 Let's open our Bibles together. We're in Revelation chapter 15, and we're going to move into chapter 16 verse 7 today. Revelation chapter 15 and into chapter 16. We're going to look at a portion of scriptures that introduces the seven last plagues. We would welcome our online church and our visitors. You know that there's a variety of countries that are tuning in right now and we welcome you and I would remind you even as John earlier said that we do have a Wednesday service. We have a Monday night with our young adults and Tuesday morning men's breakfast and Wednesday night we're going through the book of Job. And I find the book of Job a book that's appropriate for our days that we're living in right now. The people who have a lot of questions concerning the things of the Lord and all. Job and his friends have a great argument concerning the righteous judgments of God and things of that nature. I'd invite you to be with us. If you can't physically be here I'd love to have you with us online. We do broadcast it and so I'd love to have you with us on Wednesday night also. And I have mentioned recently that we are looking into the possibility of having a trip to Israel. We normally go every year. My wife and I have had the joy and privilege of going to Israel many times and for us it's just a great refresher and it's been very important in our walks with the Lord. And if you're able to go with us, we're looking to possibly go as a matter of fact planning on going and there are three other churches that want to join with us in March of next year. So a year from now after it will be after the 16th of March and it's going to be about 12 days. And we're looking at costs and everything and when you go the cost that you pay includes everything except I think two meals. And so it's all taken care of in your price that is charged. I'll be giving you an update on that. It's going to be in the $4,000 range per person. And anyway, if you're able to go we'd love to have you with us. And again it's going to be God willing in March. Israel is opening up to tourists, but we want to give you ample opportunity to save for such a trip. And if you ever wanted to see the land of Israel we'd love to take you and introduce you to it. So with that said, we're going to begin here in Revelation chapter 15. I'll read verses 1 and 2 and give you an introduction and move into our study. I have to tell you this is one of those studies as we're getting further into the book of Revelation that is it's a very serious portion of scripture and you know my attitude as I as I teach these portions it's such a serious place that I find my sense of humor kind of muted a bit and you'll see that in just a moment. And so beginning at verse 1 and reading verses 1 and 2 Revelation chapter 15 John writes then I saw another sign in heaven great and marvelous seven angels having the seven last plagues for in them the wrath of God is complete and I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire and those who have the victory over the beast over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name standing on the sea of glass having harps of God. So as I began preparing the study I began by first looking into what Americans are afraid of what Americans fear the most and as I looked at a variety of sources it was interesting to see the results what are Americans afraid of and so in January of 2021 the American Psychological Association took a survey of stress and what they did is they hired what is called the Harris poll so they hired the Harris poll to conduct the survey of adults aged 18 and above now obviously all polls are subject to sampling error misunderstanding the question various other factors but the results can be informative and this is what they found what are Americans afraid of in 2021 so they found 81% of Americans surveyed were concerned about the future of our nation 80% were concerned about the pandemic 74% were concerned about political unrest around the nation 72% were concerned about the current political climate 66% were concerned about the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th of all the respondents the greatest concerns included the United States moving towards unity 90% were concerned about that 84% desired the United States to address serious societal issues 78% said that this is the lowest point in the nation's history that they can remember and 43% said the political climate had caused strain between family members 84% said that they felt deep stress within the last two weeks before taking the survey and so Americans are admitting to being afraid about a lot of things that they have stress concerning many things Americans are concerned with natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes and hurricanes and floods and fires many are concerned with something called global warming many are concerned about job loss economic stress because they're afraid of not being able to pay for health care CNBC survey said with many out of work 66% fear that they can't have health care many are afraid of personal failure which leads people sometimes the liar to cheat or to steal to avoid being a failure some are afraid of insects some are afraid of animals some are afraid of confined spaces but many admit to a fear about the future though they wonder about the future few are considering what actually awaits them in the future so Americans fear many things but fail to have a concern about the most important thing the most important thing is what will happen when they stand before God in Hebrews 10 31 it says it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God oh Jesus as we read our scriptures discover we discover that he's the most loving man who ever lived so the most loving man who ever lived said something like this in Matthew 10 28 he said do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell if you want to be afraid remember it is a terrible thing