[0:00] Please do be seated. Because our Lord Jesus Christ is King, because He is Lord, because He is all-powerful, because He is triumphant and victorious over death.
[0:15] He is the one that we can look to in the realities of life. He's the one that we can turn to. He's the one who can and does help us as we ask Him in prayer. So let's come to Him in prayer now and seek His face.
[0:28] Let us all pray. Amen. Lord, our God, there are times when we can even come to church with our hearts heavy, with our thoughts filled with all sorts of difficulties or sorrows, both personal, global, national, even, Lord, in our community.
[0:50] But we thank You that whenever we come to Your presence, whenever we lift our eyes and see the reality of the situation, that Jesus Christ is Lord and King, that Your Son has come to destroy the works of the evil one.
[1:05] When we realize that again that You are on Your throne and in control, then, O Lord, we need not fear. We need not doubt. In one sense, we need not be overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
[1:18] For, O Lord, we know that You are the great and glorious King, the King of all things, the ruler over every circumstance, the God who is at work in this world.
[1:30] Lord, You have not abandoned us, nor can You ever abandon us. Surely, the very evidence of Your Son coming into this world, the proof of His love born out at the cross, the power of His resurrection over death, that great enemy of every living person.
[1:49] Surely, that proves to us that You are a God who will never abandon this world, the world You created, the world You love, the world that You, Lord Jesus, died for. We thank You that we can come again.
[2:01] And we pray that where we have sorrows and griefs and troubles, where we have anxieties and fears, where we have, Lord, concerns, help us to bring them to You. Help us again, Lord, to cast our cares on You, for You care for us.
[2:15] Help us again, O Lord, to know that in You we have one who is faithful, dependable, reliable. Lord, not like us, for we are frail and foolish and sinful.
[2:26] We are one minute full of faith, the next minute full of doubt. One minute we are good, the next minute we are bad. Lord, we know ourselves to be so wavering and so unsteady, like sheep lost and wandering our own way.
[2:42] Thank You that You have not abandoned us, but in Christ You have sent the Good Shepherd to rescue us and to bring us into that place of safety, that place of home, that place of life, that place of joy, that place of love which is in Your own embrace.
[2:58] We pray, O Lord, again for us, any of us here who do not know that assurance, that confidence of Your love and forgiveness. Speak to us, Lord, draw near to us.
[3:08] And for those of us, Lord, who are in need of Your special touch, Your special help, Lord, we pray again that we might be open to receive from You, Lord, that blessing that You long to bestow.
[3:20] We thank You again that we are those who have been drawn to You, those who have trusted in Christ. We thank You that in You, O Lord, we have all the peace and all the comfort we need.
[3:32] So, Lord, help us now in this time receive our worship, our praise, our thanksgiving. Speak to us in Your Word, for we ask it all, our God and Father, in the name of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3:44] Amen. Amen. We're going to read together from God's Word, from our Bibles, and our reading is found in the book of Job, and that's page 527, page 527, book of Job, and chapter 4, 24, no, that's right, I probably did, 24, there's always hecklers, isn't there?
[4:22] Job, chapter 24, beginning at verse 1, and page 527, so page 527. And this is Job speaking and talking with three of his so-called friends, but the things that he has to say are things perhaps that we can associate with and understand in our own lives as well.
[4:46] Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days? There are those who move the boundary stones.
[4:58] They pasture flocks they've stolen. They drive away the orphan's donkey and take the widow's ox in pledge. They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
[5:11] Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food. The wasteland provides food for their children. They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
[5:24] Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked. They have nothing to cover themselves in the cold. They are drenched by mountain rains, hug the rocks for lack of shelter. The fatherless child is snatched from the breast.
[5:37] The infant of the poor is seized for a debt. Lacking clothes, they go about naked. They carry the sheaves but go hungry still. They crush olives among the terraces.
[5:48] They tread the wine presses but suffer thirst. The groans of the dying rise from the city. The souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
[6:02] There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and the needy.
[6:13] In the night steals forth like a thief. The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk. He thinks, no eye will see me. He keeps his face concealed.
