The Bowls of God's Wrath

Good morning, everybody. It is my joy, it is my privilege to be able to preach to you

God's Word this morning, and to fill in for Sean, who is out at a pastor's conference, correct?

Yes. And so our passage today is in the book of Revelation, from Revelation chapter 16. We're

Revelation 16 · chapter mention

going to do the whole chapter today. Revelation is in the back of your Bible, and if you've been

with us these last few weeks, you would know that we've been going over some pretty,

pretty heavy topics. We've been talking about judgment, heaven, hell, and the wrath of God,

and these are heavy and weighty topics, but it's important for us to preach on them because

God thinks it's important for us to know that's why he gave it to us in his Word. So let's preach,

or let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord, I pray that you would bless the preaching of your

word this morning. Lord, your Word is sweet in our mouths, but bitter in our stomachs

as we think about the implications. Lord, I pray that your Word would work mightily through me today.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So let us read the text today. So if you are willing and able,

please stand for the reading of God's Word and follow along as I read from Revelation chapter 16.

Revelation 16 · chapter mention

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the several angels,

go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God. So the first angel went and poured

out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came among the people who bore the mark of the

beast and worshiped its image. The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like

the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. The third angel poured out his

bowl into the rivers, and the springs of water, and it became blood. And I heard the angel in charge

of the water say, just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.

For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve. And I heard the altar saying, yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and just

are your judgments. The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people

with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over

these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne

of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish

and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to

prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of

the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs,

for their demonic spirits performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world to assemble

them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed

is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed.

And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The seventh angel poured out his

bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, it is done!

And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had

never been since man was on the earth. So great was that earthquake. The great city was split into

three parts, and the cities of nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great to make her drain the

cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.

And great hailstones, about 100 pounds each, fell from heaven on people, and they cursed God for the

plague of the hill because the plague was so severe. This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated. In 2023, the AAA Foundation examined police reports from across the country

and found that there were over 300 police recorded incidents, 100,000 police related injuries, and 6,400 deaths from drowsy driving.

It's obvious that if you drive while you're sleepy, you are playing with fire. But still,

an estimated 400,000 teen drivers admit every week to drowsy driving.

People make light of the fact they're driving a 1,000-pound bowling ball of glass and metal,

and they fall asleep at the wheel. And so what is that? Some people also make light of God's judgments.

God's weighty judgments are coming, and people are asleep, so to speak, at the wheel of life.

God's feet. So therefore, we have passages like this, passages full of shocking, vivid, gruesome imagery

that are meant to wake us up and slap us in the face like a kick of caffeine that we may not be caught sleeping.

Sean has preached over similar passages like this over the several months,

and something we've established is that these events are not meant to be understood as corresponding directly to historical events.

So we're not supposed to look at the four horsemen released from the seals

and try to name specific historical figures that the four horsemen correspond to.

We look at the sea being turned into blood.

We're not supposed to say, like, that's this particular volcano erupting and pouring ash and a red algae bloom.

So that's not the point. It's more likely that this text is meant to be interpreted symbolically,

because this is the genre of apocalyptic literature.

And the text is also supposed to have significance for the readers of that day,

so it doesn't make sense for them to be thinking about a volcano eruption,

let's say, 2,000 years after this was written.

It's more appropriate to say that these judgments that we see

describe the already, but not yet, judgment of God against the world and those who do not worship him.

They cover the whole time from the death and resurrection of Christ,

where Jesus gains the authority to open the seals,

and they cover the whole span of the church age up to the last days

when God will reveal his judgment

and make the new heaven and the new earth one,

which is what we always see in the seventh judgments.

So there are three sets of seven judgments.

There are the seven seal judgments, the seven trumpets,

and now we are at the seven bowls,

and you can think of them as an escalating, spiraling image.

It's like getting on one of those teacup rides at Disneyland

that goes around and around, but it speeds up as you go.

There's an escalation of the events.

