, but smack dab in the middle of it. 296 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,240 God is good. He is a stronghold in the day of 297 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,000 trouble, and I want don't want us to miss this. 298 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:49,320 God's anger is not the opposite of his goodness, but it is the 299 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:53,240 expression of his goodness. In other words, God goodness is 300 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,960 not, it's not suspended. It's not, you know, revoked when 301 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,680 he judges, but God's goodness is displayed when he judges. 302 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,320 And so again, he is a stronghold. 303 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,360 It's and, and again, I know I before really this week and 304 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:11,440 deeply studying this passage, I didn't, I've used the word 305 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,520 stronghold before. I don't know if you knew exactly 306 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,880 what it meant, but I did not. But a stronghold is not like the 307 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,920 absence of trouble, but it's safety in the midst of it. 308 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,440 And so I, you know, I was looking at a couple analogies to 309 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,520 try to drive this point home. And does it anybody know what a 310 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:29,520 breakwater is? A breakwater. 311 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:33,760 OK, all right, I expected that guy to know. 312 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:40,320 So a breakwater, right? Is is this engineering sort of 313 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,960 offshore? It really is just like rocks and 314 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:48,520 concrete and it's designed to protect harbors, right? 315 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:53,200 So again, the the ocean is violent, but the breakwater is 316 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,360 there. It takes the impact of the waves 317 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:59,920 and the ocean. And so right behind the, this 318 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,280 breakwater, this, this, I mean, slab of concrete and rocks on 319 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:07,000 right, on the other side, the ships are just chilling, right, 320 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,600 because the breakwater is absorbing the impact, absorbing 321 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,640 the, the contact, you know, And so in, in other words, you know, 322 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:20,040 God being our, our stronghold really gets at that. 323 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:25,600 You know, he is the one who is absorbing and taking, you know, 324 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,160 what is coming to us. Again, he's a stronghold that he 325 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:32,240 is. Again, it's not that the, the, 326 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,880 the, the, the storm is not existing, but he is with us in 327 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,760 the midst of the storm. He absorbs the force. 328 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:40,920 And I'm going to come back to that. 329 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,080 Another helpful language for the folks that don't know, you know, 330 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,320 breakwaters and can't visualize that, you know, just imagine 331 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,160 this idea of, you know, a parent being with their kid and you 332 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,960 know, what if, if some danger comes, what is the first action 333 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:56,920 of the parent? It is to get in front of the 334 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,800 child, right? It is to protect them from the 335 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,560 threat that is coming toward them. 336 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,960 That that is the image of a stronghold he's getting in front 337 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,360 of doesn't mean that the threat's not there. 338 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:12,720 The you know the the issue isn't there, but he is there with us 339 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,760 in front of. What is coming? 340 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,720 And that is you know what Nahum wants the the people of Judah to 341 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,240 understand? See for the oppressed, this 342 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:29,000 judgement of God is is rescue, is is relief, it is vindication. 343 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,960 If God never judges evil, then evil wins. 344 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,080 But Nahum is saying no, God won't let it. 345 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:41,040 So how can God be good and judge so violently? 346 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,640 We got to understand that judgement and Nahum is not just 347 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,800 aggression, it is it's intervention. 348 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,600 God is intervening on behalf of His people. 349 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,480 Let's look at turn 2, which is Nineveh's fall. 350 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,480 And as we look at Nineveh's fall, again, the question we're 351 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,000 going to answer is, what does this teach us about man? 352 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,880 And so chapters 2:00 and 3:00, there's a lot of verses that we 353 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,680 skipped again, if you go back and read it again, it's not an 354 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:15,360 easy read, very descriptive of the fall of of Nineveh. 355 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,920 But let's look at verse 13. It says, behold, I am against 356 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,360 you declare the Lord of hosts. Is there any more terrifying 357 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:27,040 verse in all the Bible then for God to say I am against you? 358 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:32,520 You see again, Nineveh thought they were untouchable, but God 359 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,480 said you're not. And listen to how he describes 360 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:37,880 the fall. Go back up to verse three. 361 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,120 He says the shield of his mighty men is red. 362 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:41,760 His soldiers are clothed in scarlet. 363 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,320 The Chariots come with flashing Meadow on the day he musters 364 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,120 them, the Cypress Spears are brandished. 365 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,880 The Chariots race madly through the streets. 366 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,080 They rush to and fro through the squares. 367 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,560 They gleam like torches. They dart like lightning. 368 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:59,760 This should kind of envision or invoke like panic, battle chaos. 369 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,400 All right then verse 8 and 9 just jump down. 370 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,960 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. 371 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,240 Halt, halt. They cry, but none turns back. 372 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,240 Plunder the silver silver plunder the gold. 373 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:17,440 Who was the plunderer now becomes the plundered. 