a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God the judge of the whole earth and so as we're looking at Revelation chapter 15 Revelation 15 is the shortest chapter in the book of revelation it contains a scene of heaven as preparation for final judgments are finalized these events are chronological and they're leading to the second coming that we'll see in chapter 19 and so as we begin in verse 1 of Revelation chapter 15 John says I saw another sign in heaven great and marvelous seven angels having the seven last plagues for in them the wrath of God is complete so I saw another sign in heaven and notice he calls it great and marvelous this sign that he sees this great and marvelous because it contains the final outpouring of the wrath of God it shows God's wrath being fully expressed on wicked and unrepentant people now up until this point two previous signs had been mentioned remember Revelation chapter 12 verse 1 the sign of the woman which was the nation Israel and Revelation 12 verse 3 the sign of the dragon also satan known as satan and his control of empires and governments but this sign is the sign of seven angels seven angels having the last seven plagues which complete the wrath of God it's speaking concerning the conclusion of this period of time where God pours out his wrath called the tribulation the tribulation is the time when God is pouring out his wrath on a Christ rejecting rebellious planet in Romans 118 the apostle Paul said it like this he said the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness they hold down the truth by their wickedness and so this is a time of God's wrath against wickedness it's not impulsive it's not a flash of intense anger it represents what is called a settled anger it's it's a picture of God withholding his anger but finally acting upon it and this pouring out of wrath comes when God has finally decided it's time to move it is again the expression of his settled rejection of sin and the evil of those who fail to repent we saw in Revelation chapter 6 verses 16 and 17 that these people called to the mountains and the rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the great day of their wrath has come and who can stand you see for the believer God's wrath has been satisfied through Jesus Christ through the death of Christ on that cross the act of satisfying God's righteous anger is is a biblical term a theological term it's called propitiation propitiation is God's wrath being satisfied and God has withheld withheld his his anger but he's now finally acting upon it and so God's wrath is being has been satisfied in Christ in Revelation 6 again when they said they called to he says they called the mountains and rocks it was to save us from the wrath of the lamb so God's righteous anger is going to be satisfied but for us it has already been satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ God's righteous justice is satisfied well at the same time his love is being fully expressed when Jesus died on the cross his justice was served but his love was demonstrated and it wasn't the nails on in Jesus's flesh that held to the cross it was the love of God but he died there in our place and the bible makes it very clear that what was happening was his righteous judge justice was being satisfied but his love was being fully expressed it's like what it says in Psalm 85 10 mercy and truth have met together righteousness and peace have kissed that occurs on our behalf when Jesus took upon himself our sin when he died for us because he's the one who satisfied God's righteous requirements he's the one who could look at man and say which of you can convict me of sin and none could could could cast a stone at him because he was perfect and so he satisfied God's righteous requirements and he saved us in Hebrews 2 17 it says therefore in all things he had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people in 1st John chapter 2 verse 2 he himself is the propitiation for our sins not for ours only but also for the whole world when Jesus died on the cross he satisfied the righteous anger of his father and we have received the the effect of that because he has given to us something we didn't have he gave to us his own righteousness and when Jesus died on the cross and we received him as the one who died was buried and was raised the third day from the dead and we said God be merciful to me I'm a sin or forgive me of my sin God took that from me that sin and cleansed it with the blood of Christ and imputed to me gave to me something I didn't already have which is his righteousness we have become the righteousness of God in his son Jesus Christ Paul told the Corinthians so where is we are his children and because we are his children we don't suffer his wrath because that has been settled in heaven in Romans chapter five verse nine Paul said being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him in 1st Thessalonians five verse nine Paul again said God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ you see the wrath question for a believer has been settled but for the unsaved God's wrath settles on them constantly in John 3 36 it says he who believes in the sun has everlasting life and he who does not believe the sun shall not see life but the wrath of God abides on him God's settled anger remains with them and because they die without God's grace and forgiveness that wrath is never to be removed it is eternally remaining but for the one rejecting Jesus God's wrath on earth is poured out in a time called the tribulation the word translated wrath speaks of God's rage it's a passionate outburst of his anger in the Old Testament book of Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 8 we read therefore wait for me declares the Lord for the day when I rise up as a witness indeed my decision is to gather nations to assemble kingdoms to pour out on them my indignation all my burning anger for all the earth will be