The Unfinished Story
Advent/Christmas 2020 • Sermon • Submitted
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Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Scripture: Revelation 22:1-21
Sermon Title: The Unfinished Story
We are looking at the final chapter of the final book. To remind you or catch you up, on Friday, we heard how Judgment Day has occurred, there’s “a new heaven and a new earth,” John saw “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem” in all the majesty that God has created it with. We heard how huge it was and that this will be where God will dwell with those whose names have been written “in the Lamb’s book of life.” Now in chapter 22 the angel brings him into the city, and Jesus speaks about what has been revealed and what truth must carry on.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, here we are on the final Lord’s Day of 2020. It’s been a year full of things which no one expected. While each of us maybe have retained some normalcy in some parts of our lives and very little in others, the general routines of this year have proven unlike any other in all our lifetimes. As sad or angry or tragic as different people feel this year has gone, it’s been a year that’s hopefully given us a chance to consider priorities and what matters most to us. If you haven’t really thought about that, I encourage you to do that in this week. Spend some time reflecting on what have you learned over the last year is most important to and for you.
Doing that kind of reflection in light of COVID or government policies and practices or sports or racial issues or law enforcement—has led people to think a bit differently, to drop or cut certain things from their lives, to not worry or put so much time or energy into some things and valuing other things a whole lot more. As people and businesses and organizations have been forced to adapt, maybe we’ve made some changes that we plan to keep on living with even when things get back to whatever routines come about in 2021.
In thinking about all this, I think we recognize we’re living in an unfinished story. When the clock strikes 12 from time zone to time zone, from December 31 to January 1, and the page on our calendars turn, we’re really just continuing on. The next day, the next page, the next chapter, as each day is, is a blessing. But until we die or until Christ returns, the story of our lives, of this world and the time we live in, isn’t finished. There’s more to come, more to be done, more decisions to be made, thoughts to consider. Our lives continue with varying degrees of material and financial blessing, with different political and social ideologies, with different callings, different things we focus on, different things that we enjoy and others we don’t.
Hopefully, what I’ve said so far has sounded beneficial, but something’s missing that I hope you would include, we would include in this line of thinking: it’s God’s word. As you think about what you’re taking away from 2020 and what you’ll take into 2021 or want to see happen or change in your life in the new year, will the word of God have its appropriate place? When you consider what’s most important for you as an individual, for your marriage, for your family, for the way you carry out your business and daily life—will God’s word be your guide? As you think about how you live in regard to authorities, in regard to tragedies and sicknesses that arise in your life or the lives of your loved ones, how you value sports and leisure and wealth and comfort, how you think about people in other parts of the world as well as right down the street, and yes, how you think about eternity for yourself and for others, what will your primary discernment involve?
The book of Revelation, that we’ve hurried through, is a testimony for those of us whose lives are an unfinished story. That’s a fancy way of saying: this is a vital truth for us who are still living here and now, and not yet in eternity. This morning we’re going to work through a few things from this final chapter that should guide or be discerned when we think about our future.
Our first point, it continues with what we’re already hearing: God’s word can be trusted and should be trusted. We read the words of the angel in verse 6, “‘These words are trustworthy and true.’” If those words sound familiar, they should. Looking at the Greek, there are 4 times in the book of Revelation that we find a combination of some form of the words “pistos,” which is translated here as “trustworthy” and the word that follows, “alethenos,” translated as true. Back in chapter 3 verse 14, in the letter to the church in Laodicea, it refers to Jesus. “These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” In chapter 19 verse 11, there’s a rider on a “white horse,” and the rider’s name is “Faithful and True.” Similar to what’s here in chapter 22 verse 6 with the angel’s instruction, we heard on Friday, in chapter 21 verse 5, the one on the throne told John to write down his words, which are “‘…trustworthy and true.’”
