Get Out Of The City!

Take your Bibles this morning and turn to Revelation chapter 18. Revelation 18 you follow as I read this portion of scripture. Again, I would admonish you to pay careful attention to the scriptures because this is the word of the living God. This is the living word of the living God intended to transform us. And I pray that this vision would not just be a bunch of symbols for you, but would connect with where you are in life and point you to Christ and his transforming power.

I'm going to begin reading in chapter 18, verse 1. After this, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory and he called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. She's become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality and the kings of earth have committed immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power because of her luxurious living. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues. For her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning. Since in her heart she says, I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire.

For mighty is the Lord God who has judged her. And the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear for torment and say Alas alas you great city you mighty city Babylon for in a single hour your judgment has come And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again. The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off in fear for torment, weeping and mourning aloud. Alas, alas for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels and with pearls.

For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste. And all shipmasters and seafiring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning. What city was like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying aloud. Alas, alas for the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth.

For in a single hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her. Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, So will Babylon the great city, the great city, be thrown down with violence and will be found no more.

And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters will be heard in you no more. And a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more. And the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more. And the light of a lamp will shine in you no more. And the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and all who have been slain on earth. After this I heard what seemed to be a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out Hallelujah Salvation and glory and power belong to our God for His judgments are true and just For He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of His servants. Once more they crowd out, Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. and the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne saying, Amen, Hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him small and great. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, Write this, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And he said to me, These are the true words of God. then I fell down at his feet to worship him but he said to me you must not do that I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy Father now take these words transform us by them make them not mere idle words but the living word of God that will change us as we relate to the world in which we live for the glory of our God and the name of our Savior Jesus Amen. Every once in a while, my ministry responsibilities take me to the city. The city may be Columbus.

It may be some other city. But quite a few times, I get this idea that I would love to live in the city. I get that way because the city has so many attractive features to it. The city offers museums. I love museums. My family hates going to museums with me because I will read everything and look at everything in every window There the theater To be able to go and see some theatrical productions I love that kind of stuff Art galleries The symphony.

I've been to one symphonic concert in my life and it was unforgettable. And then there's all those restaurants with their exotic cuisines. Not just Chinese restaurants, but Lebanese restaurants, and German and French and Italian restaurants. And most of all, not to be forgotten, are the libraries. There is more than one library in a city. I would love it.

But here's what I find out. When I have to go to Columbus, and I've done this several times for people in surgery and so forth, and I've been there for an entire day, I can't wait to get out of the city. If I spend one entire day in the city, I cannot wait to get out. That's because I don't belong in the city. I grew up in a small town. I went to school in a small town.

I went to a small college in a small town. I live in a small town, and I minister in a small town. And when it comes to the city, I am a stranger. I am in an alien environment. I do not belong in the city. Now let me tell you something.

Truth be told, you do not belong in the city either. Now I'm not talking about Columbus or Detroit or New York or Los Angeles or any of those big cities. I'm not talking about those cities. I'm talking about Babylon. the city with its appealing comforts and earthly treasures and all the luxuries it offers you. The city that by its comforts, treasures and luxuries appeals to us and seeks to draw us away to idolatry, the idolatry of finding our security not in God, but in wealth, in money, in treasures.

The idolatry of loving luxury more than God and our Savior. We are strangers and exiles in that city. We don't belong in Babylon. And so we have to beware of its seductive attractions. And so it is that God warns us, get out of the city. Now, the destruction and judgment of Babylon is depicted for us in Revelation, beginning actually in chapter 17 and going all the way through chapter 19, verse 10.

I just read that whole big chunk. And when you look at it, it can be divided this way, particularly chapter 18. When you look at chapter 18, it can be divided this way. Because of Babylon's destruction, the saints are exhorted, warned, commanded to leave. The first eight verses. Because of Babylon's destruction, the saints, the people of God, are exhorted to leave. verses 9 through 19 says because of Babylon's judgment her allies lament her destruction and then verses 20 through 24 because of Babylon's destruction because of Babylon's destruction the saints are exhorted to rejoice first were warned to get out because of her destruction And then in light of her destruction that happens, we're exhorted to rejoice at her destruction.

