Let the world go to hell in a handbasket; we’re going to heaven in a whirlwind. Amen? Glory to the Lord. God bless you.
Farrell Fisher
Introduction to the Book of Nahum
Okay, let’s take our Bibles and come to Nahum, the book of Nahum, one of the minor prophets. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. I’m going to get you at the matter at hand. Page 104-5 in my Bible. The book of Nahum. I want to basically read the first three verses. We’re going to be talking about the great wind this morning. The book against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkoshite.
God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked.
Now, don’t you ever forget that.
The Lord has His way in the whirlwind.
You know, that ought to be enough for every one of us this morning.
The Holiness of God
It ought to be enough to settle in our hearts that we understand there is a holy God. There is a God who is jealous. There is a God who avenges. There is a God who executes judgment on the wicked. And it ought to settle in our hearts, our minds, that we’re going to live differently from the wicked. We’re going to live differently from those who are enemies of God. We’re going to live differently from those who repudiate the word of God. We’re going to make a choice because we know the reality and the truth that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God never changes.
The Great Need of Humanity
I think the great need of every human life is to get in on what God is up to. I’m going to tell you, you haven’t begun to live at all until you’ve revived in your heart you’ve been to be in on what God is up to. Most of the world around you, getting in on what their peer group is up to. Getting in on what even their ungodly family is up to. Getting in on what their local culture is up to. But wise men are those who realize that the greatest need of any human life is to get in on what God is up to. God is moving. God is active. God is involved in human affairs. And therefore I ought to be on God’s side rather than man’s side.
Repentance and Judgment
Here is Jonah with a burden against Nineveh. Here are two men motivated by a loving, praying, holy God to share a message with a city. Nineveh, the Bible describes it as that great city. In fact, it says it’s an extremely great city. And for the first time, it was a city of sinfulness. It was a city of wickedness. It was a city that was warned of God, that unless it repented, it would be destroyed. The Bible tells us that that city did repent. But then the Bible also says the Lord had His way in the very end.
Divine Retribution and Redemption
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.
The Reality of Death and Eternal Life
It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven.
Living in Light of God’s Truth
As we come to the end of the year and the beginning of a new, I encourage you to examine what is being sown in your life. Are you sowing seeds of blessing or curse, life or death, leading to the gates of heaven or the gates of hell? Remember, every one of us is accountable for our own lives before God. We can’t blame anyone else. God is God, and you’re on your own. You’ve got to answer to Him. Amen? Amen. Well, the Lord bless you.
Blessing
Y’all just have a good last week of the year. It’s just about upon us, folks. 1999, can you believe that? It’s right before us, 1999. We pray it’ll be one of the greatest years we’ve ever known, to see the hand of God, the purposes of God, the plans of God, and the presence of God. And we just rest in Him. Let the world go to hell in a handbasket; we’re going to heaven in a whirlwind. Amen? Glory to the Lord. God bless you.