374 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,600 Verse 10 desolate desolation and ruin. 375 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:26,320 Hearts melt and knees tremble. Guys, the terror that Nineveh 376 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,800 was once or the Syrians were once inflicting upon others. 377 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:35,440 Now it's filling their own streets and God mocks them. 378 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:39,360 He in in verse 11 he says where is the lion's den, the feeding 379 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:43,800 place of the Young Lions where the lion and lioness lionesses. 380 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,960 He filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 381 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:51,400 Again, what he's saying here is, you know, you guys, you know, 382 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,760 even viewed yourself as they called themselves lions because 383 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:59,440 they were just walking around devouring lands and attacking 384 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,400 people, right? And again, there was the lion 385 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,160 was a symbol of strength. But God is saying like, where is 386 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,920 your roar now? And chapter 3 verse one, it 387 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,440 intensifies it. Woe to the bloody city, all full 388 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,760 of lies and plunder to no end to pray. 389 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,440 And it the book closes, there is no easing your hurt. 390 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:26,120 Your wound is grievous. For upon whom has not come your 391 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,800 unceasing evil again. We could keep going. 392 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,400 There's so much that I could say, didn't say. 393 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,400 But you know, this judgment was complete. 394 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,680 It was final. Even that question at the end 395 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:45,360 where it says you know who, whom your for whom has not come 396 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,520 unceasing evil again. They were a superpower. 397 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:50,320 They hit. They were known for their 398 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,280 violence, known for their brutality. 399 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:57,040 God had even used Assyria as an instrument of discipline against 400 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:01,120 Israel for their rebellion. They had destroyed the northern 401 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:05,280 Kingdom of Israel, carried his inhabitants into captivity. 402 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,960 But God is saying your violence will not have the last word. 403 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:16,280 And so Nineveh fell in 612 BC and it fell again, the verses 404 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:19,200 say. So it was a complete judgement 405 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,160 that historians have even questioned whether or not it 406 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,960 existed. So this great empire, it rose 407 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:32,400 and it failed just as God said it would see, you know, power, 408 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:37,200 that the power that Nineveh had did not equal permanence. 409 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,960 The strength did not equal sovereignty. 410 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,520 The violence did not equal victory. 411 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,320 Again, you know, to, to illustrate this, you know, I 412 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,720 think basketball season is kind of ending. 413 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:53,440 And so there's some teams that are going into the playoffs and, 414 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:58,400 and one of my from North Carolina, A-Team reached out to 415 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:00,520 me because they were going to be playing nearby. 416 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,640 And this team had, you know, they were undefeated on the 417 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,760 season. And I had some girls that were 418 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:08,520 on this team. And so I did not get to go, but 419 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,720 you know, they were going to be playing nearby undefeated. 420 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,080 They were excited going in and they thought that they were kind 421 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,000 of on top of the world, untouchable. 422 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,360 You know, they were undefeated. And it was a long, quiet Rd. 423 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:26,360 home. They got handed to him. 424 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:31,200 I mean, they just met and faced a bigger and better opponent. 425 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,080 So much so here. Nahum 1 three. 426 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:42,080 God does not clear the guilty. And so as we take this this last 427 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:47,600 turn, we're going to look at the comfort for Judah, the comfort 428 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,720 for Judah. See, Judah was, as I mentioned, 429 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,280 was living in an under intense pressure from the Assyrians. 430 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,920 And being under all of this pressure, they were certainly 431 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,520 tempted to, you know, assimilate to survive. 432 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,440 They were maybe tempted to lose hope in light of all of what 433 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:11,480 they were under, maybe even compromise morally, you know, to 434 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,560 be accepted. Maybe they were even tempted to 435 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:20,440 fear Assyria more than Guy, but God speaks into that fear in 436 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,200 verse 13 one chapter one verse 13, he says, I will break this 437 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,200 yoke from you and I will burst your bonds apart. 438 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:32,600 This oppression that they were under would not last forever. 439 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,600 Verse 2 of chapter 2 says for the Lord is restoring the 440 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,960 majesty of Jacob, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined 441 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:46,040 their branches. I love this, this, this idea 442 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:50,240 that God doesn't just remove the enemies, but he restores 443 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,240 dignity. He says he restores the majesty 444 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,240 of Jacob. You know, when you are 445 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,400 oppressed, it has a way of kind of distorting how you see 446 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,600 yourself, right? And so the Assyrians, they 447 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,960 didn't just conquer people, but they humiliated them. 448 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,600 They renamed him. They tried to erase their 449 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:12,400 cultural identity. But God says I'm restoring the 450 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,000 majesty of Jacob that you are not what they did to you. 451 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,480 You are not the season you survived. 452 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,880 You are not the shame that you carry for Judah. 