[6:25] In the dark, thieves break into houses but by day they shut themselves in. They want nothing to do with the light. For all of them, midnight is their morning. They make friends with the terrors of darkness.
[6:38] Yet they are foam on the surface of the water. Their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to the vineyards. As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who've sinned.
[6:52] The womb forgets them. The worm feasts on them. The wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree. They prey on the barren and childless woman.
[7:03] And to the widow they show no kindness. But God drags away the mighty by his power. Though they have become established, they have no assurance of life. He may let them rest in a feeling of security.
[7:16] But his eyes are on their ways. For a little while they are exalted. Then they are gone. They are brought low and gathered up like all others. They are cut off like ears of corn.
[7:28] If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing? Job talking of the wicked. And there's many ways we can see similarities even to our own day.
[7:45] We're going to come to a time of prayer together. There's quite a few matters that we need to be praying for. We need to continue to remember those who are affected by terrorism. People still mourning, grieving of what happened those years ago.
[7:58] And even yesterday and other days through the months, the years past. We need to continue to remember Aleppo in Syria where there was that terrible bombing.
[8:11] Plans for a ceasefire today. Let's pray that that is kept up. Pray that this may be the end. The beginning of the end. Perhaps for the terrible horrors of that country. And particularly for God's people there.
[8:21] For Christians there. Let's continue to remember in prayer those young people who were with us last weekend. Those 25 young people at the September Bible School. Remember the ongoing work amongst young people here as it begins again this week with 610 Club and 711 Club.
[8:39] And several of the ladies are away. We've got quite a lot of folk away. Some of the ladies are away at Centre Parks for their annual get-together. And some of those who have gone along are unbelievers.
[8:49] Pray that that may be a time in which they're drawn to Christ as well. So let us pray together. Let us come before this great and awesome God. Father whenever we come to you in prayer.
[9:05] We know that you hear us. And we know that you desire for us to pray. You don't want us to ignore you. You don't want us to try to do things in our own strength.
[9:16] You want us to look to you. Because you're the God who longs, desires, delights to help. Delights to bless and do good. And how foolish we are. So infrequently do we pray.
[9:27] If ever at all. How lacking we are in blessing. Because Lord we don't ask. And how Lord we pray that you'd help us to be more those who are askers. More those who are seekers.
[9:38] More those who are looking to you day by day. Lord for all that we need. We thank you that we can bring to you our own needs. Our own family needs. Our own concerns. We thank you we can bring to the needs of our own church.
[9:50] We pray for those ladies who are away. For their annual trip to Centre Parks. Bless and encourage them there. Particularly for those two ladies. Particularly who are not Christians. Who have gone along. We pray that they might be spoken to.
[10:02] And drawn ever more. Lord to seek you and to trust in you. We pray Lord for the children's work. And the young people's work. That begins again this week. And ask oh Lord that you would draw many young people from this town.
[10:14] Not only to the club. But again Lord to know and to trust you. We praise you and thank you for the young people that we have. And for those children who have gone down to Sunday school. And we ask that even at a young age.
[10:25] May they know you. Know the joy of sins forgiven. Know the joy of a life with purpose and meaning. In following the living God. Lord we pray Lord again for the opportunities that we have.
[10:37] To speak to the men next Saturday. And for Billy McCurry as he comes. And pray Lord that you would again. Be at work in the hearts and lives of men and women. Boys and girls in this town. We thank you for those young people who were with us last weekend.
[10:50] And we pray as they go to university. Some of them and back to work. Some even still to school. Some of them to non-Christian homes and circumstances. We pray that they may be strengthened in their faith.
[11:00] They walk with you. They may live for you. And glorify and serve you. That they may be that salt and light as we long to be too. We do lift our hearts to you for the people of Syria again.
[11:13] And again it seems that this ongoing war takes its toll. And we. Lord we don't even begin to grasp and understand the terror. The horror. The pain.
[11:23] The suffering. The suffering. Of those people. And we pray for this potential ceasefire. That it may actually work. That it may take effect. That people may receive medical care and food.