Now this morning God speaks a warning to his people. He warns you. He warns you. You are sitting here today. He warns you and tells you to get out of the city. That's what we want to talk about this morning. and I am so you know even yesterday even yesterday as I thought about this sermon today I thought you know I can I can get comfortable in the city or I can do something that's going to be uncomfortable for me today what are you going to do and my heart's crying my prayer has been that as we look at these eight verses that you will start seeing some things and you will start changing and you will be transformed by the word of Christ to be very, very careful and to get out of the city Because it too easy to look at this in a general way and say oh yeah that was a good sermon I learned a lot about the book of Revelation Well I never saw that in the book of Revelation And forget that God intends this to you to warn you to get out So let's look at it.

I'm going to read the first eight verses again, alright? Pay careful attention. After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. she has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins lest you share in her plagues for her sins are heaped high as heaven and God has remembered her iniquities pay her back as she herself has paid back to others and repay her double for her deeds mix a double portion for her in the cups she mixed as she glorified herself and lived in luxury so give her a like measure of torment and mourning it should be a period there's new sentence since In her heart, she says, I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason, her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire, for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.

God warns you to get out of the city. Heed the warning, first of all, heed the warning because of the one who warns you. Verse 1, first part of verse 2. There's this angel. This is what I believe is a Christophany. What's a Christophany?

A Christophany is an appearance of Jesus. Do you remember the three angels who showed up at Abraham's tent in the book of Genesis? And the three angels are going to warn him and tell him about the destruction of Sodom. One of those angels is called, actually called, the Lord, Jehovah. that's the one that that Abraham starts bartering with for Sodom that I believe is a Christophany an appearance of Jesus before his incarnation in Isaiah chapter 6 you remember when Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up and this glory filled the earth this train was in the temple and the angels cry out Holy holy holy And Isaiah looks at that vision of God and says Woe am I for I am a man of unclean lips and I am undone John chapter 12 tells us that's Jesus.

In John chapter 12, John tells us Isaiah saw the glory of Christ. That's a Christophany. That's an appearance of Jesus. Now, remembering again that this is a symbol, not a photograph, I would tell you that this is a Christophany in the form of an angel. This is not teaching us that Jesus is a created being, is a created angel, because this is a symbol.

An angel is a messenger. Besides that, we saw in chapter 10, if you remember, chapter 10 is this giant angel with the great big legs that stride the whole earth that was a picture of Jesus as well although it's called an angel this is a Christophany and I'm convinced of that because it says and the earth was made bright with his glory the whole earth is made bright with his glory in this book the only time anything is said about glory like that is about God or of Christ So I believe this is a picture of Christ, a messenger who comes, who is Christ himself, who pronounces these words in these three verses. Now all of the characteristics highlighted here speak of authority.

They say, listen! Listen! The messenger, it says, has great authority. The message of judgment is valid. So listen. He comes to you with authority.

When I was a teenager one night, I was driving around in, well, it was my dad's car. I was driving around in my dad's car. And all of a sudden this flashing light, it was at night, a flashing light appeared behind me. I pulled over. I was expecting the worst. A guy walks up to me and says to me, young man, you were speeding.

But his message fell on deaf ears. Because it wasn't a cop. It was my buddy, Jim Garber. Jim had got a flashing light and he stuck it on the dashboard of his truck and he saw me and he pulled me over now I didn't worry about getting a ticket I didn't worry about having any judgment I didn't worry about losing my license I didn't worry about any of that why? because he had no authority none he just had a flashing light I could safely ignore his message of woe Not so with this messenger You cannot You cannot ignore this messenger because he comes to you with great authority it says His message is valid Therefore the judgment on Babylon is certain This is a valid message And so you know that judgment is certain It says the earth was made bright with his glory He has a glory more compelling than the glitzy stuff that Babylon can put on.

A glory that cuts through the glitz. Listen to this messenger. He cries out with a mighty voice. He wants your attention. So listen to him. You see, we are all in danger of falling under the spell of Babylon.

We We are all in danger of being attracted to that woman who looks so attractive to us. And so God sends an envoy with authority, glory and might to break through the glitz of this attractive prostitute to get your attention. now secondly we need to heed the warning because of the character of babylon because of the character of babylon what if someone approached you today and said hey i got a great deal for you i you got some money you want to make some money i got a great investment for you i got these greek bonds government bonds if you want to make money invest with me or I got some great stock from these Spanish banks. You know what you'd say to them?

You'd say, in light of the news that we hear today just about every day about what's going on in Europe, you'd say, what, are you crazy? Are you dumb? Or maybe you think I'm dumb. Those are the worst investments you can make. If I invest in Greek bonds, I'm going to lose all my money. Buy some stock in Spanish banks, it'll be gone, all of it, in a year. right that's exactly what God's telling us here that's exactly what God is driving at now as he describes the character of Babylon from the second part of verse two through verse three he's telling you or verse two here he's telling you the character of Babylon this is a That investment, okay?