Because this is the third of three,

that means we're looking at the end.

Three is the number of completeness.

Seven, as we have also seen in Revelation,

is also a picture of perfection and also a type of wholeness.

But it's also seven judgments here

because the beast, which is described in chapter 13,

has seven heads.

This beast is the representative image of all the kings

and the people who would rise up

and take the place of Christ against God

and who would persecute and harm God's people.

But God puts out seven plagues,

which translated into Hebrew and Greek

can both mean plague and blow.

Seven blows blasting off one head at a time.

However, in the midst of this description of judgments,

of blood and fire,

there is a cry of encouragement out

from the mouth of Christ himself.

We see it in chapter,

or sorry, verse 15 of chapter 16.

He tells them to stay awake

and keep their garments on.

And we know this comes from Christ,

not just because you're a red letter Bible,

probably highlighted in red,

but because he says almost the exact same things

in Matthew 24, 42.

He says,

Stay awake, for you do not know

what day your Lord is coming.

You must be ready,

for the Son of Man is coming

at an hour you do not expect.

So that means these bold judgments

are not just an occasion for glorifying God

and acknowledging his power,

as we've seen in chapter 15 last week,

but it is also, today,

it is a call for repentance.

This idea that waking up and staying awake

is equivalent to repentance

actually comes from Revelation chapter 3

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

in Christ's letter to the church in Sardis.

He says that he knows their works,

they have a reputation of being alive,

but are dead.

Wake up and strengthen what remains

and is about to die,

for I have not found your work complete

in the sight of my God.

Remember then what you have received,

keep it,

and repent.

If you will not wake up,

I will come like a thief,

and you will not know

at what hour I will come against you.

So waking up,

in Revelation 16,

refers to not being lulled

into the sleep of sin.

That's our main takeaway for today,

to not be lulled

into the sleep of sin,

but instead repent

because of the severity

of God's judgments

and the nature of his judgments.

We see from his judgments

that these bold judgments

show that it is complete and total,

that they are upon those

who do not repent,

they are upon those

who are deceived,

and they are final.

So let's start

with the first three bowls.

The first three bowls

show that God's judgments

are total.

They encompass

the whole being.

Revelation 16.2 says,

the first angel

poured out his bowl on the earth,

and sores came out

among the people.

Specifically,

they came out upon the people

who bore the mark of the beast

and who worshipped its image.

The mark is a parody

of God's mark.

God marks and seals

those who belong to him.

Their foreheads bear his name.

The beast in mimicry

also puts his mark

on those who follow him.

So there are only two camps.

What this first tells us

is that,

and I want to be very clear

about this,

these judgments that we see

are not upon Christians.

All the wrath

that God

would have against Christians

is instead poured out

on Jesus on the cross.

But that doesn't mean

we can't still pay attention

to God's wrath

as it appears in the world

today

and as he declares it

in the future.

Something we also notice

about these,

the first judgment,

is that there are no limitations

or qualifications.

The first trumpet judgment,

which bears some similarity

to this,

caused a third

of the green grass

and the trees

to be burned up.

It only affected

a third of the world,

but here it's everyone.

The plague of sores

refers back to

one of the plagues

of the Exodus.

Moses threw soot

into the air

and when it came down,

sores broke out

among the people of Egypt.

Likewise,

we see Job.

In the book of Job,

he's struck by Satan

and he is covered

in sores

and all he can do

is lie down

and scrape his boils

with a pot shard

and ash.

This connection

between sores

and ash

makes sense

because,

at least here,

because the golden bowls

that are poured out

are bowls

of burning incense.

Early in Revelation 5,

it says that

the prayers

of the saints

go up before the Lord

and they're in this

golden bowl

of incense

on his altar.

So every time

you pray

that the Lord

would show his justice

on earth,

every time you pray

the Lord's prayer

and say,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

an angel scoops

a little more incense

into that bowl

and one day

that bowl

will be tossed out

on the world.