[11:34] And even be able to escape Lord. In the intervening hours. And perhaps days we hope ahead. We pray this may be the beginning of the end of this war. We pray Lord for your peace and mercy.
[11:46] Especially upon your people. We know that Aleppo was a very strong Christian town. And Lord now so decimated. And so many of your people killed and scattered. Yet Lord we believe that you do not forsake your church.
[11:58] And we pray that you would be with your people there. In a very special and real way. We ask you to continue in this world. Where we see terror and horror. And where there are those who are still scarred Lord.
[12:11] Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Lord we pray that oh God. You would help those who seek to care for them. And seek to provide for them. But most of all. That they might come into contact with those who love you.
[12:23] And know you. Who would tell them of the God of all comfort. And the Prince of Peace. And that they might find in you oh Lord. Healing for their broken lives. We ask for ourselves oh Lord.
[12:34] As we grapple with the questions. And the struggles of living in this world. That you would speak to us in your word now. That you would help us and give us understanding. That you give us faith to trust you.
[12:45] Hope oh Lord. To follow you. And oh Lord that in our lives. That we might be those who are. Yes beacons Lord. Those who are signposts pointing.
[12:56] To the real hope for our world. Which is Jesus Christ our Lord. So be with us then now. And hear us as we bring these prayers to you. For we ask them in the name of your son. The Lord Jesus Christ.
[13:07] Amen. Well as you are well aware already.
[13:20] From the children's talk today. Around the world. Memorial services will be taking place. To remember those nearly 3,000 people. Killed by terrorist attacks. 15 years ago.
[13:31] To the day. In the northeast of the USA. Four planes in fact. As you know. Passenger planes on domestic flights. Were hijacked. In midair.
[13:42] Those who hijacked them. Had the plan. That they would crash them into buildings. Important buildings. Buildings heavily populated. Two. Were directed into the two towers.
[13:54] Of the World Trade Center. Those skyscrapers in New York. That was where the heaviest loss of life. Took place. 2,606 fatalities. 343 of them.
[14:06] Were New York firefighters. Third plane was directed at the Pentagon. In Virginia. Where the Department of Defense is held.
[14:17] There. 189 were killed. Including the 59 passengers. And then the fourth plane. Failed to reach its target. We don't know what its target was. Thought it was.
[14:27] It was thought to be Washington. But. We understand now. That. Some of the passengers. And crew. Very bravely fought against. The terrorists.
[14:38] And managed to overpower them. But still the plane was crashed. In a field. In Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. Nobody. Nobody on the ground was killed.
[14:48] But. All those on board were killed. The events of 9-11. 15 years ago. Make us aware of the fact.
[14:59] If we didn't know it already. That we are living in an evil world. A world where there is wickedness. Where there is evilness. Around about us.
[15:10] And of course. Since those 15 years. Many thousands more have been killed. In terrorist attacks. Hundreds. Even just in the past months. In various parts.
[15:21] Not just of America. But parts of Europe. And across the world. We know that there are. Terrorist attacks. Being thwarted by. Our. Intelligence agencies.
[15:32] Again and again. And what we are aware of. We know is that. Inevitably. There shall be more. Evil. More.
[15:44] Wickedness. More. Sorrow. More death. More destruction. This is part of the world. In which we live. Now whenever. When 9-11 took place.
[15:54] There was. All sorts of inquiries. Which put in place. Safeguards. To try and prevent. These things from happening again. Which in some ways. We know.
[16:05] Will never be possible. But always. There's an inquiry. There always is a looking into. Why. How did these things happen. But. One question of course. That keeps coming to people's minds.
[16:16] Keeps on rising up. Is not the question of. How did these things happen. But why did these things happen. Why. Was there such wickedness. Why. Were so many people killed.
[16:26] And more than just. What was in the mind. Of people. To do such horrific things. Really. Why. Is this world. Gone so bad. Why.
[16:38] Is there death. Why is there evil. Why is there sin. Why is there wickedness. And as Christians. We may be faced. With these sort of questions. We may find people. Immediately talking to us. When we talk about God.
[16:49] We talk about Christ. And say yes. You may believe in that God. But why does God. Allow these things to happen. Why doesn't God. Do something to stop them. Perhaps we may feel.