destroyed now God has already begun pouring out his wrath he has done so in two sets of judgments we've seen in chapter 6 of Revelation as well as chapter 8 verse 1 we were introduced to the seal judgments in chapter 8 verse 2 chapter 9 and chapter 11 verse 15 we see the trumpet judgments well by this point the tribulation in the tribulation God has given the the world plenty of opportunity to repent I've been mentioning this to you let me remind you he gave the world 144,000 evangelists he had those two that are referred to as the two witnesses who are who are doing signs and wonders and and proclaiming the message he had those who are being converted tribulation saints who are communicating the gospel in Revelation 14 6 and 7 we saw that an angel flew preaching the everlasting gospel but God's patience has finally come to an end in 2nd Peter in chapter 3 verse 9 it says the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness he is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance God has been patient with us how many times in your life and some of you who are older will have a lot more opportunity than those who are younger but how many times in your life were you that just that close to dying mean so close to dying I had that happen many times in my life prior to coming to Christ and and I had almost died on several occasions by the time I was 20 you know I have a friend of mine his name is Bill and Bill and I have known each other since we're five years old he was in my kindergarten class and we became dear friends when we were about 10 or so and friends for many years to this day we're still friends and and Bill reminded me recently because they still see him he reminded me recently how he didn't like me riding a bicycle when I was a kid and it's because I was really bad at riding bikes to be honest with you and when I bought my motorcycle he was really afraid because he was sure I was going to die in that I just wasn't that good at I don't know why it's I think part of it is because I like to show off because we were together one time and and we're riding our bikes in a neighborhood and we came to a turn a slow turn where you went to the right and and I was 14 and I looked ahead and there was a cute little blonde sitting on her porch and I thought I'd show off you know so I started riding without any hands you know just being so cool and as I tried to make the turn without any hands I hit the curb right in front of her her house and she's sitting there seeing me and I flew off the bike I hit the ground I began to roll I jumped up the bike was still moving I jumped on it and rode away and I just remember Bill falling off his bike laughing on the front lawn as this beautiful girl was laughing at me and so Bill said you know I never liked your riding bikes because you were you just went that good at it and he said do you remember the time when we were riding together and and you decided to turn in front of a car that was coming down the street and the bike slipped out from underneath you and you fell and this car stopped maybe six inches from me and these old cars are those big metal bumpers I still remember the car moving in the woman's face like oh my god I'm about to to hurt a bike and and he said you remember what you said I said well he said you said time out you know and it worked I said well you know those words work so how many times were you close to dying I can tell you many times in my life from silly things as a kid to drug overdoses alcohol and barbiturate poisoning I can tell you many times in my life that that I got close so did you I'm sure every person here can think of at least one or two times or you almost died but you know what you didn't thank God why because you may not have been saved at that time God's patience is amazing isn't it he had so much patience he waited for us and and and I at 20 got saved maybe you earlier maybe you at a later date but God's patience ultimately runs out it eventually runs out and as we're going through this his his patience has come to its conclusion so as we're looking at this in verse one of chapter 15 of Revelation John sees seven angels and these seven angels have the seven last plagues these angels are used to deliver God's wrath to the Christ-rejecting world and the seven plagues are the bold judgments the bold judgments that strike the world in verse two he says I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire and those who have the victory over the beast over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name standing on the sea of glass having harps of God and so he says I see something I saw something like a sea of glass the sea of glass as we've seen already in chapter four verse six it represents the purity of God revealed in a crystal platform before the throne and notice it's mingled with fire well fire may speak of the fire of God's judgment that is being poured out on earth Hebrews 10 27 tells us that those who reject God's grace will face a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries so John sees people and he identifies them as those who have noticed victory over the beast these are tribulations saints these are those who are martyred for not taking the mark of the beast these are those who have been redeemed redeemed during the tribulation they are the ones who refuse to take that mark remember in revelation 13 verse 15 he was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast so that it could speak and cause all who refuse to worship the image to be killed well there they are standing on the sea of glass and they have what are called harps of God we have already seen in revelation five as well as chapter 14 that the harps are associated with praise and the rejoicing because God has brought justice to those who persecuted them they had already said how long oh lord how long until you avenge our blood and so they're giving praise to the lord because God brought