Ash will fall out

and sores

will break out.

Again,

this isn't

specifically saying that

in the end times

everyone will get

these terrible blisters

but it is saying

that God's judgment

will be a crippling

physical judgment.

The magicians

in the days

of Moses

could not stand.

It says they could not

stand before Moses

because of the pain

of the sores.

Likewise,

Job is brought

to his feet.

Now,

some people think

that hell

is just for the soul

but Paul in Acts 24,

15 actually mentions

that there is a resurrection

of the dead

and the unjust.

Everyone

in that last days

will be raised again.

They will have bodies

that are capable

of physical pain

and they will not be raised

to eternal life

as believers

but eternal death.

If you ever run

a lot

or started running

after a long time

not running,

you probably got blisters

on your feet

and you know it hurts

to even walk.

You don't even want

to get up out of bed

or put on socks.

If you've had

canker sores

or ulcers,

you can't even drink water.

That's what we see

with the first bowl.

The second bowl

is about the angel

pouring out

a bowl

into the sea

and it becomes

like the blood

of a corpse

and every living thing

dies

that was in the sea.

This also ties

directly to the second trumpet.

In the second trumpet

an angel

throws a burning mountain

into the sea

and

a third

of the sea

became blood.

A third

of the living creatures

in the sea died

and a third

of the ships

were destroyed.

And again,

this isn't speaking

to some global

climate disaster

but it's

among other things

referring

to financial disaster.

That might seem

a little strange

but we actually see

later in Revelation 18

that the merchants

who live

in the city

of Babylon

which is

Babylon is representative

for every culture

and world system

that opposes God.

They wail

when Babylon's ships

are destroyed

because the wealth

of Babylon

was by its ships.

The sea

is therefore

a symbol

of its vehicle

of wealth.

Babylon

lures people in

with a promise

of wealth

apart from God.

Babylon says

you don't need God

you just need money.

All your problems

will be solved

when you pursue money

and not God.

But Babylon here

worships wealth

so God

kills

its wealth.

In the last days

God

will not be

impressed

with your 401ks

your crypto wallets

He will not be

placated

with a bribe.

That's what

the second bowl

is alluding to.

The third bowl

is similar

but this time

it is a bowl

poured out

into the rivers

and the springs

of water.

This also

connects us

back to the third trumpet.

With the third trumpet

a star falls

called wormwood

into the rivers

and it makes

them bitter.

And the symbolic

image there

is of the things

of life

that are pleasant

being turned

bitter

by God's judgment.

So there's a proverb

that speaks

of a woman

a forbidden woman

an adulterous woman

who lips

drip honey

and her speech

being smoother

than oil

but in the end

she is

as bitter

as wormwood

sharp as

the two-edged sword

her feet

go down

to death.

The picture

of rivers

and springs

usually refers

to hope

and life.

If you have

fresh water

you can live.

And so bitterness

with wormwood

refers to

the good pleasures

of life

like sex

being turned

into adultery

corruption

and lust.

But with the trumpets

it was just a third

with the bowls

it is all the waters.

If you have

no fresh water

you are dead.

that's it.

For now

perhaps

even

the

the most

hardened

unrepentant

person

still can enjoy

a sunset.

They still enjoy

the taste

of bread

the freshness

of the air.

That will be over.

this is a sentence

of hopeless

bitterness

unto death.

This is perhaps

the most severe

of the first three judgments

and it's so severe

that an angel

seems to have to

explain and cry out

and tell the world

why

this is happening.

How could it be

so bad?

He cries out

and says

in verse

five

just are you

a holy one

who was

and is

for you brought

these judgments.

These judgments

can come

because God

is just

and he is holy.

If God was not just

then he would not

be a good God.

If God was not just

and he let evil

run rampant

in the world

he would not be

worth worshipping.

he is also holy

which means

he is high

he is set apart

and above

all else

and our sins

against him

bear incredible

guilt

and they are worthy

of such punishments.