[17:00] Unable to answer those questions. We may feel. And unbelievers do feel. Certainly. Those who do not believe in God. Or do not hold to Christ. Or they feel they have an argument.
[17:11] For atheism. They have an argument. Against God. It goes something like this. A man called John Stuart Mill. Put it very well. In this book he wrote. If God desires there to be evil in the world.
[17:24] Then God is not good. If he does not desire there to be evil in the world. Yet evil exists. Then he is not almighty. Thus.
[17:35] If evil exists. God is either not loving. Or he is not powerful. Evil casts a shadow over God's love. And power. And that is the argument as it goes.
[17:46] Isn't it? And that presents us with a real problem. Presents us with a real struggle. Presents us perhaps whether we are Christians or not Christians. With the whole question of God.
[17:58] Is there a God? Can there be a God? What is he like? Why is there evil in the world? You can't answer that argument with a flippant answer.
[18:10] You can't answer that question with some sort of trivial words. Even a trivial answer like there is no God. That is a trivial answer to why there is evil in the world.
[18:22] It is a nonsensical unreasonable answer. And we know that this question of evil is a question as old as time itself. It is a question that has puzzled people's minds throughout the ages.
[18:33] Job particularly. That is why we read there from Job 24. A man who had known great evil done to him in one sense. Great loss. Great suffering. Great sorrow. And he sees around about him wickedness going on.
[18:44] Murder. He sees people being unjustly treated. He sees people being taken hostage. He sees all sorts of terrible things. And he starts his question. Why does the Almighty.
[18:55] Why does God not set times for judgment? In other words. Why doesn't God do something? And later on he says in verse 12. The groans of the dying rise from the city.
[19:06] That could be 9-11 couldn't it? All over again. The groans of the dying rise from the city. The souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing. In other words. God doesn't stop.
[19:17] Or God doesn't act against those evil doers. Other believers as well through the Bible. Have had to tackle that tough question. Habakkuk. One of the prophets who lived in a difficult and evil time.
[19:29] Says this. He asks God. Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? And later on he says in chapter 1. Why do you tolerate the treacherous?
[19:40] Why are you silent? While the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves. See the Bible isn't afraid to face the tough questions of life.
[19:50] And as Christians we mustn't be afraid to face the tough problems. And questions in the world around about us. We're faced with them in our own personal lives. And those around about us face them too.
[20:01] Not just only in the global scale. But right down in the hearts. Of life. And these questions. These questions are why God doesn't do something.
[20:12] And why is there even the world? These questions can be more painful. Than even the wounds that are inflicted by terrorism. The inner pain. Can be much more distressing.
[20:25] So does the Bible offer any relief? Or has God nothing to say about these matters? These accusations? Is the Christian response when we're asked about these things?
[20:36] Or see these things? Or people that talk about them is merely to shrug our shoulders and say. I don't know. Or to give that timid answer. Which is. God only knows. Which has a measure of truth but is not enough.
[20:51] No. God does. In his word. Give us both help. And comfort. Concerning the world in which we live. He has something to say. Something important.
[21:01] Something essential that we need to take hold of. God isn't silent. God has spoken. And God has revealed to us truth.
[21:15] But we have to begin before we get there with something else. We have to begin with this. With acknowledging that God is greater than us. And that his thinking is not our thinking.
[21:27] As he says in Isaiah 55. His thoughts are not our thoughts. Neither are his ways our ways. God in his great wisdom has not revealed to us the answer to every single event in our lives.
[21:40] He has not given to us full explanation of why things happen in every occasion. Now we may not like that. But we have to accept it.
[21:51] That God is not duty bound to tell us everything. In fact God is quite incredible and beyond our understanding. Paul as he speaks about God's greatness says this.
[22:03] Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable his judgments. His paths beyond tracing out. Thinking that we can bring God down to our level.
[22:14] That somehow we can explain all things. And understand and grasp him. And everything that happens is foolishness. We have to start by acknowledging that God's mind cannot be fully comprehended.