justice on those who persecuted them and they're singing notice as he says in verse three here and they they sing the song of moses the servant of God and the song of the lamb saying great and marvelous are your works lord god almighty just and true are your ways oh king of the saints who shall not fear you oh lord and glorify your name for you alone are holy for all nations shall come and worship before you for your judgments have been manifested we are worshiping and praising you for you are righteous you are true you are holy and your judgments are impeccable the song of moses when you see the song of moses and the song of the lamb well these are songs of victory the song of moses was a song of god's victory over pharaoh you see that in the old testament book of exodus in chapter 15 verses one through 18 when you begin to read it in exodus 15 verses one through three it reads moses and the children of israel sang this song to the lord and spoke saying i will sing to the lord for he has triumphed gloriously the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea the lord is my strength and song he has become my salvation he's my god i will praise him my father's god i will exalt him the lord is a man of war the lord is his name in verses 18 and 19 of the same chapter the lord shall reign forever and ever for the horses of pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea and the lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them but the children of israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea and so it's a song of victory in the old testament as well as the new in revelation five remember the believers were singing songs of praise to the lamb who had redeemed them and as they're singing here they're singing concerning his works and they're singing concerning his ways they they sing concerning his holiness and they sing concerning his worthiness to be worshiped and the they're singing a song that is sung by all nations and they're saying all nations shall come and worship before you now this begins at jesus's thousand year reign when all nations come and bow before him but that time is anticipated by paul when he was writing a letter to the philippian church he said in philippians 2 verses 10 and 11 at the name of jesus every knee shall bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth and that every tongue shall confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father you know we've had so many people over the years and as a christian i speak in this way we have had so many people who have proclaimed themselves to be leaders and and messiahs even and people who are going to deliver and created their own religion it wasn't that long ago when somebody was professing himself to be messiah there were full page ads being taken out of major newspapers here in the united states saying the messiah has come and it was a false prophet there was uh uh someone in israel the nation of israel when we were going there few years ago even they had banners in various places saying the messiah has come and it was pointing to a rabbi there in israel who was they said the the messiah there have been many people who have professed themselves to be the leaders been professing themselves be the hero to be the one who will set you free so many but the bible says this there's only one and that's jesus christ and that every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father that includes buddha that includes mohammed that includes confucius that includes every person who's ever lived they will say you are the lord and so that time is coming it's a time that was anticipated by paul when he was writing to the philippians the glory of god he is holy again great and marvelous are your works lord god almighty just and true are your ways oh king of the saints who shall not fear you oh lord and glorify your name for you alone are holy all nations shall come and worship before you for your judgment has been manifested in verse five after these things i looked behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was open she has a new vision the holy of holies in heaven is now open it's called the tabernacle of testimony because it's where the ten commandments were as the tabernacle is opened the most severe earthly judgments come forth verse six out of the temple came the seven angels having seven plagues clothed in pure bright linen having their chests girded with golden bands seven angels are more than likely the same angels we've seen mentioned throughout the book notice how they come out of the temple they're executing the will of god and the clothing that they're wearing represents righteousness as well as service to god in verse seven he says one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of god who lives forever and ever now we've already seen these high ranking angels we saw them in chapter four and chapter five chapter 14 we've seen them many times but it says one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls so one of the high ranking angels gives the seven angels seven golden bowls now these balls the word bowl here is an interesting word it speaks of a bowl that is shallow and when a bowl is shallow that simply means that it can be turned over and the contents can be emptied quickly so this is a picture of god's pouring out wrath in a quick fashion it's a sudden and complete pouring out of his wrath that's the picture we have and says again in verse eight the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god and from his power no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed so the temple is filled with smoke the stage is set Christ's rejecters have their fate sealed i wonder if you the first time you heard the gospel i would especially speak to those who are adult older not infant or babies toddlers or whatever i wonder if the first time you heard the gospel i wonder if if you responded with an affirmative