And it's not just

sinning against God

that's the problem

but even

allying yourself

with the one

who sins against God.

You might

not be a Christian

and you're here today

and you read

verse six

and it says that

they have shed

the blood of saints

and prophets

and you have given

them blood to drink.

It's what they deserve

and maybe you have

not personally

persecuted a Christian

but there's only

two sides in this war.

It is true

that Christians

are salt and light.

We

wherever we go

we have a purifying

presence

among other people

but that

relationship

cuts both ways.

1 Corinthians 15

27 says

do not be deceived

bad company

ruins

good morals.

The war

is always on

whether you

acknowledge it or not.

And so it is

that the saints

who are under

the altar

as we saw

earlier in Revelation

they cry out

in verse seven

and say

yes Lord

God the almighty

true and just

are your judgments.

they agree.

They agree.

They agree.

So with these

first three judgments

let's look at

how severe

how complete

they are

and not be lulled

into conformity

with the world

and its pleasures.

if you think

about why

people sleep in

the answer

is sort of obvious

you can sleep

when you don't

have anything

to worry about.

I remember

when I was in college

I would

try to have

a good sleep schedule

and I would

set my alarm

like an hour

before my first class

but then

I would just

hit that snooze button

over and over again

until the last

possible second

I would

bolt onto my bike

and then just

sprint on my bike

all the way to class

and

and I could do that

or I did it

because

I trusted my ability

to bike fast

and I trusted my ability

to catch up

should I miss something

in the class.

These three judgments

see they target

the things

that make people

think they can stand

without God.

People take pride

in their bodies

in their wealth

in the little pleasures

of life

but God will take

all of those things away.

He will cut them down

all the way through

so that's one

of the first reasons

to stay awake

because God's judgments

are on everything.

We should also

stay awake

because the judgment

is on the unrepentant.

This is a theme

we see with the next

two bowls.

Bowl four

it says the angel

poured out his bowl

in the sun

and the heat

from the sun

intensifies

and it scorches

people with fire.

So it is at this point

the link between

the trumpets

and the bowls

becomes a little

less precise

but there's still

some continuity

bowls and trumpets

four, five, and six

all refer to fire

and darkness

and spiritual entities.

Now this fourth bowl

and the image

of being scorched

with fire

is a reference

to the heat

of God's

discerning judgment.

Fire throughout

the Bible

is a symbol

of God's wrath

against sinners.

Isaiah 33

says the sinners

in Zion are afraid

trembling has seized

the godless,

seized the godless,

who among us

can dwell

with the consuming fire?

Who among us

can dwell

with everlasting burning?

Besides just

being powerful

and painful,

fire destroys

and it burns

away that

which is impure.

So that's why

we also see

it refers to,

it can also refer

to the purification

of Christians.

1 Peter 1.7

says that

the tested

genuineness

of your faith

more precious

than gold

that perishes

though it is tested

by fire

may be found

to result

in praise

and glory

and honor

at the revelation

of Jesus Christ.

So to the unrighteous

fire burns

away everything.

To the righteous

they have the silver

and gold

from the righteousness

of Christ left over.

And people feel

even in this day

a little bit

of that heat.

People

I have talked

to a few people

who say they don't

like going to church

and they don't

like Christians

because they feel

like they're too judgy.

They don't like

to be judged.

Don't judge me, bro.

People don't like

being told

they're living

the wrong way.

That they're in

sin.

But whatever

that irking

that itch

and that little spark

that's cutting

at their conscience

now

is but a fraction

of the turmoil.

That spiritual

inner pain

will become

a real

total

inferno

on the last day.

Bowl five

instead of speaking

of fire

actually speaks

of darkness.

So the angel

pours out

his bowl

onto the throne

of the beast

and his kingdom

was plunged

into darkness.

Again,

a reference

to one of the

plagues of Egypt.

In the fourth trumpet

one third

of the heavenly lights

and the stars

were darkened.