[22:29] And if we think we know how God's mind works. And we have the answer to all these things. And actually we know nothing at all. John Wenham wrote a book called The Goodness of God.
[22:40] And in this he says, he writes this. Man's happiness lies in accepting his creaturehood from the hands of his wonderful creator.
[22:52] When one thinks about it, it is really absurd for a being as ignorant as man to expect fully to understand the whole complex web of purposes. Which go to make up his God given experiences.
[23:05] The truthful answer to the question, why has God allowed this, must always be prefaced by, I cannot pretend to fully know. Now we know that Joe battled with this question of why God didn't judge wicked men.
[23:22] Why he didn't step in. Why he didn't do something. And he struggled with that question all through his own suffering until we get to the very end of the book. When God speaks to him and Job begins to understand.
[23:40] That God doesn't have to owe him an explanation. Job replied to the Lord, I know that you can do all things. No purpose of yours can be thwarted.
[23:52] You, that's God, asked of me, Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand. Things too wonderful for me to know.
[24:06] It was only as he humbled himself to that point of recognizing that God knows all things and he knows little. And that God's ways are perfect and good. And that he cannot fully understand them.
[24:16] It was only then that he found peace in his heart. It was only then that he was able to rest in the knowledge that God was in control. And God knew what he was doing. Another quote from a book, Os Guinness writes this, Faith may have to suspend judgment on what God is doing.
[24:37] Faith may not know why, but it knows why it trusts God who knows why. That's the difference. We may not fully understand what God is doing.
[24:49] We may not fully understand what is happening. We may not have all the answers, but what we do know is we know God. And what we know about God means that we can trust him. Knows that we can depend upon him.
[24:59] Knows that he is reliable. It's a very height of foolishness. But we all do it. To expect God to be answerable to us. We all ask him why.
[25:11] We all think we can demand of him an explanation for his actions. But that is foolishness. We all think we can't do it. We can't do it. But just because we don't know everything doesn't mean we don't know anything. There are things that God has chosen to reveal us in his word.
[25:25] Things that God has told us about evil. Things that God has told us about what he's doing in the world. Things that we can find hope in and assurance and confidence that we may not be overwhelmed by the evil, by the grief, by the sorrow, by the heartache, by the pain that we see in the world about us and in our own lives too.
[25:43] The Bible does give us answers and hope in this evil world. In a world which is hopeless as it faces the terror of evil.
[25:56] Three simple things that God wants us to understand. Things that we need to grasp. Things that are important. The first is simply this. That God is not the originator or author of the evil in this world.
[26:10] God is not the author or originator of the evil in this world. The Bible makes that clear. The author of evil, the beginner of evil in this world is Satan, the devil.
[26:21] He's not some cartoon figure. He's not some pretend bogeyman. He is real. He is evil. And he is at work in this world. He was, the Bible tells us, one who God created as an angel to serve him and to serve this world.
[26:40] But in his heart, Satan sought to overthrow God and to become like God. Isaiah tells us this about him. You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven.
[26:52] I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will make myself like the most high. Satan sought to rebel and turn against God. And because of that, God threw him out of heaven.
[27:09] Satan decided he was going to turn God's creation against him. And so he tempted Adam and Eve. We read about that in Genesis 3. Tempted them to rebel against God as well.
[27:21] To turn away and commit sin. And in doing so, Satan brought into this world, through Adam, all the death, the evil, the sin.
[27:32] The floodgates were opened. Romans in chapter 5, Paul writes about this. Sin entered the world through one man. That's Adam. Death through sin. And in this way, death came to all men.
[27:44] That sin and that rebellion against God has made this world a broken world. A world that's described in the Bible as an evil age.
[27:56] A fallen world in rebellions against God, which produces the terrible and awful consequences that we see around about us. But someone might say, well, hold on a minute.
[28:06] You say that God is not the author or originator of evil. But surely God created Satan and he created Adam, who were the causes of the evil that we see. That's true.
[28:45] He talks about sin and wickedness and why people do it. And how God is not to blame for that or originator of that in his letter. He talks about when we're tempted to sin, to do evil or wrong.