saying yes to god i didn't maybe you didn't perhaps you're one who had never heard it and then the gospel is presented and you said this is great news i want christ but most people that i've encountered have had an opportunity to hear the word more than once more than one opportunity some people have been raised in christian homes perhaps had devotions all their lives have gone to church and sunday school all of the young lives and have not responded i still remember giving an invitation in our church on one sunday morning and a young woman approached me after i had given the invitation i was able to call people forward to pray with them and all and she stood around and waited until everybody had walked away and she approached me she said i want you to know that i i received christ today she said i was sitting there and i didn't come forward she said and i'll tell you why she said my father is a pastor in the local area and some people in this church know who i am and know who my my father is she said i just didn't want to bring embarrassment to my dad so i waited she said until everybody walked away but i want to come up and tell you i've given my heart to christ today i gave my heart to jesus christ a pastor's daughter there are people who have heard the gospel pretty much all their life they've had their devotions they've gone to church they've attended sunday school they've gone on on trips and camps and and various things and have never given their hearts to christ and they and they hear the message and they hear the message saying you need to repent you need to turn away turn away from your sin well what is your sin gotten to you what what what is what is the benefit of what you've done what is it what is it that you want to hold on so much to so much that you're willing to go to hell for what what is it why and and there are those who will hear the message and and sometimes they'll say well you almost got me you almost got me you almost persuaded me to be a believer there are those who will say that and you have to ask the question how many opportunities do you think you're going to have how many opportunities do you think you'll have to receive christ in proverbs 29 verse 1 the bible says a man who remains stiff necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy you've hardened your heart you've hardened your heart you've hardened your heart and now it's over how many times does it take just somebody gives their heart to jesus christ how many times does the lord have to speak well here we see that his patience has reached its its tipping point and now he's pouring out his wrath and so in chapter 16 verse 1 i heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of god on the earth now remember john had just said no one was able to enter the temple so the loud voice must be the voice of god and here's your final pouring out the bowl judgments the wrath of god is even more intensely being poured out in these judgments verse 2 so the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth naffal and loathsome sore came upon the men we had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image painful incurable oozing ulcers strike those who have trusted in the antichrist now remember john had written that the ones who received the mark would drink of the wrath of god in revelation 14 verses 9 and 10 a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on his hand he himself shall also drink the wine of the wrath of god which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb so these people are being judged this doesn't infect believers because according to revelation 138 believers are protected by god they do torment they torment those with the mark those who worship the beast's image so antichrist followers are suffering the consequences of rejecting jesus christ one commentator said that this might be the fulfillment of a prophecy by the prophet zechariah and the old testament because in zechariah 14 verse 12 it says now this will be the plague with which the lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongue will rot in their mouth and so this may be that pouring out that's being prophesied in zechariah 14 verse 12 oozing sores oozing ulcers break out on those who receive the mark of the beast and verse 3 the second angel poured out his bull on the sea and it became blood as of a dead man every living creature in the sea died now as i mentioned these these judgments these bull judgments are coming rapidly it doesn't give people any time to recover one after the other and without having any time to heal from the sores the sea is now polluted remember in chapter eight verses eight and nine a meteor had crashed into the Mediterranean a third of the sea had become blood well john said that at that time a third of its living creatures died but this plague destroys every living creature of the sea and as you consider that the stench of the decaying bodies would be terrible the beauty of the sea is now destroyed he says the sea became blood as of a dead man the sea in other words becomes thick like coagulated blood it's dark and the sea will have a terrible rotten stink to it when you read your bible on the fifth day god created the creatures that live in the sea in genesis 1 20 and 21 it says god said let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures let let the birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens so god created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves with which the waters abounded according to their kind and every winged bird according to its kind god saw that it was good well even as god created every living thing in the water every living thing now dies then a fourth rather verse four then a third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water and they became blood this reminds us once again of the plagues that god brought on the nation of egypt when god was judging pharaoh in exodus chapter