You’ve heard me say that Revelation is a difficult book to interpret every single word and image of. It’s hard to know what may have already happened and where we might be in the timeline other than to say we’re not here yet. Despite the difficulty, we can trust what we read. We trust these words, this message, the themes, not only because an apostle wrote them—no, it’s because God and his messengers told John what to write. As it says in the rest of verse 6 and into verse 7, “‘…The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.’ ‘…Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.’” We get to verse 10, and John is told not to seal this up; this needs to be read and heard, what God is going to do. We get to the final words in verses 18 and 19, and all God’s people are to hear, “Do not take away from this book, do not toss it out, do not think this isn’t worth hearing.”
That’s debate over whether these words are just to apply to the book of Revelation or whether they were put here with the intention that Revelation would be the final bookend and this applies to all of Scripture. I personally think those verses directly apply to the book of Revelation, but indirectly can apply to the whole of Scripture. We can trust it. We ought not to remove anything from it. We ought not to shape it according to our own desires.
Scripture as a whole is valuable, is essential, is trustworthy and faithful in telling us and anyone who God puts his Spirit in about our need for the Lamb and who that Lamb is—Jesus Christ. It is true and straightforward with commands and warnings of judgment for those who will not repent of sin. Its promises of adoption and renewal and transformation, according to God’s holy will, and the beauty of resurrection with Christ and eternal life can be trusted. If anyone is looking for and desiring true healing and peace for their souls—not something temporary, not just a bandage, they should look nowhere else but the Word that teaches us Christ is the Sovereign Lord, from everlasting to everlasting, “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End…the Root and the Offspring.” While the gospel, the good news, might be glimpsed in other parts of our existence, the whole truth and explanation we need to believe is in God’s Word. We must make room for this in our lives and we can trust it, because God says so.
Our second point this morning looks to the future. All the things we depend on will be fully provided by our God in eternity. This isn’t to say that there are things in our lives right now, which we need, that God doesn’t provide us with. But there are things that maybe we’ve come to expect and set in that category of necessary or essential or you depend on them, which really aren’t.
For generations like mine and younger, there are many who wonder what the world be without indoor plumbing and wi-fi and social media and YouTube and all that kind of stuff. Was there really a time without those things? Yes. But throughout history, there are many things that have been depended on—things emphasized at the end of chapter 21, and then again here in verse 5; chapter 21 verse 23, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp…There will be no night there,” and the middle of chapter 22 verse 5 reiterated that, “The Lord God will give them light.”
Throughout history, the sun and the stars were essential for light, and we know through science, for heat as well. The moon, while not a light source, reflects light for us and also has gravitational pull that affects Earth. Light has been so important, whether it’s natural or created, through fire or electricity. Most people, especially as children, are afraid of the dark. But God tells us, no one who’s living with me will need to worry about that—I will shine plenty of light.
Yet this doesn’t mean there won’t be any created things for sustenance. Maybe this isn’t to be taken literally, but it seems such. Verse 2, the tree of life bears “twelve crops of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” These things are created nature things, but they’re still provided by God for any needs we might have. We trust God with our needs in eternity; he will not let us down; we will not be lacking. Our World Belongs to God states in Paragraph 55, “Our hope for a new creation is not tied to what humans can do, for we believe that one day every challenge to God’s rule will be crushed. His kingdom will fully come, and the Lord will rule. Come, Lord Jesus, come.”
If we spend some time in reflection this week on what’s important to us, we might find ourselves coming up with a long list of things we depend on. God has provided and allowed for some to live more meagerly than others, others much more abundantly than we need. He’s provided for our wants and needs and way of life both naturally and artificially. But that statement is a beautiful reminder that often our focus for thanks gets directed to an end that doesn’t return to God. We find our dependance in things that do challenge his rule or say, “Thanks God, but I’d rather trust Google or Amazon or Wall Street or you fill-in-the-blank.” We are to depend on God now, and know that this will be perfectly experienced in the new heaven and new earth.
That brings us to our final point, to the meeting of the present and the future: Jesus is coming. Are you? When I came to Corsica, where I previously pastored, we had a woman in our congregation who was 105, and she lived almost to be 107. At some point after 100 years old, she lost her eyesight and was very hard of hearing. When I visited at the nursing home, she was often wrapped up in blankets, sitting in a chair or lying in bed. But in her last year, she’d often say, “Come, come!” and I always assumed I wasn’t close enough for her to hear and I knew she liked to hold her visitor’s hand, and so I’d lean in closer. I did that on several visits until one day, she said the whole thought which that word summed up. She said, “Come, Jesus. Take me home!” It probably benefited her for me to come closer, but she had been trying to express that she was ready for her Savior to bring her to her eternal home.
