Classes 2 & 3 from this series were used in GCT Episode 387.<\/p>\n
2
\n00:00:02,720 –> 00:00:06,200
\nrelenting and unrelenting God.
\nOur speaker is Brother Aaron <\/p>\n
3
\n00:00:06,200 –> 00:00:10,760
\nMcKee and the third class is
\nentitled The God of Justice. <\/p>\n
4
\n00:00:18,000 –> 00:00:20,360
\nWell, good afternoon again,
\nbrothers and sisters in the Lord<\/p>\n
5
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\nJesus Christ, and thank you
\nbrothers, for your reading. <\/p>\n
6
\n00:00:29,000 –> 00:00:38,680
\nOur world cries for justice,
\ndoesn’t it? <\/p>\n
7
\n00:00:38,680 –> 00:00:43,040
\nWe see this outcry practically
\neverywhere we look. <\/p>\n
8
\n00:00:43,040 –> 00:00:49,000
\nWe see it in protests over world
\nevents decrying destruction of <\/p>\n
9
\n00:00:49,000 –> 00:00:51,080
\nnature and and deaths of
\ninnocence. <\/p>\n
10
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\nWe see it in depravity of the
\nimpoverished. <\/p>\n
11
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\nWe see it in cases of corruption
\nand and abuses of power. <\/p>\n
12
\n00:00:58,080 –> 00:01:00,160
\nBrunch sisters.
\nWe see it in out cries against <\/p>\n
13
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\nlawlessness, oppression of power
\nimbalances, governments to <\/p>\n
14
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\ncitizens, countries to other
\ncountries. <\/p>\n
15
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\nYou have husbands to wives.
\nYou have civil and social <\/p>\n
16
\n00:01:12,880 –> 00:01:14,880
\ninjustice and brun sisters and
\nseeing these things and <\/p>\n
17
\n00:01:14,880 –> 00:01:18,080
\nwitnessing this world around us.
\nWell, maybe not personal to us. <\/p>\n
18
\n00:01:18,200 –> 00:01:23,640
\nIt it certainly feels personal.
\nThere are certainly moments <\/p>\n
19
\n00:01:23,640 –> 00:01:26,640
\nwhere you see we we see
\ninjustice and it sits in our <\/p>\n
20
\n00:01:26,640 –> 00:01:28,760
\nstomach.
\nIt it weighs in our heart. <\/p>\n
21
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\nIn fact, huge portions of
\nsociety are built around <\/p>\n
22
\n00:01:34,560 –> 00:01:40,200
\nalleviating that feeling.
\nYou, you have unions, you have <\/p>\n
23
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\nlaw firms, you, you have
\npolitical parties, rightly or <\/p>\n
24
\n00:01:42,480 –> 00:01:46,560
\nwrongly, all capitalizing on
\nman’s desire for justice. <\/p>\n
25
\n00:01:46,560 –> 00:01:52,400
\nAnd this fixation, this drive in
\nthe heart of man to enforce <\/p>\n
26
\n00:01:52,400 –> 00:01:55,080
\nright in the face of wrong
\njustice and face of injustice, <\/p>\n
27
\n00:01:55,200 –> 00:01:56,960
\nThat is nothing new, brothers
\nand sisters. <\/p>\n
28
\n00:01:59,760 –> 00:02:02,800
\nIn fact, you could go to the
\nearliest records of humanity, to<\/p>\n
29
\n00:02:02,800 –> 00:02:06,960
\nthe earliest societies of
\nhumanity and see man aspiring <\/p>\n
30
\n00:02:07,160 –> 00:02:11,320
\nfor justice.
\nIn fact, one of the oldest <\/p>\n
31
\n00:02:11,320 –> 00:02:15,800
\nsamples of writing ever found, a
\nstone pulled from the deserts of<\/p>\n
32
\n00:02:15,800 –> 00:02:22,120
\nIran in 1901, is 500 lines
\netched in stone dedicated <\/p>\n
33
\n00:02:22,120 –> 00:02:25,040
\nexclusively to the enforcement
\nof justice. <\/p>\n
34
\n00:02:25,040 –> 00:02:28,120
\nIt declares justice to the poor,
\njustice to the impoverished, <\/p>\n
35
\n00:02:28,120 –> 00:02:30,480
\nretribution for the wrong.
\nAnd it is thousands of years <\/p>\n
36
\n00:02:30,480 –> 00:02:32,080
\nold.
\nAnd in seeing these things, Bren<\/p>\n
37
\n00:02:32,080 –> 00:02:35,280
\nsisters and every form of
\nsociety and witnessing in <\/p>\n
38
\n00:02:35,280 –> 00:02:45,600
\nourselves, we have to reconcile
\none thing and that’s that <\/p>\n
39
\n00:02:45,600 –> 00:02:54,000
\njustice is biological.
\nYou know, as many of you have <\/p>\n
40
\n00:02:54,000 –> 00:02:58,200
\ncome to find Rose and I have a
\nlittle 7 month girl who’s been <\/p>\n
41
\n00:02:58,200 –> 00:03:02,800
\nfloating around the hall today.
\nAnd right about this stage of <\/p>\n
42
\n00:03:02,800 –> 00:03:06,280
\nher development, she’s, she’s
\nstarting to form a a sense of <\/p>\n
43
\n00:03:06,280 –> 00:03:09,840
\nright and wrong.
\nYou know, developmental <\/p>\n
44
\n00:03:09,840 –> 00:03:11,000
\npsychologist, they, they know
\nthis. <\/p>\n
45
\n00:03:11,000 –> 00:03:13,440
\nThen children as young as six
\nmonths of age, they begin to <\/p>\n
46
\n00:03:13,440 –> 00:03:18,600
\nshow signs of moral intuition.
\nThey respond to helpful puppets <\/p>\n
47
\n00:03:18,600 –> 00:03:21,920
\nover harmful ones that they show
\ndistress in the face of unfair <\/p>\n
48
\n00:03:21,920 –> 00:03:24,280
\ntreatment.
\nChildren ages three to five act <\/p>\n
49
\n00:03:24,280 –> 00:03:28,320
\non this sense of fairness.
\nI’m still waiting for that for <\/p>\n
50
\n00:03:28,320 –> 00:03:31,800
\nmy 3 year old.
\nBut so I’ve been told they they <\/p>\n
51
\n00:03:31,960 –> 00:03:34,160
\nthey begin practicing equal
\nsharing. <\/p>\n
52
\n00:03:35,840 –> 00:03:38,760
\nThey begin enforcing rules and
\ngames, even to their detriment. <\/p>\n
53
\n00:03:38,760 –> 00:03:41,600
\nAnd all the straws brun sisters
\nto a very simple, very <\/p>\n
54
\n00:03:41,600 –> 00:03:44,480
\npurposeful, powerful
\nunderstanding and an important <\/p>\n
55
\n00:03:44,480 –> 00:03:46,320
\none.
\nAnd that’s that God is placed in<\/p>\n
56
\n00:03:46,320 –> 00:03:54,760
\nthe heart of man, a quality
\ncentral to who he who he is. <\/p>\n
57
\n00:03:54,760 –> 00:03:58,080
\nAnd it is this unwavering
\ncharacter of our God, Brun <\/p>\n
58
\n00:03:58,080 –> 00:04:01,240
\nsisters, his commitment to
\njustice, what it means to him, <\/p>\n
59
\n00:04:01,360 –> 00:04:09,480
\nhow he will use it, how it
\nrelates to his grace that we’re <\/p>\n
60
\n00:04:09,480 –> 00:04:11,320
\ngoing to be considering this
\nafternoon. <\/p>\n
61
\n00:04:11,320 –> 00:04:29,310
\nCome with me to Deuteronomy 32.