seven the salmons and psalms 78 verses 43 and 44 says when he speaking of god when he worked his signs in egypt and his wonders in the field of zon which is an ancient city in egypt turned their rivers into blood their streams that they could not drink and so it reminds us of the plague that god had brought on egypt in chapter eight verses 10 and 11 the third trumpet judgment resulted in one third of all water being polluted in chapter 11 verse 6 the two witnesses stopped rain from falling and turned water into blood but this results in the destruction of what is left of the earth's water supply this reveals judgment on those who simply crave natural water so that brought to mind an incident that you can find in the gospel of john in chapter four in the gospel of john chapter four jesus has a conversation we're all familiar with that jesus has a conversation at a well in a region of israel called samaria he had a conversation with a samaritan woman jesus was coming from the north he was proceeding south to go to jerusalem and normally at that time if i were a jew traveling from the north to the south what i would do is i'd come to the region of samaria when i came to the border of samaria this region that was in the center you have the upper and then the lower in the center in the central area was the region of samaria thereby the jordan river what i would do is i would cross i would go to the east cross the jordan river i continued going down south until i got past the region of samaria then i'd come back in i'd travel west and then i'd move on down to uh to jerusalem and so that's how they would normally travel at that time but jesus and john ford stated that he needed to go to samaria and though his his uh disciples at that time weren't quite aware of why he was doing that we all know the story he went there and sat himself down by a well the well of sycar or sycar there in this region called uh samaria by jacob's well and his men went off as you read the story and they went to get some food to bring back to their master but he was there seated there by the well when a woman of samaria comes down and as she comes with her water water pot to draw water jesus looked at her and he said give me something to drink and the woman looking at him said how is it that you being a jew ask water of me a woman of samaria and then john adds that addendum for us to understand why she was speak that way to jesus because he says for the jews have no dealings with samaritans the jews looked at samaritans as a mongrel race they had a hybrid race because when the king of assyria had come and had conquered israel he had brought people from various lands and they came and populated the samaria area they not only came and brought themselves but they also brought their false gods and what they did is they created a hybrid religious system a religious system that had sacrifices and offerings that would take place in in a site that they had in samaria and the jews had no dealings with them because they were bringing in false religion and they uh they so they would they had nothing but disdain for them so they would have nothing to do with these samaritans but jesus had a way of reaching across barriers religious and cultural and racial and that's what he did he reached across that barrier to this woman where others would have nothing to do with her jesus did have something to do with her well which ought to cause us to rejoice because he has something to do with us too when other people don't want anything to do with us jesus said i'm willing to meet with you and that's what he did and there he was he says give me to drink and she says how is it that you ask of me a drink of water he says if you knew who it is and and what i have to offer you you'd have asked me for living water and i'd have given it to you she said well give it to me give it to me and that's when jesus said go on call your husband she says i have no husband he says in this you have spoken true for you've had uh five and the one you're living with right now is not your husband she looks at him sir i perceive you're a prophet because he started telling her what her whole life story was you see this woman obviously had been going from man to man attempting to find the perfect man satisfaction every woman in this room knows there's no perfect man but she didn't she was moving from man to man five of them and then finally she just began to live with the man and jesus said that's not your husband living with the man doesn't make him your husband jesus made that clear and so she says he said if you knew who it was who's speaking to you you would ask for living water well give me that water so i don't have to drink go get your husband why did you say that well because we need to deal with the sin issue that you have in your heart the thing that's keeping you from me and as jesus began to minister to her and began to share with her about this he said in john four thirteen and fourteen he said whoever drinks of this water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that i shall give him will never thirst but the water that i shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life i will give you living water water that actually springs up into life if you drink of this water you will thirst again but if you drink the water i give you you will never thirst again that's why when i got saved and perhaps the same is true with you i didn't say great jesus has good words but let's hear what mohammad has to say oh that's interesting let's look at what buddha had to say i didn't do that why because i drank of the living water and that water quenched my thirst forever i have never thirsted for any other water because jesus christ gave me living water that's what jesus was speaking about i needed to confess my sin and i needed to recognize my need for the one who gives out water and so that's how i got saved and that's how people are saved