If you understood the end of Babylon, you wouldn't invest in her. If you understand what kind of woman she was, you wouldn't give yourself to her. You wouldn't entrust yourself to her. That's a losing proposition. That's what he tells us here in verses 2 and 3. He says she's fallen.

The judgment of Babylon is so certain. the judgment of Babylon is so certain that it's in the past tense. Fallen, fallen is Babylon. It's like it's already happened. That's how certain it is. If I said to you today, the NFC champion is Green Bay in 2013, you would say, you don't know that. So I know I don't, but it's so certain that I can speak that way, right?

Football aficionados are probably going, yeah, yeah, he's right. See my grandson? He has a green baby pack of shirt on today. But you know, you would say you're crazy. You don't know that. You're right, I don't know that.

I can't make that kind of a statement, but this person can. Christ does. He says Babylon is as good as fallen. Why do you seek to find security and comfort in the treasures of this world, of this Babylon, because she's fallen? Bad investment. bad investment you know else he says Babylon is demonic this is what struck me Babylon is demonic the final stripping of Babylon's luxurious facade in judgment reveals her skeleton within which sits only demonic bird like creatures and detestable beasts these all represents satanic, demonic forces.

When the facade is taken off, when judgment finally falls and the facade is all collapsed, the skeleton that remains is going to show us demonic creatures. This comes from Isaiah 34 and Isaiah 13. Isaiah 34 says, talking about ancient Babylon, the original Babylon, thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nestles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals and a boat of ostriches The wild animals shall meet with hyenas The wild goat shall call to his fellow Indeed there the night bird finds for herself a resting place So when the facade collapses and you see the skeleton, what you're going to see is demons.

What is he saying? He's saying Babylon, with its economic security, its finery, and its sophistication, is demonic. Get the picture here. Do you trust in your bank account more than you trust in God? Does the treasure of a fine, well-furnished house mean more than the treasure of a Redeemer? Does the pursuit of a prestigious job motivate you more than the glories of God in Christ? if that's the case you are living in the haunts of demons do you get that picture would you invest in this earth's comfort so much if you thought it was demonic we are all repelled we're repulsed we hate we would have nothing to do with these dark satanic rituals that we read about right that blaspheme god oh we'd have nothing to do with them But we're comfortable with heaping up money and finding security in that.

Or furnishing our house with the finest stuff. There is no difference between the satanic rituals and those things. They are both demonic. Do you see the picture he's drawing here? All the comforts, the luxury, all the stuff that Babylon has to offer. If you're taken in by that, you may look sophisticated.

You may have the finest house on the block. If that is what you're living for, you are in the den of demons. Wow. That is why Babylon is so dangerous. We don't thank demons when we think, nice vacation. Do it.

Now hear me out. I'm not saying it's wrong to take a nice vacation. I'm not saying it's wrong to, you know, have a nice clean house and so forth. But if you are living for that, if that is what motivates you, if pursuing that prestigious job is what so important to you you then are in the haunt of demons I tell you as I read through this and thought about it it blew me away You talk about walking around your yard and wondering if demons are there.

Maybe we all ought to do it. Here's the last thing. Here's another reason why Babylon. Babylon's a bad investment because she's fallen. Babylon's a bad place to invest because it's demonic. And Babylon is not the place to invest or to spend your life because it is worthy of judgment.

Verse 3. It's worthy of judgments. Why? Because she seduces nations and rulers into the idolatry of materialism. Their cooperation with Babylon means material security. Now, if you were in the seven churches of Asia that this was originally written to, this would strike something in your mind.

You would say, yeah, that's the way our government is. That's the way our nation or our province is. Caesar is Lord. Man, we will give in to Rome. We will do whatever it takes because, boy, with Rome, there is riches. There's a good economy.

There's all the good stuff that comes with that. And then on the personal level, you remember, as we looked in Revelation 2 and 3, as we looked at the temptations of each particular church, how some of them were tempted to give in to Babylon because to resist and not say Caesar is Lord means what? It can mean death. It can mean the loss of your job. To say, I will not give in to the trade guilds.

I will not worship this goddess to be part of the trade guild means what? No job. That temptation was great. That's how Babylon seduces you. Don't give in to me. You don't have a job.