\nYou see, our God is a God of <\/p>\n
62
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\njustice for and sisters, and we
\ncan know this in many different <\/p>\n
63
\n00:04:31,990 –> 00:04:34,910
\nways throughout our Bibles.
\nWe can see it in the the holding<\/p>\n
64
\n00:04:34,910 –> 00:04:37,670
\nof Israel to an account.
\nHe gives them this law, cast <\/p>\n
65
\n00:04:37,670 –> 00:04:40,190
\nthem out into the nations
\nbecause they transgress it. <\/p>\n
66
\n00:04:40,310 –> 00:04:45,120
\nWell, there’s perhaps no better
\nplace to get a sense of just <\/p>\n
67
\n00:04:45,120 –> 00:04:48,360
\nhow, how intimately justice
\nrelates to the heart of God <\/p>\n
68
\n00:04:48,360 –> 00:04:50,480
\nthen, then the words of Exodus
\n32. <\/p>\n
69
\n00:04:50,480 –> 00:04:54,440
\nAnd we think of that for a
\nmoment, Bron sisters, because we<\/p>\n
70
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\nidentified that that that is
\nreally a turning point in our <\/p>\n
71
\n00:04:57,280 –> 00:04:58,880
\nBibles.
\nWe reflected that, that when <\/p>\n
72
\n00:04:58,880 –> 00:05:01,440
\nMoses this morning was given
\nthere, it’s not just a, a <\/p>\n
73
\n00:05:01,440 –> 00:05:06,000
\nproclamation of God’s name.
\nWhat’s given wasn’t just a, a <\/p>\n
74
\n00:05:06,000 –> 00:05:10,000
\npassing description of our God.
\nIt was the character of God that<\/p>\n
75
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\nwould always guide his hand with
\nman. <\/p>\n
76
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\nAnd that’s what we have there,
\nBron Sisters, it is a blueprint <\/p>\n
77
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\nfor how God will work in our
\nlives. <\/p>\n
78
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\nAnd what did we see in verse 6?
\nHe will be a God gracious to the<\/p>\n
79
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\nthousands, he said.
\nBut Moses, by no means will I <\/p>\n
80
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\nclear the guilty.
\nOur God, brothers and sisters, <\/p>\n
81
\n00:05:31,840 –> 00:05:38,280
\nis unequivocably a God of
\njustice, one who holds a moral <\/p>\n
82
\n00:05:38,280 –> 00:05:40,440
\norder, one to whom
\naccountability matters, one who <\/p>\n
83
\n00:05:40,440 –> 00:05:43,080
\nwill never ignore our turn from
\ninjustice. <\/p>\n
84
\n00:05:43,160 –> 00:05:45,400
\nAnd not only do we witness that
\nthere, brothers, sisters, but <\/p>\n
85
\n00:05:45,400 –> 00:05:47,200
\nthat resonates all throughout
\nScripture. <\/p>\n
86
\n00:05:49,560 –> 00:05:51,640
\nThat’s a basic tenant of all our
\nBibles. <\/p>\n
87
\n00:05:51,640 –> 00:05:54,960
\nWe see it in Isaiah.
\nI, the Lord, love justice and <\/p>\n
88
\n00:05:54,960 –> 00:05:58,760
\nhate robbery.
\nWe see it in the words of David.<\/p>\n
89
\n00:05:58,760 –> 00:06:01,920
\nYou Lord, maintain the cause of
\nafflicted and execute justice. <\/p>\n
90
\n00:06:01,920 –> 00:06:04,800
\nWe see it in the Psalms.
\nRighteousness and justice are <\/p>\n
91
\n00:06:04,800 –> 00:06:07,040
\nthe foundation of your throne.
\nAnd we see it, brothers and <\/p>\n
92
\n00:06:07,040 –> 00:06:10,160
\nsisters, and the words of
\nDeuteronomy 32, the words of <\/p>\n
93
\n00:06:10,160 –> 00:06:11,640
\nverse 4.
\nWhat does Moses say? <\/p>\n
94
\n00:06:11,640 –> 00:06:21,720
\nAll your ways are perfect and
\nall your ways just all your <\/p>\n
95
\n00:06:21,720 –> 00:06:25,920
\nways.
\nIn other words, there is nothing<\/p>\n
96
\n00:06:25,920 –> 00:06:30,280
\nhe says in the character of our
\nGod that will ever compromise <\/p>\n
97
\n00:06:30,360 –> 00:06:37,000
\nhis pursuit of justice.
\nNow, now, I don’t know about you<\/p>\n
98
\n00:06:37,000 –> 00:06:41,040
\nbrothers, sisters, but that
\nmakes me start to feel a bit <\/p>\n
99
\n00:06:41,040 –> 00:06:46,240
\nuncomfortable.
\nGod won’t compromise his pursuit<\/p>\n
100
\n00:06:46,240 –> 00:06:47,480
\nof justice.
\nYou know, maybe that’s OK. <\/p>\n
101
\n00:06:47,480 –> 00:06:50,080
\nThat’s that’s how he treats the
\nthe truly abhorrent things of <\/p>\n
102
\n00:06:50,080 –> 00:06:52,760
\nthis world and and maybe the
\nother sinners down the road. <\/p>\n
103
\n00:06:52,760 –> 00:06:54,440
\nBut but what if that’s how he
\ntreats me? <\/p>\n
104
\n00:06:56,840 –> 00:06:59,440
\nNot exactly a devotional thought
\nthis this afternoon, is it? <\/p>\n
105
\n00:06:59,440 –> 00:07:01,880
\nBecause you know, when I when I
\nstart to dwell on this character<\/p>\n
106
\n00:07:01,880 –> 00:07:05,440
\nof Gobron sisters, my mind goes
\nto passages like Deuteronomy 32,<\/p>\n
107
\n00:07:05,560 –> 00:07:10,920
\nverse 41, some of the other
\nverses we see in this chapter. <\/p>\n
108
\n00:07:10,920 –> 00:07:13,160
\nWhat does it say?
\nI, the Lord, sharpen my sword. <\/p>\n
109
\n00:07:14,840 –> 00:07:17,720
\nMy hand stretches to justice.
\nI take vengeance on adversaries.<\/p>\n
110
\n00:07:17,720 –> 00:07:20,160
\nI repay those who hate me.
\nI make my arrows drunk with <\/p>\n
111
\n00:07:20,160 –> 00:07:22,200
\ntheir blood.
\nMy sword devours and takes <\/p>\n
112
\n00:07:22,200 –> 00:07:23,640
\nvengeance.
\nAnd in reading these things and <\/p>\n
113
\n00:07:23,640 –> 00:07:32,440
\nseeing moments of God’s justice,
\nwell, I walk away with a fearful<\/p>\n
114
\n00:07:32,440 –> 00:07:38,200
\nassessment of our God.
\nI fear as justice, as cold and <\/p>\n
115
\n00:07:38,200 –> 00:07:40,200
\nmechanical.
\nI fear it in the face of my <\/p>\n
116
\n00:07:40,200 –> 00:07:41,400
\nfaults.
\nI fear it where if I’m making <\/p>\n
117
\n00:07:41,400 –> 00:07:48,880
\nmistakes, I will wait sometimes
\nyears for the day I’m made to <\/p>\n
118
\n00:07:48,880 –> 00:07:55,200
\npay for them.
\nYou know, it is so easy to judge<\/p>\n
119
\n00:07:55,200 –> 00:07:57,280
\nourselves on that concept of
\njustice. <\/p>\n
120
\n00:07:57,280 –> 00:08:04,320
\nI did it, so I deserve it.
\nIt’s easy because that’s how man<\/p>\n
121
\n00:08:04,520 –> 00:08:07,240
\nperceives justice from sisters.
