The Invitation of Revelation
Study of Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Revelation 22:16-17
As Jesus closes out the book of Revelation, he does so with very pointed comments. He is expressing some important details regarding the righteous and unrighteous.
He also prepares us for His return, that it will be quick and for many unexpectedly. That is why it is imperative that we take this book very seriously. That the message that it contains, is shared with those around us. That it might spread to this world and that this world might be saved.
In our previous study we focused in on verses 14 and 15 and we read the Lord’s comments on the Rewarded Saints and Rejected Sinners. Tonight’s study continues on, because these verses are of one thought.
(Read Scripture)
When we read the Bible, it is easy to treat it like most books. That it is written to excite our imagination, it builds upon itself, where the hero of the story faces great adversity and then ultimately defeats the foe. Then the story ends.
Well, what we read here in Revelation is not some fictional story. Though it has some great accounts of individuals lives, and within its pages is great adversity, and the foe is shown to be defeated, it is a story that does not truly end.
With the final words written in Revelation found here in chapter 22, in reality what we find is really the beginning of the story. So, with this final chapter we are giving comments from the author. He is sharing some things to us that we need to read and heed.
In these next two verses, his focus is particularly on three things that we take notice of. And the first of these is….
Point 1 - His Comment about his Respected Servant (vs 16a)
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches”
· Personal
o The first thing we realize is that Jesus is the one who is commissioning this servant for this task.
o When it comes to the Work of the Lord, it should be the Lord who is the one that does the sending.
o We are not commissioned by anyone else to do the work of the Lord, it is Jesus who is to send us.
o When we go without being sent by Jesus, we will find that we are incapable of doing the work.
o Now, we as the children of the Lord have been commission to share the message of Christ throughout this world, we find this in Matthew 28.
o But there are some assignments and duties that God calls specific individuals to do. For instance, God specifically called Jonah. God specifically called David. God specifically called the 12 disciples.
o These were the ones that God had sent for specific tasks.
o The one thing that they all have in common, is that they belong to the Lord.
o God desires to use those that are his. You and I have a job that God has specifically called us for as well. The requirement though, is that you must be his.
o Jesus had a specific job/role for this angel to fulfill, and it is Jesus who sends this angel to fulfil this task.
o Now this was Jesus’s personal angel, he identifies this angel as “mine”
o There meant there was a connection, a relationship. In similar manner, that is what Christ says about those who are his Children.
o They are mine. For instance, I have three children, they are mine they are not yours, they are mine. They are of my family.
o This is how the Lord looks at each one of us who are truly his. He says they are mine.
o Now this angel was His. This angel was a servant of the Lord, he represented Christ. The words he shared were that of the Lord’s.
o The Lord wanted to make this very clear, that this angel was acting on his behalf.
· Professing
o So this was a personal respected servant of the Lord, but we also see that this was a professing servant.
o What does the scripture tell us in regards to the duties of this angel? Well he was sent to testify unto us.
o This angel had seen what the Lord had done, he knows the plans and he was part of these plans.
o So, God wants him to tell what is to come. To testify. Now when we testify in the church, we tell of what we were, how we met Christ, and what he did in our lives.
o We call it our testimony. And each one of us who are truly born again have a testimony that we should be sharing.
o Now our testimony should be based in truth, it should be a witness of Christ through our words.
o But to testify is not something we do just in church, but this is something we do in court as well. We are called to give our testimony.
o And again this reminds us of sharing the truth. This angel was called to share the truth. And what is truth? Well that is Jesus.
o What do we know about Jesus in regards to truth, well the scripture teaches us that he is the way, the truth and life (John 14:6)
o The angel is to profess the truth of Christ to the church. And friend that is what we are called to do as well.
o As we see the example of this angel, this is what Christ has called each of His children to do also. To testify of the truth. The truth of Christ and what He has done in our lives. To tell our story of Jesus.
· Place
o Now we see the personal and professing angel, but the third thing we see in this opening verse is that this angel is sent to a place.
o Where is this message to be delivered? To the churches.
o God had a message that he wanted his children to hear, and where were they going to hear it at? None other than church.
o Friend, do you know that the Lord has a message to deliver to you each week from His word? But if you are not in church, you will miss it.
o Those who were not at church were going to miss what the Lord had in store for them.
o And the same holds true today. This angel had a special message for the church, and we as the church need to be present to hear it.
o Now it says in the church. Now I know we as the people are the church, that is quite evident in the scripture. But friend when it comes to the church, there is an assembly of the church.
o The angel would be giving this message to the churches, and if we want to hear what the Lord has to say, we should be the church and come together as a church.