So to serve Babylon means economic security. You see? And she has seduced the people of this world into a drunken passion. Drunk is the word used. The intoxicating influence of prosperity blinds you to the ultimate insecurity of wealth. It blinds you to the fact, as the Proverbs says, one of the Proverbs, I think it's in Proverbs chapter 12, says don put your hope in wealth because wealth sprouts wings and flies away Right But what do we do What do we do This is where Babylon is so alluring It makes us drunk.

The intoxicating influence of prosperity blinds you to the ultimate insecurity of wealth and blinds you to the God who is the source of your security. And then she seduces people of the world into a drunken passion. I'll just give it a shot. What is passion? It's giving yourself completely over to your feelings at the moment. When you get angry, so I've talked to folks like this, they get so angry that it just consumes them.

That anger just takes over. And it's all that matters is that moment. Sexual passion is the same way. And that's exactly what he's talking about. It's this passionate pursuit of something. So people live for possessions and the next great vacation.

They live for that. Drunken passion. That's why she's worthy of judgment. Because she seduces kings and rulers by that alluring prosperity. Notice he mentions the kings of the earth. Lying in bed with the prostitute.

They live for the moment, caring nothing. they don't care for justice, they don't care for the well-being of their people. If their material security can be secured by exploiting their people, then so be it. You see? Make no mistake about it, kings and rulers are going to have a judgment before God for what they did to their people for riches. and economic security and economic power.

He mentions the merchants of the earth have grown rich, and this is a better translation. The merchants of the earth have grown rich because of the power of her luxury. They have grown rich because of the power of Babylon's luxury. That is to say, luxury is like a powerful ecstasy-producing drug. You don't have to be. you don't have to be rich to have a problem with luxury poor and rich alike pursue luxury.

They pursue the good life, right? And there are many who grow rich giving them what they want. The merchants of the earth. That is to say, if I can be so blunt, they're the ones who pimp Babylon out. the merchants of the earth they pimp her out you're gonna make money with her and they do it so heed the warning heed the warning why would you invest your life in something that is demonic in something that is worthy of judgment and in something where judgment is certain it's gonna fall you count on it right why would you heed the warning why would you invest why would you invest in that now another voice sounds from heaven in verse 4 this is the voice I believe of God the Father because he's speaking to my people so this voice of God the Father sounds from heaven telling us to get out to come out of her my people lest you take part in her sin lest you share in her plagues.

Heed the warning to get out. Heed the warning to get out. Now someone asked me this last week. Dad? Oops. Does this mean that we ought to hate capitalism since it offers us all these riches?

The capitalistic system must be Babylon, right? That's a good question. That's a good question. And if I would answer that to the affirmative, then I would say then communism is a biblical response to capitalism, right? Now, I want to be careful here. I want to be very careful because we Americans have a terrible tendency to baptize the American way and call it Christian.

And I have heard people say that the free market system is biblical. That's a discussion for another day. But I want you to consider this, because that is a good question. That is a good question I want you to consider this To the original hearers who got this it wasn a free market system It wasn't. It was a totally different economic system. And this has been a part of God's word for 2,000 years.

And so the only thing I can conclude from that is Babylon is every economic system, not just free market. Right. You know, it's come it's communism, too. Because because what is the some of you remember those days when we used to study things like this, what was the promise of communism? That everybody would be rich, just a few. Right. remember always keep in mind this that every economic system no matter what it is every economic system promises security not in god but in material wealth every economic system says get more you're okay if you the the greater your bank account the more secure you'll be right Every economic system promises.

Every economic system promises the good life by pursuing luxury rather than pursuing Christ. Think of it this way. Am I a disciple of luxury or am I a disciple of Christ? All right? Every economic system holds out this promise. Get stuff.

Get the good life. Every system. capitalism, free market system just happens to be more efficient at delivering the goods in my view this is not a call from God to abandon economies because that's impossible right? if you get three people together on a desert island you're going to end up with some kind of an economy it's just the way it is here's what it is It's a warning to resist and run away from the promises of security and the promises of the good life that every economic system proclaims. All right Now recall our New Testament reading from this morning from First Timothy chapter six verses 17 through 19 Listen carefully As for the rich in this present age charge them not to be haughty nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. And then I recall what Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke. He tells this parable, and he ends it by saying this, And I tell you, use your worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

All right. What's the point? What are those verses telling us? These are the means of getting out of the city. How do you get out of the city? You don't put your hope in wealth.

And if you do have wealth, start giving it away to people who need. Start heaping up good works. Don't grab it and hold on to it. It's dangerous. Start being generous with it. You're to do good.