\nThat’s how we practice it. <\/p>\n
122
\n00:08:07,240 –> 00:08:10,320
\nYou see, our society practices
\nretribute of justice. <\/p>\n
123
\n00:08:10,320 –> 00:08:12,720
\nSomebody does you wrong, you can
\npay them in kind. <\/p>\n
124
\n00:08:15,200 –> 00:08:17,400
\nIsn’t that the premise for which
\nall justice is found? <\/p>\n
125
\n00:08:17,400 –> 00:08:19,920
\nYou know, we phrase, we use
\nphrases in society like like <\/p>\n
126
\n00:08:19,920 –> 00:08:22,520
\npunishment should fit the crime,
\nor if you do the crime, you do <\/p>\n
127
\n00:08:22,520 –> 00:08:24,040
\nthe time.
\nBecause surely the moment <\/p>\n
128
\n00:08:24,040 –> 00:08:31,320
\njustice is met is the moment we
\nget even. <\/p>\n
129
\n00:08:31,480 –> 00:08:34,720
\nBut it’s so important we ask
\nourselves, brothers, sisters, is<\/p>\n
130
\n00:08:34,720 –> 00:08:36,960
\nthat all that justice means to
\nGod? <\/p>\n
131
\n00:08:39,640 –> 00:08:46,240
\nIs that how he judges us?
\nIs that what he expects in our <\/p>\n
132
\n00:08:46,240 –> 00:08:54,760
\njudgements of others?
\nCome with me to Genesis chapter <\/p>\n
133
\n00:08:54,760 –> 00:09:04,680
\n3 and we refresh ourselves in
\nthis chapter brothers, sisters, <\/p>\n
134
\n00:09:06,880 –> 00:09:12,160
\nbecause you see here in the face
\nof man’s first sin, the face of <\/p>\n
135
\n00:09:12,160 –> 00:09:16,080
\nthe first moment of justice that
\nwas ever to be enforced in this <\/p>\n
136
\n00:09:16,080 –> 00:09:17,520
\nworld.
\nWe we see something really <\/p>\n
137
\n00:09:17,520 –> 00:09:18,680
\nimportant.
\nThat’s that’s worth noting <\/p>\n
138
\n00:09:18,680 –> 00:09:24,000
\nbecause what do we see in verse
\n19 God says to dust you are to <\/p>\n
139
\n00:09:24,000 –> 00:09:26,640
\ndust your return.
\nHe holds himself to be a God of <\/p>\n
140
\n00:09:26,640 –> 00:09:28,640
\ntruth.
\nHe helds into account the wages <\/p>\n
141
\n00:09:28,640 –> 00:09:31,160
\nof sin were death.
\nHe delivers it, but before he <\/p>\n
142
\n00:09:31,160 –> 00:09:36,080
\neven pronounces that judgement,
\nbrothers and sisters, before <\/p>\n
143
\n00:09:36,080 –> 00:09:38,800
\njustice has ever executed.
\nWhat is he saying, verse 15? <\/p>\n
144
\n00:09:38,920 –> 00:09:41,880
\nThe seed of the woman will crush
\nthat serpent. <\/p>\n
145
\n00:09:41,880 –> 00:09:47,160
\nIn other words, the first moment
\nof justice. <\/p>\n
146
\n00:09:47,160 –> 00:09:49,760
\nThe the first moment of
\nretribution, of, excuse me, of <\/p>\n
147
\n00:09:49,760 –> 00:09:52,000
\njustice.
\nIt’s framed in the context of <\/p>\n
148
\n00:09:52,000 –> 00:10:01,680
\nfuture restoration.
\nPaul in Romans 8 speaks exactly <\/p>\n
149
\n00:10:01,680 –> 00:10:03,600
\nto what we’re noting here.
\nIn fact, he he highlights the <\/p>\n
150
\n00:10:03,600 –> 00:10:04,800
\nsame thing he writes in verse
\n20. <\/p>\n
151
\n00:10:04,800 –> 00:10:06,680
\nCreation was subjected to
\nfrustration. <\/p>\n
152
\n00:10:06,800 –> 00:10:09,920
\nThe justice of God delivered not
\nto anger, not to vindictiveness,<\/p>\n
153
\n00:10:10,040 –> 00:10:20,480
\nnot to get even, but in hope, He
\nsays judgement was made that <\/p>\n
154
\n00:10:20,480 –> 00:10:22,640
\nhope could come to man.
\nThat’s how God, brother and <\/p>\n
155
\n00:10:22,640 –> 00:10:26,280
\nsisters, chose to execute the
\nfirst moment of justice. <\/p>\n
156
\n00:10:26,280 –> 00:10:29,240
\nAnd this dynamic that we see all
\nthe way, the beginning of our <\/p>\n
157
\n00:10:29,240 –> 00:10:32,480
\nBibles, brother and sisters in
\nthe garden of a justice that led<\/p>\n
158
\n00:10:32,480 –> 00:10:39,640
\nman to hope.
\nThat’s a blueprint of all the <\/p>\n
159
\n00:10:39,640 –> 00:10:42,000
\njudgements of God throughout
\nScripture. <\/p>\n
160
\n00:10:42,000 –> 00:10:45,720
\nWe see it in Hebrews when
\nspeaking to the effects of guns.<\/p>\n
161
\n00:10:45,720 –> 00:10:47,200
\nChastening.
\nIt’s written for a moment. <\/p>\n
162
\n00:10:47,200 –> 00:10:50,280
\nAll this discipline is painful.
\nLater it yields the fruit of <\/p>\n
163
\n00:10:50,280 –> 00:10:54,040
\nrighteousness.
\nWe see it in Revelation, the <\/p>\n
164
\n00:10:54,040 –> 00:10:56,280
\nwords of Christ, the latest he
\nof those I love. <\/p>\n
165
\n00:10:56,400 –> 00:10:59,200
\nI discipline, He says, so that
\nso that you may be found waiting<\/p>\n
166
\n00:10:59,200 –> 00:11:00,680
\nfor me, that you might have
\nhope. <\/p>\n
167
\n00:11:00,680 –> 00:11:02,760
\nWe see it in the words of
\nJeremiah, where in the dark <\/p>\n
168
\n00:11:02,760 –> 00:11:05,080
\nyears of Israel’s captivity,
\nwhat does God say? <\/p>\n
169
\n00:11:05,080 –> 00:11:07,920
\nI brought you to this state.
\nI subject you to these things <\/p>\n
170
\n00:11:08,080 –> 00:11:11,520
\nthat you might have hope.
\nWhat a contradiction brought in <\/p>\n
171
\n00:11:11,520 –> 00:11:16,520
\nsisters.
\nWhat a contradiction that seems <\/p>\n
172
\n00:11:16,520 –> 00:11:20,720
\nto us that that justice is a
\nmeans to a better end for the <\/p>\n
173
\n00:11:20,720 –> 00:11:22,400
\noffender.
\nWe see this in the words of <\/p>\n
174
\n00:11:22,400 –> 00:11:26,360
\nEzekiel 11.
\nThis is a powerful thing from <\/p>\n
175
\n00:11:26,360 –> 00:11:31,680
\nSister Ezekiel 11 and Speaking
\nof times to come and Speaking of<\/p>\n
176
\n00:11:31,680 –> 00:11:34,240
\na day of judgement and justice
\nhas come to this world. <\/p>\n
177
\n00:11:34,280 –> 00:11:36,920
\nWhat does he say in verse 8?
\nI will bring the sword to you, <\/p>\n
178
\n00:11:36,920 –> 00:11:38,440
\nIsrael.
\nI will deliver you up to <\/p>\n
179
\n00:11:38,440 –> 00:11:40,920
\nnations.
\nI will bring my justice to verse<\/p>\n
180
\n00:11:40,920 –> 00:11:49,080
\n19 for the intent of putting a
\nnew heart in you that I might <\/p>\n
181
\n00:11:49,080 –> 00:11:51,560
\nrestore you to me, says God.