453 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:27,960 They were you are Jacob, you are chosen the people of God and for 454 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:32,880 us in Christ, if we're in Christ, we are sons, we are 455 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,200 daughters and that is such good news. 456 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,960 Chapter 2, verse 2 says that they ruined the the branches. 457 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,600 I'm I'm going to skip past some of that. 458 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:46,040 But again in the ancient world, defeat and shame. 459 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:52,320 Again, it was it really was disgraceful, you know, or I'm 460 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:53,800 sorry. In the ancient world, defeat 461 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,120 meant shame. And so God judges. 462 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:01,600 When God judges Nineveh, he was publicly vindicating Judah. 463 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,040 And so we now get to sort of, you know, as we shift to sort of 464 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,520 apply this to ourselves, like the uncomfortable question is 465 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,600 when we think about this text, when we think about our lives, 466 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,920 when we think about what's going on, the question is, are we 467 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,600 Judah or are we Nineveh? The honest answer is that we are 468 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,400 both right. We cry for justice when we are 469 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,560 harmed. We crave mercy when we are 470 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:32,080 exposed. Yeah, we might not build up 471 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:36,840 military terrors, but we certainly build empires of 472 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:41,320 pride, self protection, reputation management, you know, 473 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:43,280 advancing at the expense of others. 474 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:49,000 We participate in violence with our words, indifference and 475 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:55,000 greed, prejudice in our hearts. We want justice until it is 476 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,280 aimed at us. And really, the same pride at 477 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:02,560 the heart of the Ninevites is present within us as well. 478 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,320 Nineveh was. Nineveh was proud and and so are 479 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,560 we. They trusted in their walls, and 480 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:13,440 we trust in so many of our resources, so many of our skill 481 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:17,080 sets, so many of what we have, the possessions. 482 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:21,880 There's so much that we trust in and so pride it. 483 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,480 It not only lived in Assyria, but it certainly lives in 484 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,560 Norfolk. It lives in church leadership. 485 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,200 It lives in polished resumes. It is pervasive. 486 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,920 And so Nineveh says, you know, who can stand against us? 487 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,640 But we, we say all the time, like I got this, like I'm strong 488 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,640 enough, I'm, I'm good enough. I, I, I can do it Like I don't 489 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,400 need God. I can we, we trust in ourselves 490 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,800 where Nineveh trusted Chariots. We trust our own control all the 491 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:54,600 time, My reputation, our influence. 492 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:58,360 I know I am guilty of this, our security, the things that we 493 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,080 have. But again, back to that 494 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,680 terrifying question. You know, behold, I am against 495 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,200 you, declares the Lord. That is not just a sentence for 496 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:15,000 ancient empires apart from us having refuge in Christ. 497 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,320 That is the sentence that is over us today. 498 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,200 Because the problem of the word is not just violent empire 499 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:24,880 empires. The problem in the world is our 500 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,800 proud hearts. And Nahum says that he will know 501 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,880 by no means clear the guilty. So where does that leave us? 502 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,960 Right in the middle of judgement, the Lord says he is 503 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,800 good and he is a stronghold in the day of trouble to those who 504 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:45,640 take refuge in him. So how can it be true that God 505 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:50,240 would say I will no means clear the guilty while also being a 506 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,000 stronghold in the day of trouble? 507 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:58,880 How can he be against sin and yet be a refuge for sinners? 508 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:05,000 It only comes because somebody stands in between, and if 509 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:10,000 somebody absorbs the storm, and that is exactly what Jesus does, 510 00:31:10,280 --> 00:31:14,280 He is the one promise to come from the line of Judah. 511 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:19,000 The wrath of Nahum that Nahum describes didn't disappear in 512 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,080 the Old Testament. It it fell. 513 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:27,680 It fell on Jesus at the cross because he bore our sins on 514 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:31,080 Himself and justice wasn't suspended. 515 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,760 Evil was not excused. Wrath was not erased. 516 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:41,080 It was absorbed in Jesus. The judgment that swept Nineveh 517 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,680 is the judgment that should sweep us. 518 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:48,920 We may not be as violently brutal as the Ninevites or as 519 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,080 Nineveh. We deserve that judgment too. 520 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:58,840 But Christ as our stronghold, he stepped in front like a 521 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:00,800 breakwater, absorbing the impact. 522 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:08,680 Christ is our stronghold who absorbs judgement at the cross. 523 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,600 Again, let's just imagine, right? 524 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:16,240 Evil thought it was victorious. It thought it won. 525 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:20,400 Violence thought it won after Jesus was crucified and put into 526 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,280 the grave. But the Son of God was crushed. 527 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:28,040 But three days later he rose, and violence did not get the 528 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:33,160 final word, resurrection does. All along He had a plan, and he 529 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:37,680 has a plan in they whom He promises the fall of the city, 530 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,120 the gospel promises the fall of death itself. 