Ministry of Love

The intention of this blog is to share Biblical messages at least on a weekly basis. Any response is appreciated. I do not expect everyone to agree with my interpretation of Biblical passages. I will try to respond with love and thoughtfulness.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

The Word of God in Revelation 19 by John.

The Word of God in Revelation 19.
Rev. 19:1-16

1. The Book of Revelations is a series of dramatic pictures. At times it is almost kaleidoscopic as we travel through it. Even though we may never fully understand it, it is a wonderful Book to read.
2. In the 17th chapter, verse 13, 14, the ten kings of earth will back the beast in his war against the Lamb of God.
3. In 18:1, God sends a mighty angel with a proclamation of the outcome of the battle. It starts off in v 2 with, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!.”
4. We almost have to read the whole thing to get the tenor of what is happening. If we miss the sudden sweep of events in the midst of business as usual, we will miss a lot of what is being said here.
5. In the movie about George Armstrong Custer’s last battle at Big Horn, I was impressed with the hordes of mounted Indians coming from all directions. There could be no doubt of the outcome of that battle.
6. Neither can there be any doubt about the outcome of this battle led by the Lamb of God!
7. By the way, He is pictured first in Revelation as the Living Lord in charge of everything, then He appears as a Slain Lamb that is alive! Now He appears as the Victorious Lamb of God!

I. The Word of God is revealed in regal splendor

1. In v 9, an angel cries out, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” and he added, “These are the true words of God.”
2. V 10 is a significant statement, “Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
(1) True prophecy does not glorify either the prophet or the Holy Spirit. It embodies Jesus!
(2) True prophecy has a message for the first people who hear it.
(3) It may also refer to another time and other people.It will be just as true the second time, and as exact, as it was the first time.
3. When someone prophesies, refuse it if it does not glorify Jesus and work for the good of His true disciples!
4. Now back to Jesus in v 11, a horseman appears!
(1) The horse is white, indicating the royalty of the rider.
(2) As he approaches, He is called “Faithful!” and “True!”
(3) He judges and makes war with justice! (This is a real Holy War!)
(4) He wears many crowns!
(5) V 12, He has a name that he alone knows.
(6) V 13, His robe is red! It was dipped in blood!
5. His name is the Word of God!

II. He is the Royal Commander of God’s Armies. V 14.

1. He is not the docile, feminine person pictured in most artist’s ideas of Jesus.
2. He rides at the forefront of God’s armies dressed in fine linen indicating. His purity.
3. V 15, Our minds boggle when it comes to picturing Jesus with a sharp sword coming out of His mouth.
(1) It reminds us that Hebrews 4:12 says, The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
(2) He is also pictured with the double-edged sword extending from His mouth in Revelation 1:16.
(3) This reveals four things about His power:
a. His hands are not needed in battle.
b. The only weapons He uses are spoken words.
c. His words are more powerful than anything any created being has ever used or seen!
d. He is unconcerned about being in danger. He is all-powerful!
4. While the battle rages, He retains His Personal Cleanliness and Purity!
(1) He is not like modern soldiers with camouflage clothing, wrinkled and dirty from the hardship they endure while in battle.
(2) His enemies are so beneath Him that He never even shows having worked at all!
5. When the battle is over, He rules with a rod of iron! The iron refers to His rightful authority and His strength.
6. The fact that He rules tells us that His conquered enemies are the souls of people and the other created beings. Their bodies died, but their souls still exist.
7. Vv. 19-21 describes what happens.
(1) The beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown alive into the lake of burning sulphur.
(2) Those who followed and worshiped them are destroyed by the Word of His mouth!

III. In Every Age Jesus Conquers!

1. This event that John saw taking place is not the final end.
2. In chapter 20, the devil is thrown into the lake of burning sulphur with the beast and the false prophet. (Isn’t it a coincidence that there are three of the evil ones? Just like there are three in the Godhead? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? That may be intentional).
3. I believe with all my heart that the over-arching message of Revelation is about God’s Son Jesus, and His constant and eternal victory over evil.
4. Our present day may seem bleak and dismal. It may seem as if the Sadaam Huseins, and the Adolph Hitlers of the world are winning the war, but they only win minor skirmishes., and wars are made up of many skirmishes and battles.
5. Jesus constantly and consistently wins the entire war!
6. He always conquers the enemies of God, no matter how tough, no matter how intelligent, no matter how cunning, Jesus wins without even soiling His clothing!

Conclusion:

1. What a magnificent view of God we have right here.
2. In Revelation, Jesus first appears clothed in power and purity and in control of the churches.
3. Then He appears as the Lamb that was slain as described in Isaiah 53.
4. He appears as the slain Lamb of God who lives and rides at the head of God’s conquering armies!
5. He has no need for a sword, or an atomic bomb in His hands. He is the Living Word, and no evil can withstand the Word of His mouth.
6. It’s wonderful to be a Christian, to know that we have nothing to fear, to be aware that God’s Word to us is, I love you!
7. When you look at Jesus, not as He is in artist’s pictures, but as He is revealed by the prophet John, how do you feel about your own future?
8. You can rejoice in Jesus! Put your trust in Him right now as we pray!