\nThat’s our keyword, Brunn <\/p>\n
182
\n00:11:51,560 –> 00:11:54,080
\nsisters restoration.
\nYou see, in contrast to this <\/p>\n
183
\n00:11:54,080 –> 00:11:58,200
\njustice of man, a justice rooted
\nin retribution, the justice of <\/p>\n
184
\n00:11:58,200 –> 00:12:11,680
\nGod aims for restoration.
\nCome with me to Romans Chapter <\/p>\n
185
\n00:12:11,680 –> 00:12:23,560
\n11.
\nYou see, Paul draws us deeper <\/p>\n
186
\n00:12:23,840 –> 00:12:27,720
\ninto how closely related these
\ntwo qualities are justice and <\/p>\n
187
\n00:12:27,880 –> 00:12:29,920
\nand restoration.
\nIn fact, he elaborates further <\/p>\n
188
\n00:12:29,920 –> 00:12:32,640
\non this this pattern we
\nwitnessed brothers and sisters <\/p>\n
189
\n00:12:32,640 –> 00:12:34,440
\nof of writing of the judgments
\nof Israel. <\/p>\n
190
\n00:12:34,440 –> 00:12:36,160
\nHow does he describe it?
\nWhat does he say? <\/p>\n
191
\n00:12:36,160 –> 00:12:39,680
\nHe says justice is given, verse
\n22, that goodness might come to <\/p>\n
192
\n00:12:39,680 –> 00:12:44,520
\nyou.
\nJustice is executed, says Paul. <\/p>\n
193
\n00:12:44,560 –> 00:12:47,600
\nThat greater restoration comes
\nin this world for Gentiles. <\/p>\n
194
\n00:12:47,600 –> 00:12:51,840
\nBehold, he says, the goodness
\nand severity of God. <\/p>\n
195
\n00:12:51,840 –> 00:13:00,080
\nYou see, brothers and sisters,
\nPaul pairs these two qualities <\/p>\n
196
\n00:13:00,080 –> 00:13:07,040
\ntogether, not something isolated
\nfrom each other, not something <\/p>\n
197
\n00:13:07,120 –> 00:13:10,480
\nin contrast to each other, not
\nseverity forsake of severity. <\/p>\n
198
\n00:13:10,480 –> 00:13:13,280
\nIt is severity forsake of his
\ngrace. <\/p>\n
199
\n00:13:13,280 –> 00:13:16,240
\nIn Paul’s words, we are drawn to
\nthe fundamental understanding <\/p>\n
200
\n00:13:16,240 –> 00:13:25,720
\nthat the justice of God and the
\ngrace of God work together. <\/p>\n
201
\n00:13:32,990 –> 00:13:37,840
\nAnd you see, while Paul
\nemphasizes this aspect of of <\/p>\n
202
\n00:13:37,840 –> 00:13:40,240
\nGod’s justice in in the
\njudgement of Israel, Brothers, <\/p>\n
203
\n00:13:40,240 –> 00:13:44,120
\nsisters, don’t we see the
\ngoodness and severity of God all<\/p>\n
204
\n00:13:44,120 –> 00:13:49,080
\nthroughout our Bibles?
\nDon’t we see it in the <\/p>\n
205
\n00:13:49,080 –> 00:13:52,760
\ncondemnation of Egypt, which
\nthrough their judgement brought <\/p>\n
206
\n00:13:52,760 –> 00:13:55,360
\nrestoration to his people and a
\nwitness to all nations? <\/p>\n
207
\n00:13:55,360 –> 00:13:59,320
\nDon’t don’t we see it in Samson,
\nwho by the grace of God’s <\/p>\n
208
\n00:13:59,320 –> 00:14:02,720
\njustice lost his eyes that it
\nmight restore his heart? <\/p>\n
209
\n00:14:02,720 –> 00:14:05,160
\nDon’t we see it in Paul’s own
\nlife, who by the grace of God’s <\/p>\n
210
\n00:14:05,240 –> 00:14:08,200
\njustice lost his eyes to restore
\nhis heart? <\/p>\n
211
\n00:14:08,200 –> 00:14:12,680
\nDon’t we see it in David, who by
\nthe grace of God’s justice, he’s<\/p>\n
212
\n00:14:12,760 –> 00:14:15,480
\nconfronted with Nathan to
\nrestore his heart time and <\/p>\n
213
\n00:14:15,480 –> 00:14:16,920
\nagain?
\nThe judgement of God? <\/p>\n
214
\n00:14:16,920 –> 00:14:20,920
\nBrown sisters, it is executed
\nnever in contrast to His grace. <\/p>\n
215
\n00:14:26,000 –> 00:14:29,840
\nBut it’s an Ave. for it.
\nIt is always executed with the <\/p>\n
216
\n00:14:29,840 –> 00:14:45,790
\npurpose of restoration.
\nBut as I say that justice aims <\/p>\n
217
\n00:14:45,790 –> 00:14:47,190
\nto restore.
\nWell, brothers, sisters, if <\/p>\n
218
\n00:14:47,190 –> 00:14:49,830
\nyou’re like me, you, you might
\ninstinctively think to, to how <\/p>\n
219
\n00:14:49,830 –> 00:14:54,600
\nthat’s not the case, because if
\nyou’re like me, these traits are<\/p>\n
220
\n00:14:54,600 –> 00:14:56,520
\nsomething, you know,
\ndiametrically opposed. <\/p>\n
221
\n00:14:56,520 –> 00:14:59,320
\nThese are two characters of God
\nthat are, that are two sides of <\/p>\n
222
\n00:14:59,320 –> 00:15:02,320
\na coin where, you know, once God
\nruns out of his mercy, then <\/p>\n
223
\n00:15:02,320 –> 00:15:06,720
\njustice comes to replace it, or
\nonce you’ve exercised enough <\/p>\n
224
\n00:15:06,720 –> 00:15:10,560
\nmercy, now justice falls.
\nIn fact, it’s so abrasive what <\/p>\n
225
\n00:15:10,560 –> 00:15:12,440
\nwe’re discussing from the
\nsisters, the things that we’re <\/p>\n
226
\n00:15:12,440 –> 00:15:14,640
\nnoting that that some
\ntheologians that go back to the <\/p>\n
227
\n00:15:14,640 –> 00:15:18,240
\ncases of of Exodus 34, they see
\nthe qualities of God’s character<\/p>\n
228
\n00:15:18,360 –> 00:15:21,160
\nrevealed to man and they say
\nsurely it’s been altered. <\/p>\n
229
\n00:15:23,440 –> 00:15:25,920
\nThat can’t be what the original
\ntext says because because surely<\/p>\n
230
\n00:15:25,920 –> 00:15:28,640
\nthese things aren’t compatible.
\nBut what we see in these <\/p>\n
231
\n00:15:28,640 –> 00:15:30,680
\nexamples is the fundamental
\ntruth proof. <\/p>\n
232
\n00:15:30,680 –> 00:15:34,000
\nBrun, sisters, one quality never
\nforsakes the other. <\/p>\n
233
\n00:15:37,120 –> 00:15:39,480
\nAll your ways are just, said
\nMoses. <\/p>\n
234
\n00:15:39,480 –> 00:15:42,200
\nPsalm 25, verse 4 to 10.
\nShow me thy way, says David. <\/p>\n
235
\n00:15:42,320 –> 00:15:45,920
\nTeach me thy paths.
\nAll the ways of the Lord are <\/p>\n
236
\n00:15:45,920 –> 00:15:48,480
\nmercy and truth.
