In Due Time

Q: What does the Bible say about judgment and vengeance?

The Bible teaches that God will enact judgment on those who forsake Him, as illustrated in Deuteronomy 32. In Deuteronomy 32, we see God pronouncing judgment upon Israel for their rebellion and disobedience. He reminds them of the blessings He bestowed upon them and the great danger in forgetting Him. This passage underscores the importance of recognizing God's sovereignty and the certainty of judgment against those who choose to worship false gods rather than honoring the true God. God's vengeance is not arbitrary but a righteous response to corruption and rejection of His grace. It serves as a warning to all nations, including the United States, that turning away from God can lead to inevitable consequences.

Q: How do we know God's timing is perfect?

God’s timing is shown to be perfect through Scripture, which emphasizes His sovereignty over all events. The concept of 'in due time' in Scripture reminds us that God operates under His divine timetable. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus states that no one knows the hour of His return but the Father, showing that even the most significant events are orchestrated by God’s perfect timing. Deuteronomy 32:35 illustrates that vengeance and recompense belong to God and will occur when He has ordained it. This assures us that our lives are in the hands of God, and His timing for every event is precise and purposeful, including His judgments and mercies.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to remember their history with God?

Remembering our history with God is crucial as it cultivates gratitude and guards against spiritual apathy. In Deuteronomy 32, God reminds Israel of their history, including His blessings and miracles. Forgetting this history leads to rebellion and unfaithfulness, as demonstrated by Israel's forsaking of God for false idols. For Christians today, remembering God's faithfulness in our lives fosters a spirit of thanksgiving and encourages us to rely on His past provision as we face future challenges. Eugene Peterson emphasizes in his own writings that spiritual amnesia can result in a lack of depth in faith; thus, recalling God's acts sustains our faith and helps maintain our commitment to Him.

Q: What should Christians understand about being without Christ?

Being without Christ places individuals in a perilous state, exposed to sin and judgment. The sermon stresses the terrifying danger of living without Christ, as those outside of Christ are described as having no hope and being children of wrath, unfit for God’s kingdom. This precarious position leads to spiritual death and eternal separation from God. The preacher highlights that the only reason one is not already in hell is due to God's mercy and long-suffering. Understanding this reality emphasizes the urgency for repentance and faith in Christ, who delivers us from the power of darkness and translates us into His kingdom. Such awareness should lead believers to gratitude for their salvation and a burden for those yet to know Christ.

Q: How does God preserve His people?

God preserves His people through His sovereign grace and by snatching them from sin and judgment. The sermon articulates a profound truth: God, in His grace, preserves His people from the judgment they deserve. He acts by choosing, calling, and delivering us from the dominion of darkness. As stated in Colossians 1:13-14, God has conveyed believers into the kingdom of His dear Son, effectively saving them from the penalty of their sins. This preservation is not dependent on our actions or worthiness, but solely on God's love and mercy. As Christians recognize that they have been 'snatched out' of darkness, they are prompted to offer eternal praise and thanksgiving for such an incredible act of grace.