in one form or another you turned away from the water of this world and you went to the water of life and so they're craving natural water they'll drink but they thirst again and that's what we see even today to bring it into the 21st century we drink the of the water of the world and we thirst again whether it's in a relationship we have one it doesn't work while we seek another relationship or in a material thing we want that car we want that house we want that job whatever it is we pursue it we get it but we're still thirsty it doesn't satisfy us but when you come to jesus christ and you have that great relationship and you learn to live by by the word of god daily and it's more precious than your daily bread like job said it's more nutritious and it's more filling and it's more satisfying and you have the bread of life jesus christ you never thirst and hunger for anything again that's christianity and so these people want natural water they didn't want the water of life that christ was offering they have rejected the living water they only want natural water and they're going to have blood to drink because that's all they're going to have the water is now just become blood in verse five i heard the angel of the waters saying you are righteous oh lord the one who is and who was and who is to to be because you have judged these things for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets and you have given them blood to drink for it is they're just do you are righteous so the angel defends god's righteous judgment his righteous judgment upon sinful man the judgment god is bringing his righteous because he is holy and he is righteous and his judgment is right because he's giving the appropriate response to evil and psalm nine verse eight he shall judge the world in righteousness he shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness we have a tendency of human beings it's within us we have the tendency of if we claim to believe in a god we have a tendency of creating that god after our own image and that's why we'll say things like before we're saved my god wouldn't do that that's what we say i've had that conversation with people my god wouldn't do that in fact what that person's god is is an idol an idol that has been created by their own fanciful imagination and that's why they'll say my god wouldn't do that they say that because they don't know the true god they say that because they don't have a relationship with god through jesus christ they say that because they don't believe the word of god is the word of god and therefore they create for themselves an image that is basically an idol that they worship and and they make determinations on what that god would do based on what they themselves would do i remember a lady her name was claudette and claudette lived down the street from my parents and i was 23 years old i had begun teaching bible studies and i had known claudette for a good portion of my life and and she had come to faith in christ and began to attend the bible study at my parents house and so she was an older lady she had daughters close to my age but she had a son that was born late in her life who was at that time somewhere around six seven years old or so his name was ernie and ernie her son they called him little ernie ernie had gotten ill and uh wasn't recovering and claudette came over i was again 23 years old she came over to my house and and seeing that i was beginning to teach bible to her she she had questions and i'll never forget how claudette would approach me and she said i've been praying for ernie to get well and he's not getting well you know what kind of god where is god that's you know that's understandable i'm not condemning claudette for that at all that's understandable she's a mother her son is very ill he's not getting well and she's beginning to question the goodness of god and the righteousness of god and where is god now where is god now is what she said and i said let me ask you a question claudette may i and she says of course it's listen you're upset because ernie's ill and he's a little bore right she goes yeah i said and the potential for him to die is there right and she goes yes i'm concerned for that i said uh understandably but may i ask you you're asking where god is she says yeah where is god i said well i said if you were god at what age should people begin to die how about a year two years five years ten years at what age you're god at what age should people die claudette when when should they die she says i can't really say i said that's why it's wise for us not to make statements about god seeing that we can't fathom his ways we don't understand i said but the bottom line is you're asking the question where is god i said the answer to your question is he's in the same place he was when he watched his son die on the cross he didn't move and he hasn't moved his eyes are on you he cares about you and he'll take care of you claudette you have to put your eyes on him he hasn't moved it was really her she had moved away from his grace the sense of her relationship with him and we can do that you see we have a tendency of of creating a god in her own image god knows this is going to hurt me therefore he shouldn't allow it to but it did come it did happen in my life and there must not be a good god i mean job had to deal with that right those of you who were with us on wednesday night job is arguing over that how is this so how could this great god do these things to me that's a question that all human beings have that's a question everybody has but the bottom line is god is going to do what is right he is righteous he does that and in this case he's doing that which is right because they have shed the blood of saints and prophets and god is given to them blood to drink and that's what he's speaking about god has done that and so that shows his justice and we know that you see when it says in verse six that they