\nThere is never a moment when <\/p>\n
237
\n00:15:48,480 –> 00:15:54,800
\nGod’s grace is sacrificed for
\nHis justice, or His justice <\/p>\n
238
\n00:15:54,800 –> 00:15:58,040
\ndiminished by grace.
\nHe redeems through judgement. <\/p>\n
239
\n00:15:58,040 –> 00:16:07,080
\nHe will punish sin in ways that
\nmake mercy possible. <\/p>\n
240
\n00:16:07,080 –> 00:16:13,920
\nAnd brothers and sisters, we see
\nthat even in places that’s hard <\/p>\n
241
\n00:16:13,920 –> 00:16:20,440
\nto find.
\nWe think to the law in which we <\/p>\n
242
\n00:16:20,440 –> 00:16:24,200
\nhave verses like Exodus 2124,
\nwhich advocate an eye for an <\/p>\n
243
\n00:16:24,200 –> 00:16:26,840
\neye, or maybe Numbers 3531.
\nMaybe you think to that it <\/p>\n
244
\n00:16:26,840 –> 00:16:29,480
\nadvocates a life for a life.
\nAnd you know, we might think, <\/p>\n
245
\n00:16:31,640 –> 00:16:34,440
\nisn’t this God teaching us
\nretribute of justice? <\/p>\n
246
\n00:16:34,520 –> 00:16:38,960
\nBut even in that law, brothers,
\nsisters, that law, which was <\/p>\n
247
\n00:16:38,960 –> 00:16:42,120
\nnever the sum of of what justice
\nmeant to God, Paul calls it only<\/p>\n
248
\n00:16:42,120 –> 00:16:44,760
\na shadow of what he’s trying to
\naccomplish in this world. <\/p>\n
249
\n00:16:44,760 –> 00:16:47,880
\nEven that shadow glimpses God’s
\njustice. <\/p>\n
250
\n00:16:47,960 –> 00:16:53,160
\nWe see it in cities of refuge.
\nJustice demanded life for a <\/p>\n
251
\n00:16:53,160 –> 00:16:55,480
\nlife, but given a chance that
\nthat if a person reached that <\/p>\n
252
\n00:16:55,480 –> 00:16:57,400
\nthey could live, that they
\ncould, they could reform <\/p>\n
253
\n00:16:57,400 –> 00:17:00,560
\nthemselves.
\nWe, we, we see it in laws of, of<\/p>\n
254
\n00:17:00,560 –> 00:17:04,480
\nthievery, the offender wasn’t
\njust supposed to pay back what <\/p>\n
255
\n00:17:04,480 –> 00:17:07,440
\nthey owed, they were supposed to
\npay back extra to restore <\/p>\n
256
\n00:17:07,560 –> 00:17:09,319
\nrelationship.
\nWe seen in the days of Jubilee <\/p>\n
257
\n00:17:09,319 –> 00:17:13,000
\nand which is enshrined in the
\nlaw every 50 years, a moment of <\/p>\n
258
\n00:17:13,000 –> 00:17:19,400
\nrestoration of slaves, of debts,
\nwhere relationships are restored<\/p>\n
259
\n00:17:19,480 –> 00:17:21,520
\nbetween God and man.
\nWe sit in the art, brothers, <\/p>\n
260
\n00:17:21,520 –> 00:17:24,200
\nsisters, in which contains the
\nlaw of God and what’s it <\/p>\n
261
\n00:17:24,200 –> 00:17:27,560
\nsurrounded by?
\nA seat of mercy, a symbol of <\/p>\n
262
\n00:17:27,560 –> 00:17:30,000
\ngrace and truth that are
\nharmonized. <\/p>\n
263
\n00:17:30,000 –> 00:17:38,680
\nThese are moments that allow
\npeople to see beyond the letter <\/p>\n
264
\n00:17:41,040 –> 00:17:44,040
\nand glimpse sconce desire of man
\nto understand the law, not as as<\/p>\n
265
\n00:17:44,040 –> 00:17:45,840
\npunishment forsake of
\npunishment, not not as <\/p>\n
266
\n00:17:45,840 –> 00:17:49,560
\npunishment to get even or a box
\nto be checked, but as correction<\/p>\n
267
\n00:17:49,760 –> 00:17:55,840
\nleading to restoration.
\nFor that reason the prophets <\/p>\n
268
\n00:17:55,840 –> 00:17:58,800
\ncould write as Hosea.
\nDid you desire love and not <\/p>\n
269
\n00:17:58,800 –> 00:18:03,160
\nsacrifice and the knowledge of
\nGod more than burnt offerings? <\/p>\n
270
\n00:18:03,160 –> 00:18:05,400
\nOr reflect as David wrote,
\nsacrifice and burnt offerings <\/p>\n
271
\n00:18:05,520 –> 00:18:08,800
\nyou do not desire, but a broken
\nand contrite heart or right is <\/p>\n
272
\n00:18:08,800 –> 00:18:11,520
\nin the Proverbs.
\nTo show mercy and justice <\/p>\n
273
\n00:18:16,960 –> 00:18:28,470
\npleases God more than sacrifice.
\nAnd there’s so many other things<\/p>\n
274
\n00:18:30,520 –> 00:18:32,840
\nthat we could note about the
\njustice of our God. <\/p>\n
275
\n00:18:32,840 –> 00:18:35,280
\nBrown sisters, You know, we, we,
\nwe might relate it to his <\/p>\n
276
\n00:18:35,280 –> 00:18:36,880
\nfaithfulness.
\nYou know, we read in Deuteronomy<\/p>\n
277
\n00:18:36,880 –> 00:18:39,880
\n32 that what does it say?
\nAll his ways are perfect and <\/p>\n
278
\n00:18:39,880 –> 00:18:45,520
\njust a God of faithfulness.
\nAnd we can mention that his a <\/p>\n
279
\n00:18:45,520 –> 00:18:48,680
\njustice is a reflection of
\nfaithfulness and commitment to <\/p>\n
280
\n00:18:48,680 –> 00:18:50,480
\ntruth.
\nHath he spoken and shall not he <\/p>\n
281
\n00:18:50,480 –> 00:18:52,040
\nmake good reads?
\nNumbers 23. <\/p>\n
282
\n00:18:52,040 –> 00:19:00,040
\nThis is a God who remembers his
\npromises, who defends those he <\/p>\n
283
\n00:19:00,040 –> 00:19:02,440
\nloves, who holds guilt to
\naccount, those who persecuted <\/p>\n
284
\n00:19:02,440 –> 00:19:05,120
\nand harmed and use the ways of
\nthis cursed world for selfish <\/p>\n
285
\n00:19:05,120 –> 00:19:07,200
\ngains.
\nGod says, I will not let that <\/p>\n
286
\n00:19:07,200 –> 00:19:09,320
\ngo.
\nI will hold it to account. <\/p>\n
287
\n00:19:09,320 –> 00:19:15,080
\nAnd I don’t know about you,
\nbrother and sisters, but I don’t<\/p>\n
288
\n00:19:15,080 –> 00:19:16,440
\nthink we’d have it any other
\nway. <\/p>\n
289
\n00:19:21,740 –> 00:19:26,800
\nWe could mention that there are
\ntimes when justice falls in <\/p>\n
290
\n00:19:26,800 –> 00:19:28,320
\ndifferent ways for the same
\noffense. <\/p>\n
291
\n00:19:28,320 –> 00:19:30,440
\nYou know, we we see this
\nparticularly in in Nineveh <\/p>\n
292
\n00:19:30,440 –> 00:19:34,240
\nversus the account of Second
\nChronicles 28 verse 6. <\/p>\n
293
\n00:19:34,240 –> 00:19:37,000
\nBoth cases, there’s a city of
\n120,000 people. <\/p>\n
294
\n00:19:37,000 –> 00:19:40,640
\nBoth commit the the the fault
\nbefore God of idolatry. 1 spared<\/p>\n
295
\n00:19:40,640 –> 00:19:45,000
\nthe other put to the sword.