Open your Bible, please, to Deuteronomy
chapter 32. Deuteronomy chapter 32. Such is the disobedience and
rebellion of Israel that God pronounces these words
of judgment upon them. When I read this, I think about
United States of America. God had done so much for us and
so much to us, so much with us. And yet we corrupted ourselves
before God. We worshiped false gods. I'm just going to read a few
of these verses, but after describing how God chose them and when He
divided the inheritance among the nations, He did it according
to the number of the children of Israel. He blessed them, He
clothed them, He fed them, He magnified His name in their midst. He followed them day in and day
out, day and night. And yet, verse 15, Jeshurun,
waxed fat and kicked. Thou art waxen fat. Thou art
grown thick. Thou art covered with fatness.
And then he forsook God. God has blessed us so greatly,
so richly, more than any other nation on the face of the earth,
that then we forsook God. Our leaders in certain groups
want to move his name from everything that's around the Capitol, throughout
the United States. They don't want his name around,
anything to remind them of God, their past, their glorious history. Then they forsook God, which
made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of their salvation.
They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, and with abomination
provoked him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils,
and churches throughout the United States today are not sacrificing
to God. They meet together and they worship,
and their worship is sacrificing to devils. And they don't know
it. The gods whom they knew not,
To new gods they came, newly up, came newly up, whom their
fathers feared not. Of the rock that beget thee,
thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
Out of one old man, one man, Abraham, God raised up this nation. They forgot their history. They
forgot their God. Turn their back on their God.
And then drop on down with me, if you will, verse 29, verse
28. For they are a nation void of
counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. Their
counselors are liars and perverters and twisters of the truth. And
so there's no understanding with the people. Oh, that they were wise. That
they understood this. That they would consider their
latter end, or what their end is going to be, turning their
back upon God. How should one chase a thousand
and two put ten thousand to flight except their rock? had sold them. God, the Lord, has shut them
up. Let them go! For their rock is
not as our rock, even our enemies themselves, being the judges. Their vine is of the vine of
Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah, their grapes are grapes of gall,
their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of dragons
and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store
with me and sealed up among my treasures?" That's what that
means is this is in the hands of God. To me. To God. Belongeth vengeance and recompense,
Thy foot shall slide in due time. That's the title of my message
this morning, In Due Time. In due time. When's this going
to happen? In due time. In these verses, the Almighty
threatens vengeance. He calls heaven and earth the
witness. How he made these people his
people, how he clothed them, how he blessed them, how he was
with them. And yet they forsook him. They
corrupted themselves. They worshiped devils and called
it worshiping God. He calls heaven and earth to
witness. And in these verses, the Almighty threatens vengeance
and judgments against these unbelieving and disobedient and rebellious
people called heaven and earth to witness. And it shall eventually come
for our day, for our nation. It shall eventually come. It
shall inevitably come. It shall inevitably come. It
may be tomorrow. It may be next week. Maybe next
month. It may be many years from now.
I don't think it will. But it shall surely come, most
certainly. You can't get by with playing
with God. You can't get by spitting in
God's face. You can't get by with turning
your back on God. God said in the scriptures of
old, he said, you showed me your back, and now I show you my back. All you see of me is my back.
Their foot shall slide in due time. What does that mean, in
due time? It's in the scriptures used in
various forms in due time. Our Lord went through his ministry
and he said people tried to catch him and kill him and cast him
off a cliff and kill him and stone him to death and kill him,
but he escaped because his hour had not yet gone. And one day
he said, for this purpose came I into the world, and by now
it's come, and I'm going to Jerusalem to die in the fullest in God's
appointed time. That's what it means from the
divine side. It means in God's appointed time, when the hour
has come, when God's ready, when God appointed the time. That's
what it means in due time, in God's own time. He only has the
power over life and death. Our times, what this is saying
is, my times are in the hands of God. Your times are in the
hands of God. If you see another sunset, if
you see another sunrise, it's in the hands of God. Take the best medication. Get
in the best state of health you can possibly get in, that's all
right. But whether you see another sunset depends upon someone up
there, God Almighty. He give it to all, life, breath,
all things. We're in the hands of God. Our
times are in His hands. From the human side it means
from the divine side in God's own appointed time. God set the
time. Our times are in His hand. From
the human side, it means anytime now. I don't know. Whenever God's ready. Anytime
now. Look at Matthew 24, just a moment.
Matthew 24. Matthew 24, verse 36, talking about the coming of Christ,
the end of the world. Of that day and that hour knoweth
no man. No, not the angels of heaven,
only my Father. in due time, when He's ready. When the fullness of time hath
come, He sent His Son. When the fullness of time has
come, He'll come again. But as the days of Noah were,
this is the human side also. Look there. When shall Christ
return? I don't know. But as the days
