The Sudden Works of God

The Sudden Works of God is to show how God acts instantly and unexpectedly, both in judgment and in revival. When people today think how long the process will be before wee get a righteous government, this article is to remind you that God has worked suddenly.

The following verse point this out.

Proverbs 3:25: “Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither the desolation of the wicked when it cometh.”
Comments: I pointed out that this verse contains a divine prohibition. I wanted my listeners to understand that while the wicked will be absolutely destroyed and left desolate without any help or hope, the positive promise is that the righteous shall be delivered.

2 Peter 2:9: “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation and how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”
Comments: I used this to show the dual nature of God’s timing: He knows exactly how to rescue the righteous while holding the unjust for final punishment.

Revelation 10:6: “…the angel swear by him that liveth forever and ever… that time shall be no more.”
Comments: I quoted this to explain the eternality of God. I wanted to emphasize that God is completely timeless, existing both before and after time itself.

Isaiah 57:15: “For thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy…” (And later: “…I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”)
Comments: I highlighted that God literally dwells in eternity. When I quoted this fully later, I noted that it proves revival is strictly the work of God, meant to revive the humble and contrite.

Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
Comments: I shared this to remind us that God is eternal. Since we are mere creatures of time, we tend to be time-conscious, but God is not bound by our limitations.

2 Peter 3:8: “But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.”
Comments: I used this to show that God operates on His own timetable, which is completely beyond and above our linear perspective of history.

Psalm 10:6: “I shall not be moved. I shall never be in adversity.”
Comments: I quoted this to expose the foolish heart of the wicked. They mistakenly believe they will never face adversity or be held accountable for their sins.

Psalm 10:11: “God hath forgotten it. He hideth his face. He will never see it.”
Comments: I warned that the wicked misinterpret God’s patience. They assume His silence means He has forgotten or turned a blind eye, but in truth, He is simply being patient.

Nahum 1:3: “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power [and will not at all acquit the wicked].”
Comments: I explained that God’s patience is actually His self-control. Though He bears long with the wicked, I made it clear that He will never acquit them.

Romans 15:5: He is “the patient God.”
My Comments: I pointed out how different God is from quick-tempered men. While human rulers use power to lash out, the omnipotent God exercises perfect patience and self-control.

Genesis 15:13-16: “Know of assurity that thy seed shall be a stranger and a lamb that is not theirs and shall serve them. And they shall afflict them 400 years… for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
Comments: I used this historical account to illustrate God’s incredible patience. He made Abraham’s descendants wait 400 years because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. But when He finally ordered their destruction, they were wiped out.

Psalm 78:38-40: “But he being full of compassion forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not… How often did they provoke him in the wilderness and grieve him in the desert?”
Comments: I wanted to showcase God’s massive patience with rebellious Israel. Despite their constant provocation, He repeatedly turned His anger away, remembering they were but fragile flesh.

1 Corinthians 15:52: “…in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound…”
Comments: I noted that while the word “suddenly” isn’t explicitly used for the physical return of Christ, His coming will indeed be sudden, taking place in the blink of an eye.

Matthew 24:27: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth into the west, even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Comments: I referenced this to show how unexpectedly rapid and visible His return will be.

Matthew 24:44: “Therefore, be ye ready, for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh.”
Comments: I urged my congregation to be ready, emphasizing that His coming will catch people off guard.

2 Peter 2:5: “…and God spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly.”
Comments: I pointed out that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness”. For 120 years, while building the ark in a world that had never seen rain, Noah warned the people, though they thought he was crazy.

Matthew 24:37-39: “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be… and knew not until the flood came and took them all away…”
Comments: I asked, how could they “know not” when Noah had preached for over a century? The truth is, they refused to listen or heed the warnings. Thus, judgment fell on them instantly and surprisingly.

Luke 17:27: “They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that no entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.”
Comments: I highlighted that they were too busy carrying on with their daily lives to pay attention, so when the flood arrived, it completely surprised and destroyed them all.

Numbers 12:4: “And the Lord spake suddenly to Moses and Aaron and Miriam. Come into the tabernacle of the congregation.”
Comments: I used this to show that God speaks and acts suddenly when disciplining His own people. He immediately confronted Aaron and Miriam for berating Moses and struck Miriam with leprosy.

1 Peter 4:17: “For the time is come that judgment must begin first at the house of God…”
Comments: I wanted to drive home the reality that Christians cannot escape the consequences of their rebellion. Even if we are forgiven, we will reap what we sow, and God’s discipline can come quickly.

Psalm 9:16: “The Lord is known by the judgment which he executed is snared in the work of his own hands.”
Comments: I emphasized that unsaved sinners will never escape God’s righteous judgment. They will ultimately be trapped by the very evil they commit.

Psalm 64:1-7: “Preserve my life from fear of the enemy… Suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not… But God shall shoot at them with an arrow. Suddenly shall they be wounded.”
My Comments: I used this Psalm to show that while the wicked are actively attacking and persecuting, God will suddenly shoot back and wound them unexpectedly.

