Revelation Sermon - 28

Lars Janssen

Revelation Series • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Revelation: Review and Remind (Part 2)

Revelation 1:1-11:19

1. Introduction – So we’re more than half a year into a study through this incredible letter of Revelation.

a. This is my 28th sermon in this series.

i. And last week I decided that now would be a good time for us to pause from moving forward; instead of rushing to the finish just to say we completed the book…

1. I decided that we are going to slow down and do a little bit of review.

a. It is always a good thing to remind ourselves of where we’ve been in this study so that we can have a firmer grasp on where we are going.

b. And this week I thought I’d start right back at the beginning and remind us why we are doing this series in the first place.

i. Why??? Look at 1:3. What kind blessings have we missed out on because we’ve kept this book closed for so long?

1. Look at this verse carefully. God blesses the one who reads this to the church.

a. I can’t even begin to recount for you how I have been blessed by reading this letter to you.

i. I have been living in this book since October of last year and this blessing is coming true in my life as I read, study and prepare these sermons for you each week.

b. It’s not only for you that we’re doing this study, I’m learning and growing, and God is doing a work in me too!

c. But God also blesses those who hear these words read. I hope you’ll agree that this is an awesome letter.

i. Yes, confusing at times, but don’t some parts of it just make your heart sing?

1. That’s because this letter is meant to be open. It’s meant to be read aloud, studied, meditated on, and applied to our lives.

ii. I hope and pray that even though some passages are hard, I hope that you are experiencing the blessings of God through reading his Word…through reading Revelation.

1. Each week you are hearing these words read, you are having the symbols and images explained to you, and you are being shown the practical nature of this amazing book.

d. But did you hear the last part of this verse? God blesses those who…

i. Read these words… hear these words…

1. But hearing them alone isn’t enough…God blesses those who obey what it says.

a. And something I’ve been saying repeatedly over the past 28 sermons is that Revelation isn’t only a book of vivid images and wild visions…

i. It is also a practical manual on Christian discipleship.

1. It teaches us who to stay faithful to God while living in hostile territory.

e. For decades Revelation has been read and interpreted as an escape manual for Christians.

i. But I believe it is actually the exact opposite. For from being an escape manual, it is really a ‘how to endure suffering’ manual.

1. How to endure suffering and remain faithful to God.

f. Revelation teaches us about Christian discipleship in real life situations. How to follow God in hostile territory.

i. How to witness for Jesus in a foreign land.

1. How to worship God in a world that worships anything and everything but God.

a. In all honesty, we’ve already covered some of what Revelation says about the Christian life in previous sermons.

i. But reviewing and reminding is always a good thing.

g. So, what does Revelation teach us about the Christian life?

2. Prayer – Revelation teaches us that the Christian life is a life of prayer.

a. Remember this image??? 5:8 or again in 8:3-4. Your prayers are like incense to God. That’s what this image teaches us.

i. As God’s people, we are able to bring our requests before God. Paul says that we are to be continually praying.

1. And when we prayer, no matter the request we are bringing or the praises we are giving – our prayers are an aromatic smell to God.

b. Never does God grumble or complain about what his people are praying for.

i. God wants to hear your prayers. They fill his nostrils with wonderful scents.

1. The Bible teaches us how to pray – using the Lord’s Prayer as our guide and example.

a. Revelation teaches us that prayers can also be short and to the point.

i. “How long, O Lord?” that’s a prayer!

c. Doesn’t this change how you feel about your prayer life and praying in general?

i. Doesn’t this image make you want to pray more?

1. Your prayers aren’t hitting the ceiling and bouncing back at you…though sometimes it may feel that way.

a. Know that whenever you pray, whatever you are praying for is being presented to God like incense…a sweet aromatic smell.

d. How’s your prayer life? Stagnant? In need of a lift? Non-existent? Thriving?

i. I would encourage you to keep this image before you. Be encouraged by it.

1. The author of Hebrews says we should come before God with boldness. And we can come with boldness because we are confident in who God is – he is full of love, grace and mercy.

a. But we can also come with boldness knowing that this is how are prayers are received by God – like incense. What an image!

3. Sacrifice – What else does Revelation teach us about the Christian life?

a. A topic we come back to time and again is that the Christian life is a life of sacrifice.

i. Revelation does this by teaching us about the way of the Lamb. We see in this letter that the cross becomes, not only our source of salvation, but a pattern for us to follow.

b. Remember back in chapter 5, the Lion of Judah didn’t claim the victory by roaring and strutting around like a lion.

i. The Lion won by sacrificing himself as a Lamb.

1. The same is true for us today. Revelation is very raw and honest about the hardships and persecution Christians will face.

a. A repeated word in this book is “overcome.’ And the word itself implies a struggle of some kind.

c. The letters to the 7 churches speak about various kinds of persecution.

i. Economic persecution, social or physical persecution.

1. Martyrdom – which is a theme that is picked up and expanded on later in the letter.

a. In chapter 6 we hear the cry of the martyrs “How long???”

i. In chapter 7, we see those who passed through the great tribulation.

1. In chapter 11 – we see 2 witnesses martyred for their faith and witness.

d. Revelation is realistic in portraying something Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble…”

i. But the last half of that verse leads us to Revelation’s next teaching point.

4. Victory – Because Revelation teaches us that the Christian life is a life of victory.

a. Yes, we will have trouble. There can be no other outcome. When the values of the kingdom of God confront the values of this world – there will be conflict. Always has – always will.

i. So yes, we will have trouble, but take heart, Jesus said, for I have overcome the world.

1. Following the way of the Lamb will lead to conflict and persecution – it can be no other way.

a. But we have the assurance that one day, God will vindicate his people.

b. We saw last week that no matter what happens in the visions, seals broken trumpets blown…

i. Whether horsemen come and invade, or the locusts come…all the visions end in the same place.