You're to be rich in good deeds. You're to be generous. You're to be ready to share. Use your worldly wealth to win people to Christ. So that when you come into heaven, they will welcome you. That's how you get out of the city.

That's how you escape Babylon. All right? You say, well, how much should I give away? That's between you and God. I'm not going to tell you that. I'm not going to tell you whether your house is too fancy or not.

And don't ask me later on, Pastor, do you think my house is too fancy? I don't know. I don't know your heart. But I do know what the Bible says. You deal with that between you and God. You know when you're stepping over the line.

This is the way we escape Babylon. It's not that hard, is it? Why heed this warning? Look what he says. If you don flee the enticements of this prostitute you be just as guilty as her You will be just as guilty as her Come out of her my people lest you take part in her sins Right And thus as guilty you will share in her judgment That the plague You share in her plagues You share in the plague of judgment So get out You remember the angels that came to Lot and warned him Get out of Sodom It going to be destroyed What if Lot hadn listened he'd have gone up in flames with the rest of the inhabitants of Sodom God says the same thing to us wait someone objects why does God tell us this aren't those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life saved from judgment why are you telling us this right if your name is in the Lamb's book of judgment what do you got to worry about isn't that what he said look at chapter 16 verse 17 verse 8 the beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.

And the dwellers on earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. They're doomed to do it, because they're not written in the books of life. So if our name is written in the Lamb's book of life, then why is God warning us then? We're okay.

We don't have anything to worry about. Think about this. What are the means that God uses to save you? You know what one means is? Warnings. Now, suppose Andy Green, who is an extremely gifted mushroom hunter, would take his children out into the woods to hunt mushrooms.

If he sees Joe or Jeff or Kaylee reaching for the wrong kind of mushroom, what's he going to do? He'll grab them. He'll stop them. He'll say, no! Right? But is that all Andy does?

No. he warns them do you see that mushroom there do you see its shape do you see its color don't ever pick one of those because if you do and you eat it you will die now how is Andy protecting his children he's warning them they get the message I hear I'm not going to do it that's what God's doing here that's what God's doing here it's one of the means that he uses to keep you from being condemned with Babylon Don't hang around Babylon. Get out of the city or you will take part in their judgment. Don't look for security in Babylon's alluring riches and don't think that prosperity and comfort delivers the good life.

Follow Jesus. And Jesus says, deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow me. That's the good life. Heed the warning and get out.

Lastly, well, not quite lastly. Sorry. I don't want to give you false hope. heed the warning because God is just verses 5 through 8 verses 5 through 8 God does not overlook sin for sins are heaped high as heavens and God is remembered for iniquities to promote the idolatry of self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction rather than dependence on God and finding satisfaction in God alone is so heinous to God that it looks like a stack of sins piled up to heaven and he can't help but see it and he will remember it there will be judgment he cannot overlook it he must remember those sins or he would be unjust he's just and he makes the punishment fit the crime that's what he says in verses six through eight this prostitute has mixed the drink of seduction and violence and she has exploited, destroyed, trampled people in her attempts to accumulate and supply luxury and comfort.

That's what he says in verse 6. She's done all those things, and because of that, she will have the same thing herself. I remember going to a hearing one time. This was some years ago. It was a small town hearing. I saw these the suits come in right the attorneys from the big city come in for the big law firm representing the big money interests walk into this little town meeting and I saw them threaten some guys who were just trying to do their job and the big money interests that day twisted the scales of justice you know I saw that happen.

You know, my idealism got shot through, right? That doesn't happen in America. Oh, yeah, it does. And the scales of justice were thrown out the window that day as they intimidated these guys who were just trying to do their civic duty for the poor people of this little town But God scale will never be twisted And those who have mixed that cup will drink the same brew They will pay.

God says it's going to happen. The prostitute glorified herself, not God. And they certainly had no concern for their people, living for the luxurious life. She glorified herself and lived in luxury. The song she sang in the lap of comfort will be matched by cries of torment. Last part of verse 7 now.

In her heart she says, I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she'll be burned up with fire. the prostitute's self-sufficiency results in destruction. Have you ever noticed that when people are in a prosperous economic cycle, they think it'll never end?

Have you ever noticed that? You can remember when Beck and I got married, 1977. The farming economy was just going through the roof. I think the day we got married, beans were going for 14 bucks a bushel. I mean, it was just unbelievable. And everybody thought, wow, this is great.