But this time again

we have

an escalation.

Now we have

a total

darkness.

And it's not

a pleasant darkness

that people

drive 14 hours

to go see.

It's the bowl

of the

spiritual

anguish

of the separation

from God.

Sean spoke on this

a few weeks ago

that God's judgment

is both referred

to with fire

and light

and darkness

and cold.

Jesus says

that hell

is a place

where the worm

does not cease

and the fire

is not quenched.

But he also calls it

a place of outer darkness

where there is

gnashing of teeth

and this might refer

to the chattering

of your teeth

because you're shivering.

It makes me think

of the

fictional depiction

of being launched

into space

without a space suit.

This isn't how

it works in reality

but in fiction

you end up in space

your space station

explodes or something

and the part

of your body

that's facing away

from the sun

freezes.

And the part

of your body

that's facing

the sun

sizzles

and burns.

that's what

God's judgments

are like.

They are like

being both

at the same time

facing God's

fire

and facing

the eternal

oblivion

of darkness.

You would think

with judgments

these

this severe

like this

that people

would change

their minds.

You know

I know people

who go on a run

and after

their knees hurt

and their back

gives out

they just

stop and turn back

and a little pain

is enough

for them to give up

but not these people.

Verse 8 says

they did not repent

and give him glory.

Verse 11 says

they cursed

the God of heaven

for their pain

and the sores.

They did not repent

of their deeds.

they know

who

is behind us.

They acknowledge

that God

is the one

who is in control

but they do not

repent.

This is a warning

to us

to be careful.

So ask yourselves

is there some sin

in your life

that has been

nagging your conscience

that you haven't

addressed

that you think

you can

wait on

you're sleeping

on it.

Look address it now.

Address it now

because the people

who face the wrath

of God

are the people

who do not repent.

The people

who do not repent

are the same people

who will not repent.

Now this isn't to say

that you lose

your salvation

if there's some kind

of sin you don't

address in your life.

It is appropriate

to confess before God

the sins we know about

and the sins we don't

know about

and trust that

Christ's grace

is more.

But if you are

aware of sin

and you do not

do anything about it

be careful.

Never underestimate

the ability

of your heart

to harden.

I think we all

like music here

and we probably

all have our

favorite songs

but one of the

best ways

to take our

favorite songs

and make them

into our

most hated songs

is to use them

as an alarm.

I used to love

the song called

Together

I think by

Clean Bandit.

Clean Bandit

and it was our

I put it on snooze

and it was great

to wake up in the

morning the first

few times

but after a few

months I came

to hate that song.

After ten plagues

ten plagues

not even seven

ten plagues

Pharaoh continued

to harden his heart

he did not repent

and every time

you hit that

snooze button

on your conscience

you make it that

harder to wake up.

So wake up now

because his judgments

are on the

unrepentant.

The sixth bowl

tells us that we

should repent

because his judgment

is on those

who are

deceived.

An angel

pours out his bowl

on the great river

Euphrates

and the water

dries up

and these frog

spirits

crawl out of

the mouth

of the dragon

the beast

and his false

prophets

like an unholy

trinity

of spiritual

forces in

opposition to God

and these spirits

they go out

and they gather

the people for war

at the city

of Jerusalem

and now I know

it doesn't say

Jerusalem

in verses 12

through 16

but throughout

the Old Testament

there are references

to such a battle

at the walls

of Jerusalem.