1. The end result never changes.

a. And the ending is worshiping around God’s throne for the faithful…

i. And eternal punishment for the unrepentant.

c. How many times have we found ourselves gathered around the throne of God worshipping?

i. There’s a reason for that – that’s where the way of Lamb leads.

1. Yes, it will lead to ridicule and suffering and hardships, persecution and maybe even death…

a. But according to these visions, if we stay faithful to God through it all – look where the way of the Lamb leads…

i. Ultimately it ends up with the faithful worshipping around God’s throne for all of eternity.

5. Worship – How else is Revelation a discipleship manual? Well, it teaches us about worship.

a. In fact, the whole book is about worship. One of the main questions it asks is, “Who or what are you going to worship?”

i. Revelation presents 2 options – because there are only 2 options. It’s an either/or scenario – not a both/and.

1. Revelation shows us the 2 powers who are duking it out for your allegiance.

b. Either you are worshipping the Holy Lord God Almighty who sits on the throne of the universe.

i. Or you are worshipping the beast.

1. Either you are faithfully committed to the ways of God – or you are following the beast.

a. It can’t be both… it’s one or the other.

c. And worship plays such a key role in this book. We’ve explored the rich hymnody present in this letter.

i. It seems like we encounter a new song every other chapter. And many of the songs we sing today find their inspiration in the letter of Revelation.

1. We learn in Revelation that our earthly worship is a dress rehearsal for the worship we will participate in for all of eternity.

a. Our earthly worship isn’t done in isolation, but we join our voices with the always on-going service taking place around God’s throne.

i. We join a service that is always already in progress.

6. Witness – We’ve looked at those facets of the Christian life before. They are both basic yet mind blowing.

a. Prayer, sacrifice, victory and worship.

i. But what else have we learned about the Christian life?

1. We’ve learned about the importance and urgency of Christian witness.

b. Maybe you’ve noticed, maybe you haven’t – but in our study and in my interpretation of Revelation – I have yet to use words like “premillennial” or ‘amillennial” or pre-tribulation, mid tribulation or post tribulation.

i. These are all schools of thought of how this letter and the end of time is going to play out. And this is going to be the only time you hear me use these words.

1. I’ve avoided them for a couple of reasons. First, I’m not going to shed an new light on this discussion – there’s plenty written about those various schools of thought, from an introductory level to an advanced academic level…besides, they’re big words and a little confusing.

c. But the main reason I’ve not used any of those big words isn’t because I take a different approach to the end of time altogether.

i. Six years ago, when I was writing my Ordination Statement, and quite honestly, I believe with more urgency not then I did back then – I wrote in my Statement that I believe the end of time shouldn’t be a matter of debate for Christians…it is a call to action.

1. I believe much ink has been spilt needlessly on this subject…so this is the way I see it.

d. Yes, the end of time is going to happen. But only God knows the when, where and how – let’s leave that with him.

i. What we do know is this – Jesus is going to come back to the earth and bring history as we know it to an end.

1. We know that the righteous will spend eternity worshipping around God’s throne, and the unrepentant will spend eternity in hell.

e. How, here’s how this is a call to action. As Christians, as Christ’s witnesses and ambassadors – we should be doing everything in our power to share the Good news of Jesus so that there are even more people worshipping around God’s throne.

i. People we know and love – neighbours, family members, and people who don’t know – they are in real danger of spending eternity in hell…separated from God.

1. We can’t be OK with that.

a. Revelation teaches us that we can’t use our salvation as an excuse to be lazy. Or use the threat of danger as an excuse for inactivity.

f. Jesus sternly condemns the lazy, compromising Christians of Laodicea – he tells them that their inactivity and compromising ways make him sick to his stomach.

i. Paul warns the church Thessalonica that Christians aren’t simply to sit around and wait for Jesus to return.

1. Jesus himself says that the gospel of the kingdom will go to the ends of the earth…and then the end will come.

a. Are you sensing the need and the urgency of Christian witness yet?

g. Revelation stresses this need…why? Because the time is near. Think about it…if the time was near 2000 years ago, it’s a lot nearer now!

i. If it was urgent back then, think how more urgent the need for Christian witness is now?!

1. Revelation gives us a vision of the future – an eternity of worship around God’s throne for those overcome.

a. An eternity of singing “Holy, Holy, Holy!” for those who are saved.

i. And, an eternity of eternal conscious torment for those who don’t follow the ways God.

1. An eternity of separation for those who refuse to repent.

a. Shouldn’t we be feverishly working so that more people are gathered around God’s throne instead of separated from it?

h. We’ll see when we study chapter 12 that the devil is working feverishly at destroying things because he knows the time is near…he knows time is running out…

i. He knows the time of his ultimate defeat is just around the corner.

1. And my question as we close today, and a question we’ll pick up when I get back from holidays is this…

a. If the devil is working feverishly, why aren’t we?

ii. If the devil believes the time of Jesus coming is near, why are we so complacent on this earth?

1. If the devil is working hard in an attempt to accomplish his evil purposes – shouldn’t we be working harder to the ways of God???

a. The overwhelming answer is “YES” – so we need to get to work! And we’ll pick up those questions and that scene when I get back from holidays in September.

7. Conclusion – For September 3rd – please read Revelation 12:1-18. But also read Revelation 12-22.

a. Do you best to read it in one sitting – it’s the best way to get a feel for the flow of the narrative and to see the connection between the visions.

i. Look for repeated themes, look for the loop to loop pattern. Look at ways John has expands on themes or characters or visions that we mentioned in chapters 1-11.

1. And when we gather together again, Lord willing – we’ll being a journey through the second half of this letter.