Borrow money, do whatever you want, because what? This will never end. It sure did. In fact, I think it ended. I remember it ended by the 80s. Being a married adult now and having to deal with bank loans and stuff, the economy was in the tank.

It ended. Have you ever noticed how people think, this will go on forever, right? And they act like it's going to go on forever. That's exactly what he's saying. I'm a queen. I'll never be a widow.

There'll never be mourning. It'll go on forever. Uh-uh. As suddenly as one becomes a widow, like that, judgment's going to fall, he says, in one day. Plagues will come, verse 8, in a single day. Suddenly the queen, sitting on her throne, thinking it's going to last forever, will become a widow. and the plague of judgment, death, famine, mourning, fire will come all at once.

It not going to go on forever And all of that is certain at the end of verse 8 Why Because God is mighty and nothing will stay His hand He will bring that judgment. So you need to heed that warning, right? You need to heed that warning because God is just. Don't think that God's overlooking anything. He's just. Here's the last point.

How can you heed this warning? Heed this warning by looking to Jesus. I'm not just telling you now, go home and sell all your possessions. I'm not just telling you, do a bunch of stuff. There are things we have to do. There are things we have to think about.

There are things that we must change. If we're going to be true to this and not take part in Babylon's plagues, we have to listen to this. But listen, if you think that I'm just telling you to go out and do all these things with no reference to Christ, you're wrong because we cannot do it apart from Him. Heed the warning by looking to Jesus. Do you treasure Jesus more than the treasures of Babylon?

That's what it boils down to. Do you see Jesus on that cross hanging there for you? He took your sin. He died for you. You go to the cross and you see the one who rescued you by absorbing the wrath of God. You know why you're not going to take part in the wrath that's going to be poured out on Babylon?

Because the wrath for you has already been poured out on Jesus. Go to the cross. Jesus at the cross delivers his people from the stain of Babylon. He delivers you from the stain of Babylon. We all once were members of that city. We're citizens of that city.

But that cross delivers us from the stain that we accumulated by being part of that city. And his cross delivers us from the power of that city. Because of Jesus, the alluring attraction of stuff and prestige and luxury and comfort and opulence will not overpower you. Only because of the cross of Jesus. Does that mean more to you than the glitz of the prostitute No cross no hope You see Have you embraced the Lamb perspective Isn that what this book is about Getting the Lamb perspective Have you embraced the Lamb perspective Do you see victory the way Jesus sees it When was Jesus victorious?

At the point of utter shame and humiliation. That's when he won the victory, right? So when you look around and you say, well I don't have much what I do have I'm going to use for God but when that's all done I don't have much and the world looks at you and says loser man you could be making so much more man what are you doing with that money man don't you know what get the lamb's perspective you're the winner you know why because by handling what Babylon hands us and using it for God is going to give you treasures in heaven.

You see. It's going to give you treasures in heaven. Who's the loser? Get the Lamb's perspective. The Lamb's perspective is this. You die faithful to Jesus and the world looks at you and says, loser. and all through this book what have we seen the victors are the one are the ones who die faithful to christ to deny yourself the alluring luxuries of babylon is to find the abundant life that's the lamb's perspective so what's god saying what's god saying simply this get out of the city get out of the city the voice of your lord jesus demands it the reality of babylon's character should persuade you to do it the justice of god certainly makes staying more frightening heed the warning and get out but that's not an easy task as you know especially when you live in the very heart of the city.

Comfort and prosperity compete with the voice of Jesus every day. Both of them promise an abundant life. Which one are you going to believe? Which promise of abundant life will you believe? This week, This week, you will hear those voices, and the one you're loyal to will be reflected in the purchases that you make, in the goals that you set, and in the values that you espouse.

The voice that you hear, the voice that you give heed to, will be reflected in all the areas of our life. The question is, which voice will you believe? will you believe the sweet tones of the prostitute promising the temporary pleasure and comfort that this world affords or will you believe the voice of the one who loves you which voice are you going to believe this table right here speaks volumes to us about the one who is not like the prostitute but the one who loves you Father thank you for your word this morning Father, we live in the midst of prosperity. We don't think we have much, but we're very prosperous.

Would you, in your grace, would you please help us to think critically and to think about what we're doing with the wealth that we have. And Lord God, I beg you, help us to make decisions and to live lives that are building treasures in heaven rather than living for treasures now. Deliver us from Babylon, we pray. Help us to heed the warning for the sake of your name and the glory of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Amen.