of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man. As in the
days that were before the flood, They were eating and drinking
and marrying and giving in marriage, and all of these things were
all right, but they just left God out someplace. They put Him
on a shelf somewhere. They lived for these things,
not for God. Until the very day that Noe entered into the ark. They're just going on happily.
Everything normal, it seemed like. till Noah entered into
the ark, and they do not." They didn't know. They knew not until the flood
came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. Listen to these words. Think
about the reality. This is true. This is going to
happen. Then shall two be in the field.
One should be taken and the other one left. Two women should be grinding
at the mill, one should be taken, and the other left to go plummeting
into hell. Watch, therefore, for you know
not what hour our Lord shall come. But know this. That if the good men of the house
had known in what hour, what watch the thief would come, he
would have watched, would not have suffered his house to be
broken up. Therefore, be always ready, always ready, be always
ready. For in such an hour, as you think
not, for most all of us here this morning, that could be right now. We came to church this morning
thinking everything would go well and we'd go back home this
afternoon in such an hour as you think not. We came to church
this morning not expecting the Lord to come and receive his
people unto himself and come on down with his people and bring
judgment upon this earth in such an hour as you think not. Evil
shall wax worse and worse in such an hour as you think not. Oh me. They are liable to fall if Christ
doesn't come for a year or two or three or
whatever. We are liable, our foot is liable,
if you're outside Christ, to slide at any time. Thy foot shall
slide any time. Oh, to be without Christ. You
know, when I first preached this message many years ago, I preached
it because That very week, five teenagers, three in one car wreck,
gone out to meet the Lord. And two infants, not under God's
wrath and God's judgment, but it shows their times are in his
hands. When are we going out to meet?
When shall I leave this tabernacle, this fleshly body, in due time? Any day now. When God's ready. Think about leaving. You're going
to leave. Be prepared to leave. What's
she there for? Christ will come. Are you going
to leave? One or the other. Any time now, no man, this book
said, no man can keep alive his own soul. When God calls, we're
gone. When he cuts that silver thread,
we're gone. And it could be any time now. I want you to think with me this
morning, briefly as I can, about two things. Two very important
things. Two things that couldn't be more
important. Very important. First of all,
the indescribable and terrifying danger of a sinner being in this
world, living in this world, without Christ. Without Christ. And some of you
are there this morning, living in this world without Christ.
I want to try to show you just a little bit what danger you're
in. Your foot should slide in due time. And number two, it is a call
for eternal praise and thanksgiving. If we have been delivered from
the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan, and translated
into the kingdom of God's dear Son. The awful danger of being without
Christ, the unceasing praise and thanksgiving if you're in
Christ, if you have Christ. First of all, then, the indescribable,
terrifying danger of a sinner in this world without Christ. I can't describe what it'll be
to go out of this world without Christ. I could only read some
scriptures, but I won't disappoint. But just to think about outer
darkness. Darkness, darkness forever and
ever. And the bottomless pit. Spurgeon
was sitting at the table having breakfast or lunch or meal. I
think it was his grandfather who was there. They were reading
the scriptures and said, what is this bottomless pit? And he
said, when the sinner's foot slides, goes plummeting into
outer darkness under the weight of his own sin. He shall be plummeting
and plummeting and plummeting and never find footing again.
Bottomless pit. And a man in this world right
here this morning without Christ is in danger of going to that
place. Those who are without Christ
are always exposed to destruction. Every moment of every day. The only reason that you're not
in hell already is because God kept you out. He is keeping you
out. That's the only reason. Your sins are liable to carry
you down into the world of darkness at any time. Your foot shall
slap it. Very soon. Your mind, we are
called in the scriptures, our mind is not only an enmity against
God, it is enmity against God. Our mind, our thinking is an
enmity against God. And God keeps you out of hell.
And God gives you food and sunshine, life and breath. Oh, what mercy,
what longsuffering, what forbearance God has upon his enemies. And
the Bible says we're always exposed to destruction, that we are by
nature the children of God's wrath, that we're good for nothing,
fitted for destruction, vessels of destruction. Not good for
anything else by nature. Our hearts are full of evil.
And God said evil only and evil continually. And our hearts are
deceitful above all things and incurably wicked. We can't change
them. We can't make them better. And
we live like that before God, the enemies of God. And only
God holds us out of hell at any moment. We are willfully, unbelievers
are willfully disobedient and unbelieving. The Bible says concerning
them that there is no good in them. They're unprofitable. They're
altogether unrighteous. They choose fig leaves. They choose their fig leaves
over Christ's righteousness, over the death and sacrifice
of Christ. And they choose their own way
rather than God's way. Because there's a way that seems
right to them. But the end thereof are the ways
of death. Only God's way. Take you safely
home to glory. Only God's way. And the question
is, this morning should be on every mind here, how long? How
long will God suffer him to live? How long will God put up with
this nation? How long? We are put here. We don't act