[29:00] When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when they're dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
[29:15] Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it's full grown, gives birth to death. See, the problem is laid back on our door.
[29:28] We want to look for a scapegoat to evil. We want to look to somebody else or to God or to something or to the government or to whoever it may be. But the reality is that the responsibility is laid on our doorstep.
[29:40] It's our problem. It's our problem. We are the sinful people. We are the ones who do evil. Is that all? Is that all the Bible says? It just says it's God not to blame, therefore tough, get on with it?
[29:53] No, it doesn't. It tells us as well that God, in spite of our evil world and the sinful things that take place, God is doing something about it in this world.
[30:05] God had planned, even before the devil rebelled and Adam fell into sin, God had planned a way of rescue, a way to change things, a plan which he's been fulfilling and carrying out all through time since creation itself.
[30:22] And the key figure in that plan, the one who would accomplish and bring that plan to fulfillment, is the Son of God. For the plan depended upon him coming as a man to suffer the punishment for sin at the hands of evil men at the cross.
[30:42] It meant that he came as the rescuer. As we read in the very beginning of our service, 1 John 3, the reason the Son of God appeared, the reason the Son of God came from heaven to earth was to destroy the devil's work, to deal with evil and wickedness in the world, to make a change.
[30:59] And at Calvary, at the cross, where he suffered, more than any other human being can ever suffer, not just physically, but spiritually in his soul, as he bore the very anger of God against sin, the justice of God against your sin and mine.
[31:14] There he overcame and defeated evil itself. There he overcame and defeated the devil. The Bible says in Colossians 2, having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
[31:31] The cross seems to be the height of weakness as the Son of God suffers and dies. But actually, it's the triumph of victory. It's the blow of defeat against evil as it suffers in him and is destroyed.
[31:51] And so Christ is the one who now is able to deliver us, to rescue us from this present evil age, Paul writes. That's the wonderful truth of the gospel.
[32:02] We live in an evil age. It is a broken and fallen world, but God has done the most amazing thing in sending his Son. He has come to change and to rescue and to save us from it.
[32:13] And we, dear friends, we become joint conquerors with Christ at the moment that we turn from the evil in our own hearts and lives and place our trust in Christ as our Savior and Lord to make us new creations by his Holy Spirit.
[32:34] We are conquerors. We have triumphed because Christ has triumphed and we are one with him. See, it's not enough for us simply to look at the TV or open the paper and moan and grumble and complain at the evils that other people do if we are unwilling to face the evils of our own hearts and lives.
[32:57] It's not enough for us to point all the fingers and say, look at them. Yes, they deserve God's judgment and they deserve God's judgment and they are wicked and they are evil and to say that I am good when we know in our own hearts that within us there dwells pride, hatred, selfishness, greed, lust, you name it, it's there.
[33:17] We know it. When Christ comes into our hearts and lives because we see ourselves as being in need of his salvation, then there's a change.
[33:30] A change that begins in us. A change and a battle starts in us. Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians as beating my body and making it my slave. He's not talking about getting a stick and hitting himself.
[33:43] He's talking about a battle within us, a wrestling with us that we have to work at and fight at day by day, dear believers. A fight which Christ empowers us to wrestle with that old sinful nature, that part of us which we know is not what God wants and to not give it the upper hand, to not let it win the day, but to constantly be transformed and changed into people God wants us to be.
[34:18] See, the great need of our world is the gospel. The greatest need of the people of Syria is the good news of Jesus Christ. The great need of Boko Haram in Nigeria, the great need of Islamic State is the gospel.
[34:36] The great need of the people of America is the gospel. In the UK, because it alone has the power to overcome and to bring an end to evil in one person's life after another.
[34:48] See, it's wonderful that we have all these conferences, peace talks, United Nations resolutions. It's great that there are people working for peace, but the trouble is this, that all of those things cannot change one single evil heart.
[35:04] Because that's only something that Christ can do. And it's only as hearts are changed, that communities are changed, that nations are changed, that the world is changed.
[35:14] But what men cannot do, God can do. There's one more thing. Is that it, we might say?
