Sermon Tone Analysis

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*April 14-15, 2007                                                                                            Paul Gauche*
*Easter 2 C                                                                                                  Revelation 1:4-8*
 
*“The Beginning and the End… Revelation”*
 
Over the past 24 years, I’ve either preached or taught from every book in the bible.
That is except from the book of Revelation.
But I have to take that back, partially.
I did teach through Revelation once about 17 years ago, but I can’t—for the life of me, remember doing that.
And in its own way that is pretty scary.
It’s the weirdest thing; I’ve got all my notes and my handwriting runs throughout 112 pages, but I cannot recall doing the study.
So, it’s like I never did it.
In the year after I graduated from college, when I was living at Holden Village, a remote spiritual community in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, I sat through a teaching on the Book of Revelation taught by Dan Erlander, a pastor, mentor and friend of mine.
And the only thing I remember from that study was his word of caution.
He said, “Beware of anyone who tells you that they’ve got the book of Revelation all figured out.”
That’s been good advice, I’ve never forgotten it; but it makes the task ahead of me today a little more daunting as we wade down into the pages and lessons in this amazing book.
So here’s what I can tell you…I don’t have it all figured out.
But I do know a lot more about this book now than I did when I started re-immersing myself in these ancient words, reading them, studying them daily, digging down into them now, for months.
And one of the most remarkable things that I’ve learned about the Book of Revelation is that it’s really quite accessible.
On Tuesday’s through May 22, from noon until 1:00 PM and then again at 7:00 until 8:00 PM we’re digging into these ancient words right here.
And I do know that when we finish, we’ll be far more confident about the Book of Revelation than we have been.
As we walk through this study, we will strive to take Jesus at his word regarding this book.
We are not going to engage in foolish and unbiblical speculation; instead, we will seek a responsible and biblical stance as we look closely at these ancient words.
Revelation is a fascinating, perplexing, intriguing, challenging book.
One of my favorite authors and teachers, John Ortberg writes, “When it comes to the book of Revelation, people in the church tend to have two primary responses.
Sadly, both of these responses are unhealthy.
There are those who become obsessed with the book.
They treat it like a prophetic jigsaw puzzle that will give them insider information if only they can put all the pieces together.
They write up intricate time lines and diagrams that impressively chart out the last days and appear to offer answers to all of our questions.”
A second response people may have to the book of Revelation is to avoid it all altogether, either out of frustration or confusion.
They say, “I can’t make heads or tails of this book.
It has bizarre images of strange creatures, beasts, blood, bowls of sulfur, people eating scrolls, bottomless pits, dragons, the four horses of the Apocalypse, war, pestilence, famine, and death!
Sadly, these people are missing out on some powerful life lessons God wants to teach us through this book.
John Ortberg, Experience God’s Power.
I want to help us uncover, unveil the mysteries in this book so that we can speak confidently, and responsibly about these amazing ancient words from God.
So here’s what I do know: John is the writer of the book.
He’s been banished by the Roman government to the Island of Patmos most likely for his involvement in this little first-century experiment called the Christian faith, perhaps for his preaching, his teaching if not certainly for his connection to Jesus Christ.
When you think of Patmos, think Alcatraz, and you’re close.
Patmos is a small barren rocky island 37 miles off the southwest coast of Asia Minor.
It is ten miles long and six miles wide, and was the perfect place for Roman emperors to send prisoners into exile.
For John, this was like a “time-out” of biblical proportions.
It most certainly was not a comfortable place.
Historians tell us that the trip to Patmos was generally preceded by a scourging—a severe beating.
Life on The Rock was marked by constant confinement in shackles.
Prisoners on Patmos had little or no light other than the sun—if and when they got to see that.
John’s clothing—what little he had was inadequate, as was his food.
He most likely slept on the cold, hard ground and he worked under constant guard.
If ever there was the idea that John had a little writing shack near the beach somewhere and wrote down his amazing revelation, nothing could be further from the truth.
The Book of Revelation is of a style of writing called “apocalyptic.”
It is often referred to as “The Apocalypse” —a Greek word meaning “uncovering”.
The word revelation literally means “unveiling”.
It’s a book that unveils meaning about the past, the present and the future.