\nAnd we might look at that <\/p>\n
296
\n00:19:45,000 –> 00:19:47,000
\nbrothers, sisters and say, you
\nknow, isn’t that isn’t that <\/p>\n
297
\n00:19:47,000 –> 00:19:51,120
\ninconsistency in it is another
\npowerful truth of the justice of<\/p>\n
298
\n00:19:51,120 –> 00:19:54,440
\nGod, and that’s that it is never
\none-size-fits-all. <\/p>\n
299
\n00:19:57,000 –> 00:19:59,760
\nThe justice of God fits the
\nindividual. <\/p>\n
300
\n00:19:59,760 –> 00:20:02,520
\nI the Lord search the heart and
\ntest the mind, he says, and give<\/p>\n
301
\n00:20:02,520 –> 00:20:05,560
\neach according to their ways.
\nNo2 hearts are the same brothers<\/p>\n
302
\n00:20:05,560 –> 00:20:09,960
\nand sisters.
\nNo2 judgements are the same, and<\/p>\n
303
\n00:20:09,960 –> 00:20:12,600
\nbecause of this we can have
\nconfidence that in our God’s <\/p>\n
304
\n00:20:12,600 –> 00:20:18,320
\nwisdom he will not break us, nor
\ninjustice give us more than we <\/p>\n
305
\n00:20:18,320 –> 00:20:20,520
\ncan bear.
\nA bruised Reed he will not <\/p>\n
306
\n00:20:20,520 –> 00:20:23,040
\nbreak, writes Isaiah.
\nA burning Wick he will not <\/p>\n
307
\n00:20:23,040 –> 00:20:30,960
\nquench, yet he will faithfully
\nbring forth justice. <\/p>\n
308
\n00:20:38,360 –> 00:20:43,880
\nWe could also note that at times
\njustice certainly looks <\/p>\n
309
\n00:20:44,120 –> 00:20:45,840
\nretributive.
\nAnd I think of this brothers, <\/p>\n
310
\n00:20:45,840 –> 00:20:49,320
\nsisters, my mind went to the
\nwords of the author, CS Lewis, <\/p>\n
311
\n00:20:51,480 –> 00:20:53,440
\nand he went once wrote this
\ncurious thing. <\/p>\n
312
\n00:20:53,440 –> 00:20:55,800
\nIt stuck in my mind.
\nHe said that there’s essentially<\/p>\n
313
\n00:20:55,800 –> 00:20:57,280
\ntwo types of people in this
\nworld. <\/p>\n
314
\n00:20:57,280 –> 00:21:00,560
\nThose who say to God, thy will
\nbe, thy will be done. <\/p>\n
315
\n00:21:05,840 –> 00:21:10,240
\nAnd those to whom God says thy
\nwill be done. <\/p>\n
316
\n00:21:13,680 –> 00:21:18,360
\nWhat CS Lewis is observing,
\nbrothers, sisters, is that while<\/p>\n
317
\n00:21:18,360 –> 00:21:21,920
\nthe justice of God seeks
\nrestoration far past the <\/p>\n
318
\n00:21:21,920 –> 00:21:26,240
\npatience and endurance of man
\nwill, it will always honour <\/p>\n
319
\n00:21:29,720 –> 00:21:35,640
\nhuman choice.
\nHasn’t God framed service to him<\/p>\n
320
\n00:21:35,640 –> 00:21:37,200
\nin this way?
\nI’ve set before you life and <\/p>\n
321
\n00:21:37,200 –> 00:21:38,840
\ndeath, he says.
\nWhen, when giving the law, <\/p>\n
322
\n00:21:38,840 –> 00:21:42,720
\nchoose life and live.
\nOur God desires relationships, <\/p>\n
323
\n00:21:42,720 –> 00:21:47,280
\nbrothers and sisters, not
\nsomething forced, not something <\/p>\n
324
\n00:21:47,280 –> 00:21:50,080
\ncoerced or mechanical, but
\nsomebody knowingly, persistently<\/p>\n
325
\n00:21:50,080 –> 00:21:52,480
\nand purposely rejects God’s
\nlove, light and truth. <\/p>\n
326
\n00:21:52,480 –> 00:21:55,640
\nAnd judgement falls, bronze
\nsisters, and not out of cruelty.<\/p>\n
327
\n00:21:57,840 –> 00:22:00,440
\nEzekiel writes, I take no
\npleasure in deaths of the <\/p>\n
328
\n00:22:00,440 –> 00:22:03,320
\nwicked, says the Lord, but it
\nfalls because that person <\/p>\n
329
\n00:22:03,400 –> 00:22:07,000
\nbecomes incompatible with a
\ngreater restoration being <\/p>\n
330
\n00:22:07,000 –> 00:22:09,280
\naccomplished in our world.
\nAnd when that happens, brothers <\/p>\n
331
\n00:22:09,280 –> 00:22:12,080
\nand sisters, the judgments of
\nGod take two effects. <\/p>\n
332
\n00:22:14,600 –> 00:22:17,280
\nAnd we see it in the words of
\nMalachi, the words of chapter 4,<\/p>\n
333
\n00:22:17,280 –> 00:22:19,200
\nwords of justice to come to this
\nworld. <\/p>\n
334
\n00:22:19,200 –> 00:22:25,080
\nWhat does he say in verse one?
\nBehold, the day of fire comes of<\/p>\n
335
\n00:22:25,080 –> 00:22:27,840
\njudgement, which will burn the
\narrogant and evil doers as <\/p>\n
336
\n00:22:27,840 –> 00:22:29,840
\nstubble, and I will leave them
\nneither root nor branch. <\/p>\n
337
\n00:22:29,960 –> 00:22:39,680
\nYet for those who fear my name,
\nthat same fire will be as the <\/p>\n
338
\n00:22:39,680 –> 00:22:44,960
\nSun of Righteousness that rises
\nwith healing in its wings. <\/p>\n
339
\n00:22:44,960 –> 00:22:48,800
\nThe justice of God can either
\nrestore us in grace for the <\/p>\n
340
\n00:22:48,800 –> 00:22:58,040
\nsisters or by the hardening of
\nour hearts, we break ourselves <\/p>\n
341
\n00:22:58,200 –> 00:23:12,460
\non it.
\nIn our time this afternoon, <\/p>\n
342
\n00:23:14,380 –> 00:23:17,540
\nwe’ve considered a few things,
\nbrothers and sisters, on this <\/p>\n
343
\n00:23:17,540 –> 00:23:20,220
\ncharacter of God.
\nWe, we, we considered that he is<\/p>\n
344
\n00:23:20,220 –> 00:23:24,200
\nrooted in justice, not
\nneglecting wrong. <\/p>\n
345
\n00:23:24,200 –> 00:23:27,160
\nWe considered that that despite
\nthis desire, his justice, it’s <\/p>\n
346
\n00:23:27,160 –> 00:23:30,520
\nnever in spite of Grace Bran
\nsisters, but working with it <\/p>\n
347
\n00:23:30,520 –> 00:23:34,360
\nwhen aimed for our restoration,
\nwhen working good to those who <\/p>\n
348
\n00:23:34,360 –> 00:23:37,600
\nlove him, when, when relational
\nand adaptive to our needs. <\/p>\n
349
\n00:23:37,920 –> 00:23:45,320
\nAnd now, brothers and sisters,
\nwe’ll consider what this means <\/p>\n
350
\n00:23:45,880 –> 00:23:48,040
\nfor us.
\nAnd there is much we could say <\/p>\n
351
\n00:23:48,040 –> 00:23:52,840
\non that, couldn’t we?