[35:24] Is that it? Is God not the author of evil? He sent Christ in the world to change people one at a time. Is that all? Is that all the answer we've got? Wonderful though it is, marvelous though it is, no, there's something more.
[35:36] Although our Lord Jesus Christ struck a vital blow against Satan and evil at the cross and his resurrection, the war is not yet over. The day is coming soon when Christ will return into this world with power and justice to rid evil from this world and from his presence and to bring judgment against evildoers and to bring a world of perfect justice.
[36:03] justice. Here's what the Apostle Paul writes about this. He's talking about the stubbornness of people's hearts, the sinfulness of the individual hearts and he makes this point.
[36:18] Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
[36:30] God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who seek by persistence in doing good, sorry, to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
[36:45] But to those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile.
[36:59] But glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that this world is heading to that day.
[37:15] That day when God will judge the wicked and the evil for all that they've done. And our supreme hope in this evil and wicked world is that day when God will bring all of history to its climax.
[37:29] When every single person will stand before God, you and I to be judged as to how we have lived. Either with faith in Christ, living to do what is pleasing to God or that and that will lead to eternal life.
[37:44] Or while we lived our lives as it's put there, self-seeking, rejecting the truth of who God is and his claims over us, there will be wrath and anger.
[37:54] There is no simple fading away when we die. There is no end of all things and oblivion when we die. There is heaven and there is hell.
[38:04] There is judgment and there is grace. God has not turned a blind eye to the evil that men do.
[38:16] Yours or that of terrorists. They will stand before him. they haven't got off scot-free and neither will you or I.
[38:28] But the wonderful truth is this, that in Christ there is forgiveness now for whoever we are. We may feel that we only have a little bit of evil compared to them but dear friends, evil is evil and all those who practice evil, remember, those who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
[38:47] Why wait for that day for the evil of your heart to be judged and dealt with? Why wait for that day for God to work and to make a difference in your life?
[38:57] Why not even today? That's why Christ has come to set you free from those things that lead you away from God into self-destruction and harm and to bring you into a right relationship with him.
[39:09] The world in which we live will continue to see wicked men doing wicked things, continue to see horror and sorrow and grief but dear friends, as Christians we have a hope, a reality, a certainty because of what God's word teaches us.
[39:28] This world is not out of control and though evil is at work, we are not in the hands of evil men. This world is not speeding towards its own self-destruction by chance and chaos.
[39:43] This world is in the hands of an almighty God, a gracious God whose plan and purpose is to save men and women in this present evil age and to bring about what he has always purposed and will accomplish, a world in which their evil will be dealt with and destroyed once and for all, a world in which there will be newness of life, fullness of life and perfect righteousness.
[40:08] I'll close with these words of Peter writing about this truth. Perhaps you may think, well why is God taking so long? Why isn't he doing something now?
[40:19] Well I've already explained he is. But here's what the Bible says. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise about Christ coming again, judgment, following.
[40:30] As some understand slowness, instead he is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. Why hasn't Christ come and put an end to evil? So that you and I may repent and be saved.
[40:44] Isn't that wonderful? God is patient. He's allowing wicked men to continue that they might be turned and you and I might be turned back to him. The day of the Lord will come like a thief.
[40:57] In other words, we won't know when. It will surprise us when God comes again. The heavens will disappear. The elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything down in it will be laid bare.
[41:10] Since everything will be destroyed in this way, the world in which we live and everything will be changed. What kind of people should we be? We should live godly and holy lives as we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.
[41:24] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise, we're looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells, where there is no evil, where there is no sorrow, where there is no pain, where there is no grief.
[41:44] There is hope for a hopeless world and it's found in Christ alone and nowhere else. Let us be sure that our hope is in him and let us take this message of hope to a world of hopelessness that others may find in him the peace, the comfort that they are searching for.
[42:09] The peace of hope is in you and is in you so Guru Pahal was in you that has come and helped me in my heart and itless is in you for God coming in hiså—Ž is in you and the heights of glory that reveal in me now s God as the hope meny I stand in Christ with saints for me, and Christ in evil, hope of hell.
[42:48] My eyes are fallen and my teachers are to make these thrill my hope.