like it. But we are put here for one reason. To live for God, to glorify God,
to give God all the praise, thanksgiving and glory. That's why we're here.
Let me show you a passage in Luke 13. Luke 13. Turn there just a moment, please. And Christ, verse 6, and Christ
also spake this parable. He said a certain man had a fig
tree planted in his vineyard. And he came and sought fruit
thereon. And that tree's no good. He didn't
find any fruit at all. Then said he unto the dresser
of the vineyard, Behold, these three years I came seeking fruit
on this fig tree. and find none, cut it down. Why does it take up space in
my garden? Cut it down. It's profitless,
it's fruitless, it's no good. And he answering said unto him,
Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about
it and dung it, and if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then
after that, Thou shalt cut it down, cast it into the fire. We know the rest of it. Cast
it into the fire. Cast it into the fire. How long
will our great God suffer a people who turn their backs on him and
spit in his face and commit unnatural sins before him. How long? How long will he suffer us to
live as if we own this world? We weren't here for him. The
world don't belong to him. How long? How long will he put
up with it? We're just thieves. Man, they're
just thieves. We're born into this world. We're
going about seeking all the profit and the benefit we can from this
world. This world belongs to God. We're
just tenants down here. Where's His praise? Where's His
glory? No fruit under God. Cut it down. Cast Him into the fire. We live
as if this world belongs to us and that we belong We were our
own, but we're not our own. We're not our own. Therefore,
it shall slide, says Moses here. Therefore, it shall slide when
God's ready. Not when I choose, not when some
prophecy preacher thinks it might be, but when God's ready. And no man, not even the angels,
nor the day nor the hour. This is the picture I get. I
want you to try to picture this in your mind. I grew up in a
place that most people would call a terrible place to live,
but I loved it. And I think about it sometime
with tears because I miss it. Had a big creek that ran through
our farm, emptied out into the river. Our farm bordered the
river, the river part of the boundary of our farm. And that
creek had places in it where they had concrete, cement, limestone
ledges at 20 or 30 foot, you know, you'd just cross that creek
and the water ran over it continually and green stuff would form on
those rocks and we'd go down there and we'd We dare each other
and sometimes we help each other across and see if we can walk
all the way across without falling. Boy, you do the best you can.
And ever down there, your foot has slipped. You went down so
suddenly, their foot shall slide in due time. Well, I made this
step all right. What about the next one? What
about the next one? Their foot shall slide in due
time. I often fell down there. Often fell. My foot slid. Liable to fall at any time. And when I slipped, my own weight
is what carried me down. Didn't have to have any help
from anybody. My own weight. And when your foot slides, according
to our text, your own sin will be weight enough to carry you
down and keep you down forever and ever and ever in that bottomless
pit. Oh, God. When sinners go through
this world, like blind men walking toward a cliff, they don't see
anything, any danger ahead. But their foot shall slide. in due time. They walk through this world,
sinners, without Christ, unseeing and unconcerned, when each step
may be the last one. If they can't weep for themselves,
let us weep for them. Years ago, over in London, England,
there was a preacher. I don't even know that he was
a pastor. Maybe just a substitute. I don't
know. They saw him on the corner of
the street one day downtown, and just standing there crying. Somebody came up to him and said,
brother, so-and-so said, what in the world is wrong? He said,
the sound of Christless feet on the way to hell, breaking
my heart. Don't you hear it all around
you? The sound of Christ. Only the God. Whom they despise. Only he holds him up. Only he. The one they despise. The one they hate. The one they
care not for to worship or praise or offer thanks, nothing! But
that God continues to hold them up, gives them space to repent,
and it's only through His long-suffering, His forbearance, and His mercy
that they're not already in hell. He holds them up. Oh, the terrible danger of living,
taking another step, breathing another breath without Christ. Without Christ, without God,
without hope. How long will he hold them up? I don't know. But in due time,
that's what you'll slide. How long will he keep them from
falling? I don't know. But their foot
shall slide inevitably without fail. How long will he withhold
his holy wrath? I don't know. But their foot
shall slide in due time. Any day now. Another part to this message,
the second point. First of all, how terrible the
danger to live in this world even one hour, one moment without
Christ. Number two, this is my final
point. What cause it is for eternal
praise and eternal thanksgiving to the Almighty God if we have
been delivered from this kingdom of darkness, kingdom of Satan,
translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. Translated. Translated. How long all of us
here lived in blindness and selfishness on concern, presuming with God,
presuming, presuming, that we'd have another day, that we'd,
presuming, taking it for granted, that we'd see another sunset,
another sunrise, that we'd have food for tomorrow, that he'd
continue to give us life and breath and all these other things,
presuming upon God. And all the time we're his enemies
by nature. But we presumed upon God. Oh,
what cause of thanksgiving if we've been delivered? Have you
been delivered? Have you been translated into
the kingdom of light? Into the kingdom of God's dear
Son? Blessed is the man whom God chooses and causes to approach
unto Him. Blessed is that man. Psalm 65. We're bound to give thanks unto
God for you always, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Because