We sung through

Psalm 46

actually I think

that's in line

with what we're

seeing here

and verse 16

specifically refers

to a place

in Hebrew

that is called

Armageddon

Armageddon

and this word

today usually

refers to some

kind of terrible

event

and this is where

they get it from

from the Bible

and throughout

history some people

have believed

that it refers

to the plain

of Megiddo

the plain of Megiddo

was a place

where many

important battles

took place

in the history

of Israel

but it is a plain

there's no mountain

there

it's more likely

that this is

referring to

the word

Mo'ed

and Har

means mountain

so Har Mo'ed

means the mountain

of the assembly

it's the place

where God

gathers his saints

and Jerusalem

is built

on one

or two mountains

depending how

you count it

now I don't want

to go too much

into details

of this battle

because John

actually goes

into them more

in Revelation

19 through 20

so I'll just

suffice to say

for now

that it is

possible

that this is

referring to

a specific

future

climactic

historical event

Zechariah 12

14 speaks

of this battle

and he speaks

about how

the they

which is

the people

of Israel

will look

upon him

who they

have pierced

that's Jesus

and that the

Lord's feet

will set down

on the Mount

of Olives

so it's

possible to

look for

historical events

it's not the

point of the

passage

because Jesus

explicitly says

in verse 16

he is coming

like a thief

thieves

do not make

appointments

so the point

is not to

go look

look at

the turmoil

in Israel

today

and say

Jesus is

coming

because

he can

come

anytime

I think

the right

response

is actually

to look

at these

kings

and look

at the

response

to the

kings

and we

see that

these kings

are deceived

the theme

of deception

is sown

throughout

these verses

first of all

there are

frog spirits

and frogs

again are one

of the plagues

of Egypt

the frogs

came out

of the Nile

and went

to all the

houses

and they

died

in the

houses

which is

disgusting

and the

plague of

the frogs

was one

of the few

plagues

that the

magicians

of those

days

were able

to reproduce

and they

convinced

Pharaoh

that God

wasn't to be

taken seriously

second they

walk along

the dried

river

of the

Euphrates

if you

have one

of those

maps

in the

back

of your

Bibles

you would

see that

the

Euphrates

if Israel

is here

and Babylon

and Assyria

are here

that the

Euphrates

hooks over

the north

and so

if you

were going

to go

and travel

to fight

Israel

you would

go along

and come

down from

the north

so that's

why they're

the kings

of the east

but they

come from

the north

and

the last

time

an army

assembled

against God

and walked

along a

dried

land

they were

crushed

like the

Egyptians

as they

tried to

walk along

the Red

Sea

it was a

trap

symbolically

this battle

refers to

the defeat

of one of

the greatest

idols of

humanity

which is

its military

power

people think

governments

think they

can kill

Christians

they can set

laws against

them

and they

can defeat

them

but God

is the

Lord of

hosts

which means

the Lord

of armies

of heaven

a single

angel

in 1 Kings

18 kills

180,000

people in

a single

morning

and he

has hosts

of angels

these kings

are deceived

thirdly we

also see that

these demonic

spirits perform

signs

like the

false prophet

chapter 13

says that

he performs

signs like

making fire

come down

from heaven

and by the

signs that it

is allowed to

work in the

presence of

the beast

it deceives

those who

dwell on

the earth

we may

have in

view

actual

pseudo

miraculous

events

Jesus talks

about people

coming to

him and

saying

Lord Lord

haven't we

cast out

demons

in our

context

perhaps it

is more

appropriate

just to

say that

signs are

anything

that tell

you that

living without

God is

the right

way to

live

that's what

signs do

they point

and they

say you're

on the

right track

so a

person who

lives a

life of

ignoring God

ignoring his

commands but

still

prospers

is being

deceived by

such signs

so for

example you

can cheat

on your

taxes and

you'll have

a slightly

larger bank

account than

normal and

you have

your sign

the sign

that God

didn't strike

at that

moment

is a

sign

that you're

on the

right path

you can

sleep on

it

and sin

is

alluring

there are

so many

signs that

tell us

that the

way of

Christ is

not the

right way

so do

not be

deceived

Jesus

cries out

behold

I am

coming like

a thief