I preached on part of Revelation 22 at her funeral. I don’t remember if I noticed as clearly then, but we find some form of this word “come” seven times in this chapter. In verses 7, 12, and 20, we hear it from the mouth of Jesus, “I am coming soon!” Then in verse 17, we have a trio of other uses, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Finally, in verse 20, the plea that struck the chord for my elderly friend, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Jesus is coming and coming soon—he will return and arrive! If we’re wondering why so much repetition, maybe we think of Peter. After he denied knowing Jesus or being one of his disciples, John 21 records Jesus asking him if he loved him and gave the command to feed or tend his sheep three times. We’re told the third time that it hurt Peter: “Didn’t Jesus believe him?” Perhaps there’s something there that if Peter ever would push his Savior and Lord, the Christ, aside in his ministry, that twinge would keep him from falling back to when he denied him.
So, too, Christians throughout the ages have found themselves anxious, wondering when will Jesus come? Has he started to get ready to come back? Is he on his way? When will he finally arrive? Is he going to come, really? I’m not saying it’s a perfect match, but three times, Jesus repeated “He’s coming soon;” we can trust him, he will follow-through on his promise. What we might see as a delay is part of his salvific plan. Do not worry.
This brings us back to our celebration of the sacrament of communion. Most people when they take the bread and juice think of the language of it as a sign and seal, and we go back in time to Jesus’ sacrifice. Yet it’s not only a memorial. Article 33 of the Belgic Confession begins, “We believe that our good God, mindful of our crudeness and weakness, has ordained sacraments for us to seal his promises in us, to pledge good will and grace toward us, and also to nourish and sustain our faith…” Because we are weak, perhaps because we’re anxious when we think about the future and present and wonder if and when is he coming back, will he come back—Jesus gave us the sacrament to remind us to patiently await his return. Not to idly sit by, but to be alert for the day—to not lose hope. May that be part of our understanding as we receive the Spirit’s nourishment for our faith and our hope—he will return.
That brings us to the other piece, “Are you coming?” Are you wanting a robe that’s been washed in the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice? Are you wanting to enter and to live in this city rather than be trapped on the outside and unable to ever enter? God issues the call held in his word through his church and his Spirit, he issues the call today through the mouths of preachers and any Christian, through conversations and speeches, through books and internet, through videos and recordings, are you coming to the Holy City?
As you reflect on what’s most important for you heading into a new year, is God stirring inside of you a desire to receive him, to know something different for your eternal future? All it takes is to repent and believe. Jesus has done everything that is necessary to satisfy God for your sins. If you are or have been trapped in any of the sins mentioned in this passage or throughout Revelation, know that his grace can remove the guilt and shame that comes with those. It may not be easy, you may fight temptation, but you can be saved. You can receive “the free gift of the water of life” if you wish. His grace continues to be extended to you now, but remember, his return is soon.
I don’t know what 2021 will hold. I hope things settle down, that people will be less fearful, that people will be healed from disease, that we won’t be as divided. I know those are lofty ideals and maybe some of you scoff at them, but I hope people in general can get back to a willingness to learn and grow, to not make quick or harsh judgments. But I also know our view of 2021 in the small spectrum of each of our lives, while important, we still need to recognize: I am not the center of universe, you are not the center of the universe, our town, our business, our congregation, our nation, our politicians, we’re not the center of the universe.
Believers can know God has valued us as his bride through Jesus, and we have a glorious hope in eternity—which is itself an unfinished story—only God knows exactly what it will be and how it will be, when it will be. But everything rests in him, he is the center of our universe or our everything. We hope he will come back soon. We long for the day when he will bring about the healing of the nations, the healing from sin and death, and the complete reconciliation of ourselves to him. May that vision and hope be not just what we look forward to, but may it change our lives, focus our priorities, and guide us at home, as a church, and in all of life. Amen.