Point 2 - His Comment about the Recognized Savior (vs 16b)
“I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
· His Distinction
o In the latter part of this verse we find the Lord commenting in regards to Himself. And there are two things we see, and the first portion we are calling this His Distinction.
o What distinguished Christ from anyone else? What made Him different. What was His claim?
o Well, we find first his distinction as the root of David. What is the root of the plant?
o The root is the life of the plant. If all you had was a stem and branches, but no root, the plant would quickly die.
o The root is the provider of life to the plant. Just as David and his kingdom is regarded as the greatest kingdom of Israel to date, that kingdom’s life and David’s existence was only made possible because of Christ.
o Without Christ, there would be no David. Without Christ, there would have been no defeat of Goliath. Without Christ, there would be no kingdom for David to sit upon.
o Christ was the life of David. Roots also provide stability. It gives the opportunity to stand.
o David and His Kingdom would not stand if the Root of Christ was not there. We know it did stand, and it stands even today, because Christ is the Alpha, he is the first.
o The plant cannot exist before the roots, and that is what we find here.
o But we also see Christ identifying himself as the offspring of David. Just as Christ was the foundation for David and the kingdom, Christ is the offspring of David.
o We know that Christ was a descendant of David. His humanity came through the line of David.
o So, Christ has the distinction of being the alpha and omega to David, the root and offspring.
· His Deity
o Now the second part of the recognized savior is his deity. And this is described with his statement as the bright and morning star.
o The morning star has been something that men have seen in the sky since the beginning.
o What we call the morning star, is actually not a star but a planet, particularly the planet Venus.
o It’s bright light can be seen even when all the lights of all the other stars and planets fade, and when we see this in the morning it heralds in the dawn.
o A new day that has begun. And that is what Christ does, he heralds in a new day in our life.
o Now Venus, which is what we recognize as the morning star can only be seen at two times. Just before sunrise and just after sunset.
o Well, Jesus is not called the evening star. He has not come to bring a closing, and even though Revelation is the last book of the Bible, Christ is called the morning star.
o He is proclaiming as God, that the New Day is coming. And it serves as a reminder when we see it in the sky.
Point 3 - His Comment about the Requesting Spirit (vs 17)
The next verse we find the Lord making another comment and I am calling this the Requesting Spirit. And we can subdivide this verse into three main areas. The first thing we find from this verse is that this is a verse of…
· Invitation
o By the Spirit
§ The first invitation that is given is by the Spirit. Now what is taking place in this verse is an invitation to be saved.
§ Who is the first to invite us to know Christ, well that is none other than the Holy Spirit.
§ Think about how the Spirit moved on you to give your heart to Christ. His invitation to you to know Jesus.
§ The Invitation from Christ comes in the third portion of the Trinity which is the Holy Spirit.
o By the Bride
§ The invitation to come to Christ is also given by the Bride. The Bride of Christ is the church.
§ Now this serves as a reminder that we should be inviting people to know the Lord.
§ The Bride should have a desire for people to come to know the Lord.
§ Now remember, the church is made up of all of us. It is not the preacher of the church sole responsibility to win the lost.
§ Well, this is why we pay you to preach to us. Well, that is not the right way to approach our duty.
§ While the preacher is to preach to the congregation and lead people to know the Lord. The fact remains, that we are all responsible for this great duty.
§ If you are a Christian, the first thing you should learn to do, is learn how to lead someone to know the Lord.
§ We should have the invitation of Christ stamped upon our life, that people can read it clear as day.
§ Now remember, we are the bride of Christ. We are not the boss of Christ. We are not the manager of Christ. We are His bride. That means we have a relationship with him.
§ And in our relationship, we should have that desire to invite others to come to Him.
o By the Saved
§ Now the third part of this invitation is given by them that heareth, and what this is referring too, is the saved.
§ As a church it is our duty to reach the lost, but as we can clearly read, this is the duty for each individual person.
§ Just because we get saved doesn’t mean that we are excused from our duties. If we have heard and believed in the Lord, we should invite people to come.
§ This is the most important invitation to be given, and we should not fail in doing our part.
· Implore
Now there is an invitation but the invitation is in regards to something, and what we find is that it is imploring individuals to come. And we find this is addressed to two groups.
o Athirst
§ The first group is those who athirst. Those who are depraved. They have a longing to be filled and satisfied.
§ The world is full of people who are thirty. Not for a physical water, but for the living water that gives their life meaning.
§ So many people drive by our homes thirsty, so many are looking in life for something to satisfy their thirst.
§ A person who seeks to quench their spirit with things of the world will soon find that they are thirsty again.
§ But the water of life that Christ gives, will satisfy a person where there will be no more thirst.
o Any
§ The next group is to the “any” what the KJV identifies here as the whosoever.
§ Ultimately, the invitation is for all people all over the world, regardless of their past.
§ You see, Christ wants anyone who desires to come to him, may freely do so.
§ It doesn’t matter the horrific things a person may have done or thought. What wicked acts that they took part in, God wants them to come.
§ God desires for the person who has lived a good life and worked hard, to come to him.
§ God desires for the child to the senior to come to him.
§ The invitation is for any person.
· Indulge
o The final thing we find in this verse, is that the Lord is inviting all these people to come and indulge.
o You see the Lord is fountain that never dries. He is never empty and He wants all to come to him and receive the gift of life.
o To fill their souls in his goodness and mercy. To have their life changed and blessed forever.
o God will not send a person away hungry if they came seeking him. He will provide and freely give them life.
o Now here is the wonderful thing in regards to this, it is completely free to you. All you have to do is accept him for who he is.
o And who is He? He is Jesus, He is Messiah, He is Lord, He is God.
o He says, freely, freely I give unto you, freely, freely give. Listen, Jesus wants us to partake of this water, to experience the goodness that he has spoken of in this book, that we may be with him forever and ever.