\nWe could reflect that as <\/p>\n
352
\n00:23:52,840 –> 00:23:56,080
\nmentioned in the beginning, God,
\nGod put justice in our hearts. <\/p>\n
353
\n00:23:56,080 –> 00:23:58,800
\nAnd, and he does that because,
\nas said in the beginning, he <\/p>\n
354
\n00:23:58,800 –> 00:24:02,760
\nmade man in his image.
\nHe desired. <\/p>\n
355
\n00:24:02,760 –> 00:24:05,320
\nWe reflect this character we
\nthink to his words I’ve chosen <\/p>\n
356
\n00:24:05,320 –> 00:24:09,480
\nyou Abraham and your children
\nthat they may do justice. <\/p>\n
357
\n00:24:11,520 –> 00:24:14,880
\nWe think of the words of Micah 6
\nverse 8 do justice, love mercy <\/p>\n
358
\n00:24:14,880 –> 00:24:17,840
\nand walk before God and in these
\nwords, Bron sisters is a simple <\/p>\n
359
\n00:24:17,840 –> 00:24:19,720
\nessential lesson that God’s
\ncharacter. <\/p>\n
360
\n00:24:19,720 –> 00:24:21,440
\nThis is where the things
\nconsidered this morning. <\/p>\n
361
\n00:24:21,480 –> 00:24:23,440
\nIt’s never something we just
\nunderstand. <\/p>\n
362
\n00:24:26,120 –> 00:24:27,800
\nIt’s something that we live
\nknowing. <\/p>\n
363
\n00:24:27,800 –> 00:24:35,040
\nGod is a call to action, to live
\nthese qualities and who we are. <\/p>\n
364
\n00:24:35,040 –> 00:24:37,960
\nTo restore the hearts of people
\nas God seeks to restore them. <\/p>\n
365
\n00:24:39,960 –> 00:24:42,360
\nTo care for those as God would
\nseek to care for them. <\/p>\n
366
\n00:24:42,400 –> 00:24:45,120
\nTo see those who are suffering
\nas a result of this cursed earth<\/p>\n
367
\n00:24:45,120 –> 00:24:47,440
\nand treat man as God would treat
\nthem. <\/p>\n
368
\n00:24:47,560 –> 00:24:57,180
\nBut we have to acknowledge that
\nin our desire to emulate God’s <\/p>\n
369
\n00:24:57,180 –> 00:25:00,380
\njustice, there are times that we
\nfall far short of it. <\/p>\n
370
\n00:25:03,540 –> 00:25:08,240
\nTimes were unlike God, we take
\nsatisfaction in our in our <\/p>\n
371
\n00:25:08,240 –> 00:25:10,680
\npunishment of others.
\nTimes we forget that the root of<\/p>\n
372
\n00:25:10,680 –> 00:25:13,760
\njustice isn’t vengeance, it’s
\ncorrection leading to <\/p>\n
373
\n00:25:13,760 –> 00:25:17,960
\nrestoration.
\nTimes where unlike God, our <\/p>\n
374
\n00:25:17,960 –> 00:25:20,720
\njustice doesn’t really account
\nfor how we’re going to restore <\/p>\n
375
\n00:25:20,720 –> 00:25:22,720
\nthe offender.
\nWe’re unlike our God, it doesn’t<\/p>\n
376
\n00:25:22,800 –> 00:25:25,280
\naccount for circumstance or or
\nindividual. <\/p>\n
377
\n00:25:25,280 –> 00:25:31,320
\nAnd in our carelessness, we
\nbreak the weak and an anger <\/p>\n
378
\n00:25:31,320 –> 00:25:34,720
\ndrive out the vulnerable.
\nThe challenge for believers is <\/p>\n
379
\n00:25:34,720 –> 00:25:38,680
\nto create safe spaces and our
\necclesias for broken people <\/p>\n
380
\n00:25:41,320 –> 00:25:43,400
\nwithout lowering God’s standard
\nof holiness. <\/p>\n
381
\n00:25:45,360 –> 00:25:51,280
\nThe challenge for believers is
\nto speak truth in love, to <\/p>\n
382
\n00:25:51,320 –> 00:25:54,080
\nenforce God’s Word, but always
\nin a spirit of mercy so that it <\/p>\n
383
\n00:25:54,080 –> 00:25:56,760
\nmay never be said of us.
\nAs was written long ago, justice<\/p>\n
384
\n00:25:56,760 –> 00:25:59,160
\nis without mercy to one who had
\nno mercy. <\/p>\n
385
\n00:25:59,160 –> 00:26:02,520
\nThe challenge for believers is
\nto remember that a community <\/p>\n
386
\n00:26:02,520 –> 00:26:12,000
\nwithout justice is lost and a
\ncommunity without grace is <\/p>\n
387
\n00:26:12,000 –> 00:26:17,320
\ncruel.
\nThe standard we strive for are <\/p>\n
388
\n00:26:17,320 –> 00:26:21,600
\nthe words of Hosea 12.
\nHold fast to justice and love <\/p>\n
389
\n00:26:21,920 –> 00:26:35,780
\nand wait for your God.
\nBut the final thing we’ll note <\/p>\n
390
\n00:26:38,980 –> 00:26:40,980
\nis that while we might
\nunderstand this, brothers, <\/p>\n
391
\n00:26:40,980 –> 00:26:46,660
\nsisters, while we might grasp
\neverything we’ve just discussed <\/p>\n
392
\n00:26:46,660 –> 00:26:49,460
\nthat that the judgements of God
\naim to restore you. <\/p>\n
393
\n00:26:49,620 –> 00:26:55,040
\nThat does not mean that it is
\neasy or when you were in <\/p>\n
394
\n00:26:55,040 –> 00:26:58,040
\ndarkness that that you’re always
\ngoing to see that that light of <\/p>\n
395
\n00:26:58,040 –> 00:27:00,120
\nunderstanding.
\nYou know, as I was thinking to <\/p>\n
396
\n00:27:00,120 –> 00:27:04,280
\nthis, my thought went to a
\nspeech I once heard. <\/p>\n
397
\n00:27:04,280 –> 00:27:09,960
\nI didn’t hear it.
\nI read it by Abraham Lincoln. <\/p>\n
398
\n00:27:13,720 –> 00:27:17,520
\nIn fact, it was his second
\ninaugural address and he wrote <\/p>\n
399
\n00:27:17,520 –> 00:27:20,840
\nthis in 1865 and the context was
\nwas quite dark for him <\/p>\n
400
\n00:27:20,840 –> 00:27:22,480
\npersonally.
\nYou see, over the course of <\/p>\n
401
\n00:27:22,480 –> 00:27:26,120
\nthat, that long struggle of a
\nnation, he increasingly came to <\/p>\n
402
\n00:27:26,120 –> 00:27:33,240
\nsee the conflict he presided
\nover as an act of God’s justice.<\/p>\n
403
\n00:27:36,360 –> 00:27:40,880
\nAnd he was trying to articulate
\nwhy it had to happen, why so <\/p>\n
404
\n00:27:40,880 –> 00:27:44,000
\nmany fathers could not come
\nhome, why so many children would<\/p>\n
405
\n00:27:44,000 –> 00:27:46,840
\nnow be orphaned.
\nWhy, why, why the nation had to <\/p>\n
406
\n00:27:46,840 –> 00:27:49,360
\nsuffer for these things.
\nAnd he was lost in the only <\/p>\n
407
\n00:27:49,360 –> 00:27:51,600
\nthing he could comfort.
\nThe only place he turned was <\/p>\n
408
\n00:27:51,600 –> 00:28:00,370
\nthis passage of the Psalms.
\nThe judgments of the Lord are <\/p>\n
409
\n00:28:00,370 –> 00:28:07,880
\nrighteous and true.