531 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:47,040 Again, God's goodness is shown not in His refusal to allow 532 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:51,280 violence and evil have the final word and injustice. 533 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:55,000 That refusal is shown. It's both just and merciful. 534 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,680 At the cross, God's justice and mercy meet. 535 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:02,200 And so how should this shape our lives? 536 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,680 What should we do in light of this test text? 537 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:11,240 Right. If if we believe that God will 538 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,960 judge evil, then that means that we don't have to take vengeance 539 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,600 into our own hands. If we believe that God sees the 540 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:24,360 injustice, if he sees what's broken, then it will protect us 541 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:30,920 from growing cynical or or numb. If we believe that God reigns 542 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,040 over the nation's, then we won't panic every time there's an 543 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:39,320 election cycle again the the the troubles there. 544 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:46,120 It's real, it exists, but God is our stronghold and they whom he 545 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:50,960 teaches us we cannot not panic, but covenant confidence because 546 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:57,080 of the Lord is our stronghold. So as we close again this whole 547 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,720 series we've been talking about turning back to the Lord. 548 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:04,600 What does it mean in they whom to turn back? 549 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:09,800 It means to rest in our stronghold verse chapter one 550 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,360 verse 7. The Lord is good a stronghold in 551 00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:17,239 the day of trouble, so we can turn back. 552 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:23,880 It means turning from the fear, maybe the, you know, cynicism, 553 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,480 the, you know, ideas of getting revenge. 554 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:30,040 Maybe the fantasies of, of getting back at that person who 555 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:35,480 is wronged you, maybe turning from the, the, the ways that you 556 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:39,679 have compromised or assimilated to the, the culture around you 557 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:46,199 and you've partaken in those things and turning to trusting 558 00:34:46,199 --> 00:34:50,920 God, him being our refuge, faithful obedience. 559 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,440 Again in this in doing these things and turning to God and 560 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,680 entrusting him, we're not earning God's protection, but we 561 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:04,320 are responding to his covenant love for us as we need refuge 562 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,600 from the penalty of sin, not just relief from our enemies. 563 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:13,640 The greatest enemy is sin. Sin plunders us, shame 564 00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:16,280 humiliated us, death enslaves us. 565 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:21,320 But in Christ our identity is restored, our honors covered, 566 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:26,080 our inheritance is secure. And God doesn't just remove 567 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:31,000 enemies, He restores sons and daughters. 568 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:36,280 He doesn't just win battles, but he rebuilds people. 569 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:42,880 And that is good news for us. And so again, the call is to 570 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:50,840 turn back to turn back to God and to trust in him as being our 571 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:54,160 our refuge. I'm going to end the sermon with 572 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:57,600 the verse Greta started with Psalm 46. 573 00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:03,840 One God is our refuge and strength, our very present help 574 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,080 and trouble. Listen, there's there's many of 575 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,960 us who you know they're we've been deeply wronged. 576 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:17,120 They're again, there are things that have happened to us that we 577 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:22,600 injustice is that we have been affected by that are real. 578 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:27,200 And I don't want to dismiss the pain of those things, but there 579 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:33,120 is a God who is who is with us in those things and we can find 580 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:37,160 comfort in him as we trust them. Let's pray. 581 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:49,080 Father, you, you reign over all the nations. 582 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:54,680 God, you judge evil, God you protect your people, you keep 583 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:59,520 your covenant. God, you refuse to let violence 584 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:04,960 and evil have the final word. And God, that is such good news. 585 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:10,320 And Lord, there are, yes, they're real enemies out there, 586 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:14,440 people that are attempting to, to harm us, to, to do evil 587 00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,600 against us. But there is a real enemy 588 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:24,640 warring in our own souls, God. And so I thank you that in 589 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:32,280 Christ, Lord, you, you stood in our place, you absorbed the, the 590 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:38,160 wrath that our sins deserve. And God, because of that, we 591 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:44,040 can, we are, we are restored, we are redeemed, we are delivered, 592 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:47,080 we're made new. And so Father, I thank you that 593 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:55,560 life with you is not necessarily easy, nor is it always safe, but 594 00:37:55,560 --> 00:38:01,200 it but we are secure always because you have the final word. 595 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,720 Violence won't end, evil won't win. 596 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,240 You always win. And so Father, I pray that that 597 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:10,680 would be a comfort to us. Lord help us apply this and 598 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:14,520 whatever it is that we are facing in our lives. 599 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:17,360 God help us to see that you are good. 600 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:24,040 God that even when the the world was happening around us, scream 601 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,880 and and tell us something different. 602 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:31,640 Father, I pray that that we would think back to all the ways 603 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:36,360 that you have revealed your goodness to us and creation and 604 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:38,840 in our own lives, that we would trust You. 605 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,040 God, help us by the power of your Spirit. 606 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:46,680 Help us trust You in the storm. Be our stronghold. 607 00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:48,400 We love you and see your beautiful name. 608 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:49,880 We pray. Amen.