ECC 12/4/2005

How Can We Stand Against the World? by John.

2 Corinthians 1:18-2:11

1. So often, we are at a loss as to how to cope with the world around us.
2. Everything seems to be anti-Christian, doesn’t it?
(1) The government interferes with our worship and particularly with evangelism.
(2) We can’t pray or hand out Bibles in schools.
(3) Atheists are trying to wipe out all references to God in our governmental buildings.
(4) We know that the original settlers came to this country because they were persecuted for their faith in England, but publishers of school books want us to forget that. They are erasing that history. In the future children will have a hard time believing this country has Christian roots!
3. What can we do? We can’t take up arms against our own people in a holy war, can we? May it never happen!
4. Then, how can we stand against an anti-Christian world around us when it looks like Satan is winning?
5. How can we believe God’s will is being done?
6. There is a Biblical answer.

I. Our Faith is in God’s Word!

I. Every good and precious promise God has made applies to us! (v. 20).
(1) We may ask, is this God’s promise? ans. “Yes!”
(2) Does this promise apply to me? ans. “Yes!”
(3) All of God’s good promises apply to each of us!
2. Well, which ones, someone will ask? Let’s just mention a few.
(1) First, the forgiveness of sin.
a. When you come to Jesus all your past sins are forgiven, and your future ones, too.
b. As a Christian you still sin, but God has taken the penalty away.
c. Then why do I feel so bad when I sin? The answer is that sin breaks your fellowship with God. In John 3:19, Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Jesus said sins make us stay away from God! We are ashamed in God’s presence.
d. Isaiah 59:1-3 says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” When you sin, you don’t come to God because you know you are a sinner! You feel guilty! The Psalmist said the way to avoid feeling guilty is: (Psalm 119:11) “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That’s the way to keep your prayer line open to your heavenly Father!
3. He also gave us eternal life. Billy Graham said, “That means I will live as long as God lives!”
(1) Eternal life begins in the here and now the moment we trust Jesus. In John 5:24 Jesus used the present, future and past tenses to demonstrate that truth. “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life”
(2) There are 3 present tense verbs there. “hear,” “believes” and “has.” If He had stopped right there, it would leave getting lost again open as a possibility, but he didn’t stop!
(3) He continues with the future tense and a past tense. “and will not be condemned: he has crossed over from death to life.” (That says it happened in the past, and it continues into the present.)
(4) The future is taken care of forever!
4. God gave us success, and He won’t take it back!
(1) Oh, I don’t mean riches, and I don’t mean fame. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
(2) In persecution, in peace, in everyday life, whatever takes place, God works it out for our good.
a. It may be painful, but it will be good.
b. It may be exciting and pleasing, but it will be good.
c. It may originate with friends, and that makes it good.
d. It may be the result of enemies. God allows it, and it will be good.
e. When God starts working in our lives, He never stops! Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
5. He has given us hope! And that is vitally important.
(1) Everyone has hope of some sort, profit, education, marriage, children, retirement, but that’s only for this world.
(2) We Christians are the only ones who have a real hope that is steadfast and sure. We base it on the words of Jesus, (John 14:1-4) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
(3) All of His hearers believed they would die! So they knew the way, only Phillip didn’t understand what Jesus was saying.
(4) His destination was to be beside His heavenly Father, and that’s our destination, too!
5. We can and do stand up against all the world throws at us because God is in control, (v. 21) “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,”

II. We stand because God has sealed us for Himself!

1. V 22 says, “He...set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come!”
2. God, the Holy Spirit, is our guarantee!
(1) He makes His home in our hearts and lives, and He is not a renter!
a. A landlord could throw a renter out!
b. No one can evict the Holy Spirit because He is the Owner!
3. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
4. We are sealed by God’s Holy Spirit, so we need have no fear of our Heavenly Father.

conclusion:

1. People, we can stand against the world. We can stand against everything the world can throw at us!
2. We can do it because we are not natural! We are supernatural! Born again!
3. We have Jesus our wonderful Savior!
4. We are sealed until the day of reckoning when Christ comes again by God’s Holy Spirit.
5. We have a home in heaven already built, already prepared for us by Jesus Himself, and He personally is coming to take us there!
6. We will always be with Him!
7. There is nothing the world can offer that measures up to that! There is nothing the world can throw at us that will make us turn our backs on Jesus.
8. But if there was, we could not do it, because God is in control! He controls and disciplines His children!

Emmanuel 12/11/2005