Proverbs 6:12-15: “A naughty person, a wicked man walketh with a forward mouth… Therefore shall his calamity come. Suddenly, suddenly shall he be broken down without remedy.”
Comments: I confirmed that this sudden, irreversible destruction applies directly to wicked sinners.

Proverbs 29:1: “He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck. shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.”
Comments: I warned that those who stubbornly ignore God’s repeated reproofs will face sudden, final destruction.

Ecclesiastes 9:12: “For man also knoweth not his time… as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared at an evil time when it fall suddenly upon them.”
Comments: I noted that under the theme of judgment, God catches sinners completely off guard, just like animals caught in a sudden trap.

Isaiah 29:1-6: “Woe to Ariel… Yet it shall be at an instant, suddenly thou shalt be visited to the Lord of hosts with thunder, with wrath and earthquake…”
Comments: I pointed out that God also applies sudden judgment nationally. Despite years of warnings, He promised to visit Jerusalem (Ariel) with sudden, catastrophic destruction.

Isaiah 47:1-11: “…desolation shall come upon thee suddenly which thou shalt not know.”
Comments: I showed that this is how God deals with nations like Babylon—bringing sudden, unpredictable desolation upon them.

Isaiah 48:1-3: “Hear ye this, O house of Jacob… I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.”
Comments: I reiterated that when God acts in judgment against rebellious nations like Judah and Israel, He does so suddenly.

Jeremiah 4:14-20: “Oh Jerusalem, wash thine heart… Destruction upon destruction is cried… Suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.”
Comments: I shared how researching these passages literally blew my mind. I noted the prophet’s deep personal pain over the sudden, violent destruction of the land.

Jeremiah 6:26: “Oh daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth… for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.”
Comments: I pointed out that throughout Scripture, God’s warning of national judgment is always characterized by suddenness.

Jeremiah 15:5-8: “…I have caused them to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city suddenly.”
Comments: I emphasized that God Himself actively causes sudden terror and destruction to fall upon a disobedient nation.

Jeremiah 18:21-22: “…let a cry be heard from their houses when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them…”
Comments: I showed that even the prophet Jeremiah prayed for sudden, military judgment to overtake those who laid traps for him.

1 Thessalonians 5:3: “For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.”
Comments: Lest anyone think this sudden judgment is only an Old Testament concept, I quoted this New Testament passage to show that when wicked men think they are safe, instantaneous destruction will strike them without escape.

Isaiah 11:9: “They shall not hurt or destroy any longer in my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as waters cover the sea.”
Comments: Moving to the theme of revival, I explained that while we long for this beautiful reality, we must recognize that revival is solely the work of God, not of men’s plans.

Psalm 85:6: “Wil thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee?”
Comments: I quoted David’s prayer to emphasize that only God has the power to revive His people.

Habakkuk 3:2: “Oh Lord, revive thy work. In the midst of the years, in the midst of the years, make known in wrath remember mercy.”
Comments: I showed that Habakkuk prayed the same thing—asking God, not man, to revive His divine work.

Psalm 138:7 [transcribed as Psalm 308:7]: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou will revive me.”
Comments: I shared this to remind us that individual revival, just like national revival, comes entirely from the hand of God.

Acts 2:2: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
Comments: I highlighted that the great outpouring at Pentecost came “suddenly”. God doesn’t need years to accomplish an awakening; He can do it in an instant.

Galatians 1:15-16: “But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother’s womb and call me by his grace to reveal his son in me…”
Comments: I shared Paul’s testimony to show that our physical birth and spiritual rebirth are entirely orchestrated by God’s perfect timing.

Acts 9:3-4 & Acts 22:6: “And as he journeyed… suddenly there shined about him a light from heaven…”
Comments: I noted that even the conversion of sinners is a sudden work of God. As a preacher named Ralph Barard used to say, God saves you so fast you can only ever talk about it in the past tense.

Malachi 3:1: “Behold, I will send my messenger… and the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come into his temple…”
Comments: I explained that this prophecy refers to Jesus Christ, promising that He would come suddenly.

2 Chronicles 30:26: “So there was great joy in Jerusalem. For since the time of Solomon… there was not the like in Jerusalem.”
Comments: I pointed to the massive national revival under King Hezekiah, showing how it restored joy and worship to a rebellious people.

2 Chronicles 29:29-36: “…Hezekiah rejoiced and all the people… that God had prepared the people for the thing was done suddenly.”
Comments: I pointed out that cleansing the temple and restoring sacrifices was done “suddenly”. It is just as simple for God to awaken an entire nation overnight as it is to save a single soul.

Matthew 6:9-10: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Comments: I explained that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are actually praying for the overthrow of all humanistic, ungodly kingdoms so that God’s law and righteousness can be established.

Psalm 7:9: “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the just.”
Comments: I shared my joy in knowing that God will suddenly and surprisingly smite wicked rulers, shattering their carefully laid schemes and establishing His righteousness.