have shed the blood of saints and prophets you have given them blood to drink it is there just do these enemies of god have persecuted believers to the death we saw that in chapter six verses nine through eleven when they were under the altar and these souls were crying out how long oh god how long until you avenge us well these are martyred saints we saw this again in chapter seven when john spoke at the saints who came out of the tribulation and there we had seen that john saw a great multitude from all nations tribes peoples in tongues and in revelation seven fourteen they were identified as the ones who come out of the great tribulation washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb these people were evil and on top of all of this they went so far as they killed the two witnesses revelation 11 seven and god's judgment is right and it is just in psalm 96 verse 13 he's coming he is coming to judge the world he shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth and then finally verse seven i heard another from the altar saying even so lord god almighty true and righteous are your judgments god is a just judge his judgments will always be righteous and will always be true in psalm two verses 10 through 12 it reads now then you kings act wisely be warned you rulers of the earth serve the lord with reverent fear rejoice with trembling submit to god's royal son or he will become angry you will be destroyed in the midst of your pursuits for his anger can flare up in an instant but what joy for all who find protection in him kiss the sun lest he become angry be close to him draw close to him because his anger does come again thank god that we who are believers in christ god is going to preserve us listen you know that's that's that's heavy stuff but well i'll close with the encouragement this is going to happen it ought to fuel us to share with our friends and our family tell them about jesus they may think this is bizarre and not true because after all there are you a foes and aliens amongst us that makes more sense to many people but this is true you love them so you tell them the truth but what's going to happen is we're going to hear the voice of the lord trump of the angel come up here we will be gone in an instant the rapture is going to take us i'm not looking for the tribulation and i'm not looking for the antichrist i'm looking for jesus christ and jesus is going to return he's going to take us to be with him and so the best thing for anybody who doesn't know the lord i'm speaking to those of you who are watching you're in another country perhaps you've never even heard the gospel and somehow you found yourself on our channel right now you need to get right with jesus christ because jesus christ came he died on the cross he was buried resurrected he ascended he sent the holy spirit to dwell on those who believe in him he has sealed us with that spirit and one day he's going to take us home to be with him i will not see antichrist but i will see jesus christ and that's why i preach the gospel that's the key that's the key and today is the day of salvation not next week not next month today today is the day do not harden your heart receive what christ has for you now because if you don't receive jesus christ there's a good chance you will follow antichrist father we ask that you would work within us and may your holy spirit have his way in us we yield ourselves to you we're grateful for the work you've done we're thankful lord for your loving your grace to us and we do follow you and we do love you thank you jesus and as we see this pre-written history the things that will take place your word is sure lord we are thankful that you have not saved us lord to to put us into wrath you have taken us out of it and your your wrath has been satisfied through the death of your son christ and when you poured out upon him the sin of the world and you have given to us in in its place your righteousness and your grace and so we're we're thankful for that for you given to us what we don't deserve you gave us your grace and you gave to us your own righteousness and lord that's why we can we can have hope in these very dark times so i asked lord that you would work in us now that every person in this room every person in the overflow every person watching online and those who will watch later on i pray that you would speak to their hearts and draw them to yourself and save them and even as our eyes are closed perhaps there's some right now in this room we need to get right with the lord and you know it i can't see you online obviously and i can't see those of you who are in the overflow but i can speak to those who are here in this room and if the lord is speaking to you you need to get right with god today as our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed in a moment of prayer if you need to get right with him i want to pray for you would you raise your hand and let me pray for you right where you're at father you see these hands that are going up throughout this place right now in jesus name i pray that you would reach down and touch each one whose hand is raised and i asked lord that you would wash them as they open and say god forgive me a sinner wash them with the blood of christ and fill them with your presence may your spirit dwell within them and from this day on may they hunger and thirst after you work in them forgiving washing cleansing and empowering and make them brand new for your word has said if we are in christ we are new creations old things are passed away you'll hold all things become new may the newness of of walking with you and the newness of a new creation occur even as we raise our hands to you now bless you and thank you lord for these things we receive by faith we will live for you thank you jesus you can put your hands down and lord i pray that you would keep working in all of us as we yield ourselves afresh to you in jesus name amen