And if we were to uncover, unveil or reveal the central nugget and message of this book it would be that Christ is the victorious Lord of all, from the beginning of time into eternity, the reign of Jesus Christ in the world and in the lives of believers.
There is a great deal here, to be sure, but there are three truths that will be enough for us today that will whet your appetite to come back here on Tuesday at noon or 7 for the deeper study.
*The first truth revealed in this passage from Revelation 1 is that there is a blessing* for those who read this book and blessing for those who hear it.
Let’s read verse 3 together:  “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it.”
There is no other book in the bible that comes with an attached promise that those who read it and those who hear it will be blessed.
It’s painful for me to tell you that for 24 years I was like a lot of people who looked at the Book of Revelation and thought, “There’s no way I can understand that.
I’ll let someone else do it.”
And for 24 years (not counting the year that I can’t remember teaching it) I let the blessing go by.
This is the first of seven “blessings” or “Beatitudes” in the book.
In seven different places, Christ reminds disciples that their connection, relationship, their commitment to him will bring blessing.
Now, we have to understand this ‘blessing’.
It doesn’t mean “stuff”.
We’re not talking about simply reading Revelation in order to get something from God.  We’ve talked many times about how God is not a vending machine.
We would never read this book in order to sort of squeeze out of God something to satisfy our consumer oriented lives.
We would, however, read this book with the expectation that God will bless that reading and hearing with deeper insight and wisdom for how we might worship or praise God for more than just an hour during the week or how we might remain faithful in our daily lives or hang in there when we’re stressed out or hurting or how we might reach out with a word of hope or promise to a friend in need.
You know, I want to be okay with just knowing that as this book is unveiled through reading and hearing it, that we will be blessed.
And that how the blessing comes and what the blessing turns out to be—that’s just up to God.
I want to be okay with that.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it.
*The second truth revealed here is that “from him who is and who was and who is to come” there is grace and peace for our daily lives.
From the one who existed before time began and who will remain into eternity, we have grace and peace offered to us today.*
One of the very creative motifs in the book of revelation is the use of numbers.
The number three is significant.
The number seven is significant.
The numbers 12, 24, and multiples of these numbers all play key roles in the book of Revelation.
In verse four we find the first of many triads in the whole book: “Grace to you and peace from him “who is” and “who was” and “who is to come.”
That triad is quickly followed by another triad in the next verse: “from the seven spirits who are before his throne (Holy Spirit), and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead (the LORD), and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (God).
What’s going on here?
What truth is being unveiled?
John wants victorious disciples to know that through Christ, God will provide enough grace and enough peace for each day.
Life is a huge challenge at times isn’t it?
Somehow, in some Christian circles, people tend to the think that following Christ will be this easy, stress and even pain-free adventure.
I heard recently someone talking about the heroes of the bible; everyone from Moses to Malachi, Jesus to John—and how none of these heroes had easy lives.
They were often filled with huge challenges.
The Apostle Paul, probably foremost among the heroes of the bible didn’t have it easy at all.
In fact, to put this in perspective, Paul wrote about his hardships in life to the church in Corinth.
He said, for the sake of Jesus Christ, I’ve experienced “imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.
Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods.
Once I received a stoning.
Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked…” and it goes on.
It was Paul who greeted every Christ-follower in every church he ever wrote to with the greeting we hear echoing in John’s writing: Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Do you need some grace in your life today?
Do you need some peace in your life today?
In the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, he writes to remind any Christian, anywhere in any time that in Jesus Christ there is “Grace and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come.”
Jesus Christ who spans the timeline of our short lives with his eternal perspective and care.
Where ever we are, there he is.
From the beginning and to the end of all things.
And that brings us to the third truth.
*The third truth revealed for us today is that Jesus Christ; the Alpha and Omega is the beginning and the end*.
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