blessed is

the one

who stays

awake

keeping his

garments on

that he

may not

go about

naked

and be

seen

exposed

I mentioned

in the

beginning

of the

sermon

that staying

awake

refers to

repenting

and that

was from

the letter

to the

church

at

Sardis

being

naked

can also

the image

of nakedness

and being

exposed

is found

in the

letter

to

Laodicea

Jesus

counsels

them

to buy

from him

white

garments

so that

they may

clothe

themselves

and the

shame

of their

nakedness

may not

be seen

those whom

I love

I reprove

and discipline

so be

zealous

and repent

so stay

awake

or wake

up

means to

repent

put on

garments

means to

repent

both of

these

there's a

connection

between

all of

these

and these

white

robes

are

the same

white

robes

that the

saints

who have

washed

their clothes

in the

blood of

the lamb

wear

they are

people who

act out

their faith

they have

confessed

Jesus

as their

Lord

and Savior

they confess

that he

rose from

the dead

and he

will come

again

and their

clothing

matches

their

confession

they live

it out

now Charlie

you may

say hey

I mean

don't I

already have

Christ's

garments

like if I

believe

aren't I

aren't I

saved already

like why

do you need

to tell me

I might be

naked and

exposed

doesn't

Jesus

say that

he gives

his sheep

eternal life

and no one

is able to

snatch them

out of his

hand

and that's

true

all those

things are

true

but we

the question

we need to

answer is

how it is

that Jesus

keeps in

his hand

what are

the things

that help

you stay

in that

grip

and those

things

are warnings

like this

there's actually

a subtle

difference

between what

he says

to Sardis

and Laodicea

those are

some of

the most

scathing

letters

that any

of the

churches

receive

but he

tells them

to wake

up

and to

put on

clothes

but here

it's a little

different

he tells

them

to stay

awake

and to

keep on

your clothes

so again

he's talking

to saints

now

and he's

saying

don't go

back

keep

what you

have

wide

is the

path

that leads

to destruction

it is

littered

with big

neon

casino

lights

that say

stay

here

this is

the right

way to

go

but the

narrow

path

has its

own

signs

the

narrow

and

straight

path

has

signs

that say

do not

stray

eternal life

is ahead

and it's

because the

life of a

Christian

begins with

repentance

and it

continues

with repentance

repentance

and I talked

about repentance

a lot

so let me

explain more

what actually

is repenting

in the Greek

it means to

change your

mind

but the

mind is

just a

bigger thing

that it

means to

change your

whole person

change directions

and to

take steps

in the

opposite direction

so again

it is worth

it to ask

are there

sins

that are

nagging your

conscience

that you

have not

only

confessed

before

God

but also

taken

hard

and inconvenient

steps in the

other direction

Jesus says

referring to

the lust of

the eyes

that if your

right eye

causes you

sin tear it

out and

throw it

away

for it is

better that

you lose

one of your

members

than your

whole body

be thrown

into hell

if your

right hand

causes you

to sin

cut it

off and

throw it

away

for it is

better for

you to

lose one

of your

members

than for

your whole

body to

go into

hell

one of

the most

common

struggles

with a

lot of

Christian

men

today

and a

good deal

of women

is that

of porn

and many

people struggle

with porn

and a

good deal

of these

people have

never

found victory

because they

haven't been

cutting off

their hands

they haven't

taken radical

steps

you know

I knew

an apartment

building of

14 guys

who were

going to

a church

they were

all in

some

same

small

group

and they

this was

in college

and they

did not

have internet

in the

whole

building

they

didn't

have

internet

because

they

wanted

to fight

for purity

so for

three years

of college

they lived

on campus

or sorry

off campus

at UC

Berkeley

and they

had to

go onto

campus

if they

wanted

internet

was it

convenient

no

but was

it

wise

yes

maybe

you're

struggling

not with

something

as

obvious

as

porn

or stealing

or sexual

immorality

or

maybe

it's a

sinful

unaddressed

heart

attitude

that you

have

some

people

describe

themselves

as

naturally

angry

naturally

bitter

they're

just

easily

addicted

people

that's

just

who

I

am

but

that's

not

who

are we

supposed

to be

we're

supposed

to be

conformed

to the

image

of