God has from the beginning, back in all eternity, chosen you unto
salvation. He chose you, He chose you through
the sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto
He called you by our Gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2.14. I want you to see this part,
Colossians, just a moment. Maybe God will impress it upon
your heart. Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1, verse 12. Paul said, giving thanks unto
the Father which hath made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in like God made us fit, clothed us in the righteousness
of His only begotten Son. God made us fit, gave us a new
nature, created in righteousness and true holiness. God made us
fit. Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, And that word delivered literally means in
the Greek, he snatched us out. He snatched us out. He snatched
us out from the power of darkness and had translated us into the
kingdom of his dear son. He snatched us out. We were all
by nature on the road to hell. He snatched us out. He never did it because he saw
any good in us, just the opposite. Even when we were dead dog sinners,
he set his love upon us. And in the fullness of time,
when it pleased God, he snatched us out. He snatched us out. Mm-mm. When he gets a hold of us, when
he sets his hand upon us, when he turns on the light, we see
two things very clearly. We see our sins. We see our guilt. We see our judgment. We see our
danger. And often, most of the time,
I can't imagine it any other way, fear grips our souls. When the Holy Spirit has come,
he shall convince the world of sin. God convinces his people of sin
before he saves them from sin. He strips them naked before he
puts the righteousness of Christ on them. I saw my sin, I saw my guilt. And I hope you this morning,
if you've never seen it before, I hope you see it this morning.
And God looks on the heart Men look on the outward appearance.
God looks on the heart. Men look for reformations and
changes outwardly. God looks on the heart. And if
a heart's changed, the outside of the cup will be alright. I see the Lord Jesus Christ.
I see a man coming into this world. And his foot didn't slide. But
he came knowing why he came. He came knowing that he would
live a life of suffering and die a death in the darkness of
hell. I'm not saying he went to hell.
I'm saying God visited hell on him. Whatever I deserve by nature,
he suffered. And I deserved hell. The curse
of God. He came knowing. He came seeing. He knew the last step. He said,
by now it's come. Let's go. Shall I say, Father,
save me from this? No. That's the reason I came.
I came so these people whom I love, that their foot would not slide.
That they would not go plummeting into hell. And he laid himself
on the altar of God's justice and said, put their sin on me
and punish me in their stead. And God did. And that's all my trust and all
my hope as I live out my days in this world. But I live out
my days knowing That though I, humanly speaking,
my foot should slide, I leave this body, I leave this world.
And yet I'll not go plummeting into outer darkness because I've
already been there in a substitute. God plunged this world in darkness
for three hours and dealt a blow upon his son so that I wouldn't
have to suffer. The only reason this sinner is
not in hell today is because God snatched me out of the kingdom
of darkness, translated me over into the kingdom of his dear
son, gave me the spirit of his son, the spirit of adoption,
treated me like a child. He said, I'll be their God, they'll
be my people. Every hour, humanly speaking,
there was a time when my soul hanged over hell. And God preserved me. He didn't
put an end of time. He didn't let time run out for
me. But though I never thought of him, I wasn't thinking of
him. I wasn't governed by spiritual
things. He thought about me. Snatch Him out. Go fetch Him.
Bring Him home. And He showed me myself and He
showed me Christ. Oh, man. seen children, I've done it.
Parents holding children by the hand, walking around a dangerous
place or going across the ditch they couldn't cross alone. The
parent, by the grip on their hand, carried them across. That's
what the Lord does to us. I leave you with these words.
Often as the bell with solemn toll speaks of the departure
of a soul, let each one ask himself, am I prepared? Should I be called to die? Only
this frail and fleeting breath preserves me from the jaws of
death. Soon as it fails at once, I'm
gone. And this next line is horrible.
and plunged into a world unknown. Then leaving all that I love
below to God's tribunal, I must go. Must hear the judge pronounce
my fate and fix my everlasting stand. Lord Jesus, help me now
to flee and seek my hope alone in death. Apply thy blood, thy
spirit give. So do my sins, let me live. Then when the solemn bell I hear,
save from guilt I shall not fear. Nor would the thought distressing
be, perhaps it next may toll on me. It's not distressing. Rather, my spirit would rejoice
and long and wish to hear thy voice. Glad when it bids me earth
resign, secure of heaven without mine. May God bless these words
to every heart. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. You call upon Him with all your
heart. He said, I'll be found of you. You playing around, you'll
never find Him. You're insincere and honest,
you'll find Him. Believe Him. Okay, David.

In Due Time

What does the Bible say about judgment and vengeance?

How do we know God's timing is perfect?

Why is it important for Christians to remember their history with God?

What should Christians understand about being without Christ?

How does God preserve His people?

Sermon Transcript

About Maurice Montgomery

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In Due Time

What does the Bible say about judgment and vengeance?

How do we know God's timing is perfect?

Why is it important for Christians to remember their history with God?

What should Christians understand about being without Christ?

How does God preserve His people?

Sermon Transcript

About Maurice Montgomery

Comments

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