\nSometimes you will not <\/p>\n
410
\n00:28:07,880 –> 00:28:10,680
\nunderstand the justice of God,
\nbrother and sisters. <\/p>\n
411
\n00:28:12,960 –> 00:28:16,120
\nSometimes the only comfort you
\nwill have is knowing that all <\/p>\n
412
\n00:28:16,120 –> 00:28:21,600
\nthings come from His hand and
\nthat He works good to those who <\/p>\n
413
\n00:28:21,600 –> 00:28:24,120
\nlove Him.
\nAnd sometimes that is enough to <\/p>\n
414
\n00:28:24,120 –> 00:28:29,840
\ngive you the strength of David,
\nwhere after living through the <\/p>\n
415
\n00:28:29,840 –> 00:28:33,720
\nunimaginable, he could stand in
\nbelief of God’s character that <\/p>\n
416
\n00:28:33,720 –> 00:28:36,760
\nwe’ve been reflecting on and say
\nas he did in the Psalms in Psalm<\/p>\n
417
\n00:28:36,760 –> 00:28:40,480
\n51, I sinned.
\nThat whatever God does to me, he<\/p>\n
418
\n00:28:40,480 –> 00:28:44,760
\nmight be just.
\nIt makes you Abraham. <\/p>\n
419
\n00:28:44,760 –> 00:28:47,480
\nAnd who moments of uncertainty
\ncould cry out in conviction. <\/p>\n
420
\n00:28:47,480 –> 00:28:50,000
\nWill not the judge of all the
\nearth do what is? <\/p>\n
421
\n00:28:50,000 –> 00:28:53,640
\nJust as I was thinking to this
\nfrom the sisters, my mind went <\/p>\n
422
\n00:28:53,640 –> 00:28:59,280
\nto this sculpture on the screen.
\nSeveral years ago. <\/p>\n
423
\n00:28:59,280 –> 00:29:03,160
\nI had the the privilege of
\nseeing a full reproduction of <\/p>\n
424
\n00:29:03,160 –> 00:29:04,080
\nit.
\nIn fact, it’s a work of <\/p>\n
425
\n00:29:04,080 –> 00:29:08,520
\nMichelangelo.
\nAnd as I looked at it, I was <\/p>\n
426
\n00:29:08,520 –> 00:29:10,280
\nimmediately struck by two
\nthings. <\/p>\n
427
\n00:29:10,280 –> 00:29:16,360
\nThe first is that the subject
\nmatter is immensely dark. <\/p>\n
428
\n00:29:18,880 –> 00:29:24,280
\nIt’s the artist’s imagination of
\na moment after the cross in <\/p>\n
429
\n00:29:24,280 –> 00:29:27,080
\nwhich Mary would have, for a
\nbrief moment, held the broken <\/p>\n
430
\n00:29:27,080 –> 00:29:30,560
\nbody of her child.
\nIt is a depiction of a mother <\/p>\n
431
\n00:29:30,560 –> 00:29:34,800
\nholding her crucified son.
\nThe second thing that struck me <\/p>\n
432
\n00:29:40,920 –> 00:29:48,900
\nis that it is immensely
\nbeautiful, bruh. <\/p>\n
433
\n00:29:48,900 –> 00:29:54,540
\nAnd sisters of mortal man, in
\nall of our failings, can create <\/p>\n
434
\n00:29:54,540 –> 00:29:57,940
\nsomething so beautiful from
\nsomething so tragic. <\/p>\n
435
\n00:30:00,400 –> 00:30:04,920
\nWhat can God not do in the
\ndarkest moments of our lives? <\/p>\n
436
\n00:30:04,920 –> 00:30:07,360
\nWhat beauty can he not pull from
\ntragedy? <\/p>\n
437
\n00:30:07,360 –> 00:30:10,160
\nWhat peace can he not salvage
\nfrom our chaos? <\/p>\n
438
\n00:30:10,160 –> 00:30:12,720
\nO the depths and riches and
\nwisdom of our God, wrote the <\/p>\n
439
\n00:30:12,720 –> 00:30:19,280
\nPsalmist.
\nHow unsearchable His justice and<\/p>\n
440
\n00:30:19,280 –> 00:30:22,280
\ninscrutable His ways.
\nBrothers and sisters and our <\/p>\n
441
\n00:30:22,280 –> 00:30:28,320
\ntime Tomorrow we will continue
\nour reflections of the God that <\/p>\n
442
\n00:30:28,320 –> 00:30:32,960
\nHabakkuk writes in Wrath
\nRemembers Mercy, our God. <\/p>\n
443
\n00:30:32,960 –> 00:30:36,120
\nAs Isaiah records in chapter 29,
\nwhen His justice is in the <\/p>\n
444
\n00:30:36,120 –> 00:30:38,240
\nearth, the inhabitants learn
\nrighteousness. <\/p>\n
445
\n00:30:38,240 –> 00:30:42,240
\nWe will consider how we live in
\nthe tension of these character <\/p>\n
446
\n00:30:42,240 –> 00:30:47,880
\ntraits, how we manifest this
\nquality of God in who we are, <\/p>\n
447
\n00:30:47,960 –> 00:30:50,240
\nthe pitfalls of it, and we will
\nbring our minds to the <\/p>\n
448
\n00:30:50,240 –> 00:30:56,480
\nreflection of our God’s perfect
\ncharacter, embodied in the glory<\/p>\n
449
\n00:30:56,520 –> 00:30:57,080
\nof his Son.\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Classes 2 & 3 from this series were used in GCT Episode 387. 1 00:00:00,080 –>…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":786,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/s\/8765608\/podcast\/play\/115481732\/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-13%2F42f9a3eb-0efa-c10a-eacd-e8a238c70700.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:30:57","filesize":"56.71M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"tags":[],"series":[18],"class_list":["post-1448","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-gct-ext"],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1319730-1546836077275-ad9b1fa65b482-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/1319730-1546836075997-e4feb369d8bf.jpg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1","download_link":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-download\/1448\/aaron-mckee-the-relenting-and-unrelenting-god-class-3-the-god-of-justice-deu-32v1-47","player_link":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-player\/1448\/aaron-mckee-the-relenting-and-unrelenting-god-class-3-the-god-of-justice-deu-32v1-47","audio_player":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/podcast-player\/1448\/aaron-mckee-the-relenting-and-unrelenting-god-class-3-the-god-of-justice-deu-32v1-47<\/a>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"anchor":{"key":"anchor","url":"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/gct-extended","label":"Anchor","class":"anchor","icon":"anchor.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended\/id1451458376?mt=2&uo=4","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"breaker":{"key":"breaker","url":"","label":"Breaker","class":"breaker","icon":"breaker.png"},"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"https:\/\/castbox.fm\/channel\/id1440738","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84NzY1NjA4L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"overcast":{"key":"overcast","url":"https:\/\/overcast.fm\/itunes1451458376\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended","label":"Overcast","class":"overcast","icon":"overcast.png"},"pocketcasts":{"key":"pocketcasts","url":"https:\/\/pca.st\/s6u6","label":"PocketCasts","class":"pocketcasts","icon":"pocketcasts.png"},"podbean":{"key":"podbean","url":"","label":"Podbean","class":"podbean","icon":"podbean.png"},"radio_public":{"key":"radio_public","url":"https:\/\/radiopublic.com\/good-christadelphian-talks-extend-8X4LpA","label":"Radio Public","class":"radio_public","icon":"radio-public.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/572NtU94bGKGknHF4gmlM6","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/anchor-podcasts\/good-christadelphian-talks-extended","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/GoodChristadelphianTalksPodcast","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/goodchristadelphiantalks.com\/feed\/podcast\/gct-ext","embedCode":"Aaron McKee – The Relenting and Unrelenting God – Class 3 – The God Of Justice (Deu. 32v1-47)<\/a><\/blockquote>