In John’s vision he sees the martyrs calling out for justice, asking how long will they have to wait for God to make things right. This speaks to our common longing for justice as we live in the space where Jesus has won the victory and overcome Satan, yet we wait on justice to be fully realized. This sermon shows how we live in this space.
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The Joy of God’s Judgment
• Dan Kent
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In this sermon, Dan Kent opens with a review of the first few chapters of Revelation, reminding us that this book is designed to unveil truth and identify lies. Not only that, Dan highlights that there is an arch enemy named Satan, who has the goal of perpetrating these lies and snaring us in his deception. The goal of all satanic deception is to sabotage faithfulness. This brings us to chapter six, where the lamb opens the seals of the scroll. The first four seals are war, oppression, famine and death. The victory has been won by the lamb, but these things still exist. The victory actually appears not to be real in day-to-day existence.
This leads to the question: What good is our allegiance to God if it makes no difference in our circumstances? This also sets the stage for the opening of the fifth seal which is the subject of our focus passage quoted above. From the altar of the throne room, the faithful martyrs cry out for justice, which symbolizes the universal longing for God to bring about justice in the midst of radical injustice.
While the victory of the lamb has been won, we are in a time where we still wait for justice. Because Jesus shows us what God looks like, we can trust that God’s justice will be good. The God who is love will bring justice to those who have not experienced love. At the same time, we live in this in-between space, where we wait for this justice. In this space, God hears our cries. He sits with us as we lament. He draws near to us when we sit in ashes of despair. In the midst of a time that feels like injustice is ultimate, the book of Revelation promises that actually, justice is ultimate, and is coming.
Therefore, we can live in the joy of God’s judgment. We do this in two ways. First, we open our hearts and minds to the promise of the coming judgment. Without this hope, we are left to fight for justice on our own. This actually results in nothing productive, except the perpetuation of cycles of violence. We look for justice, but our form of it usually only results in revenge. God, on the other hand, works to bring good out of evil in the midst of the injustice. He does what we cannot do.
Secondly, we can be encouraged. Jesus states in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world.” We must adjust our expectations because the current world is not yet the fullness of God’s coming kingdom. But we can take heart. We must fight to guard our hearts in the midst of this trouble. Jesus has overcome all, and we can trust that all will be well in the end.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: End Times, Faith, Justice
Sermon Series: The Wrath of the Lamb
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The MuseCast: October 15
Focus Scripture:
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Revelation 6:9-10
When he broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?”
2 thoughts on “The Joy of God’s Judgment”
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"I've been a WH podrishioner for several years now and I can't tell you how much it has changed my life. I came across these podcasts at a time when I was in an extremely unhealthy/abusive situation, and these teachings were immensely influential to me maintaining my faith and sanity. THANK YOU for showing me what a Jesus-looking God is like and what it means to follow Him. Many, many blessings to all of you!"
– Christina, from Oregon
Great sermon, Dan. The words, “Joy” and “Judgment” very rarely (if at all) go together – love this juxstaposition in the title.
The theme of this sermon reminded me of a quote from Dr Martin Luther King Jr. : “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
YES!
Great quote.
Dan Kent