[0:00] And even this great book, this is the greatest book in the whole wide world, the Bible. This book has influenced people, has affected people, has touched people in a way that no other book ever has or ever will.
[0:21] There have been many great books in this world that have had a huge impact upon people, books that are read all over the world. But no book has ever affected or touched people in the way that the Bible has because it is the word of the living God.
[0:39] But even the Bible must come to an end. Not that its influence comes to an end, its impact doesn't come to an end because that goes on and on and on.
[0:51] But with regard to the actual pages of the book, all that God has chosen to reveal to us, there comes a place and a point where we come to the end.
[1:05] And that's what we've come to in this book. We have come to the end of the Bible, this great book. And in many ways, there's a lot that is summed up in this great book.
[1:22] Now, one of the things we see here that is being reinforced is that the Bible is true. God's word is true. And that is so important for us to lay hold upon because we live in a day where people are often asking, is this really true?
[1:42] We see it with regard to, say, for instance, in advertising. We ask, well, is what they're advertising really true? When people speak about figures in economics or in the financial world, we often ask, I wonder, is what they're saying, is this really true?
[2:01] In the world of politics, we often ask, I wonder, is that really true? Because so often, as time goes on, we find that what we were told maybe wasn't exactly true.
[2:14] And so we're often left questioning and wondering and saying, is this true? And we always want to know the truth.
[2:24] That's basic. That's a basic thing in human life. We want to know what is true. And that's one of the things that the Bible emphasizes over and over and over again.
[2:38] This is true. This is the word of God. And God speaks the truth. And there's an amazing directness about God's word.
[2:49] That's one of the things that you find about God's word. That's one of the reasons why a lot of people can't stand God's word. It's because it makes them feel uncomfortable. Because God goes straight to the heart.
[3:04] And he challenges people. And if it makes us feel uncomfortable, good. Not that he makes us feel uncomfortable for the sake of being uncomfortable.
[3:14] But in order to examine ourselves and in order to bring us to him. So we've always got to remember that the word of God, it's a living word that challenges, it rebukes, it encourages, it instructs, it enlightens.
[3:32] It does so many things. But always, always, always it is true. And it is an amazing way of reinforcing itself the truth that's in this word.
[3:44] There's something about it when you pick it up and start reading this word. It convinces you. This is true. So we find here that, as we read there, that these words are trustworthy and true.
[4:01] That's what we find here. And the message is saying that, behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
[4:13] There is blessing attached. That's what it's saying. There's blessing attached to following, to believing, and to living on the word of God.
[4:25] You see, it's all very well to hear what God says. But we've got to put into practice what God says. That's what it says in James. That there's no point in hearing something.
[4:41] But we've got to, faith, remember how it says, faith without works is dead. Faith has got to live. Faith has got to be based upon the actual word.
[4:53] So we've got to take on board what the word says. And we see that there is blessing attached to this. And then we find that John, as he receives this message from the angel, he's so overcome by it all that he falls down before the angel and he worships the angel.
[5:15] And straight away, John is rebuked. Because the angel says to him, hey, you mustn't do that. And this is very interesting. You notice what the angel says.
[5:26] You must, in verse 9, you must not do that. Now we often think of the angels as superior beings, glorious beings.
[5:47] But here this angel is saying, hey, I'm just like you. Yeah, I'm different. I'm a spirit. I don't have a body like you. But I am exactly in the same category as you.
[6:00] I am no more than a servant. That's what an angel is, a servant. And this angel is saying, I am the same as you. And the same as the prophets.
[6:13] And the same as those who keep the words of this book. In other words, of every believer. So we've always got to remember that angels are created beings just like you and I.
[6:26] And angels are servants. Okay, the angels have never sinned. And the angels haven't needed to be saved. But they are still just like you and me.
[6:38] And in fact, we will discover aspects of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. And come to an understanding of it that even the angels cannot understand.
[6:49] We're told in scripture that the angels desire to look into these things. You get this idea of the angels peering in to this whole way of salvation.
[7:00] Because while they're seeing it and marveling at it, they personally have never experienced it. And so we've always got to remember that. And so the angel is saying to John, hey, you're not to worship me.
[7:15] You only worship God. And again, we've always got to remember when we come to the whole aspect of worship. We've always got to remember who it is that we're worshiping.
[7:27] When we come here tonight and whenever we gather, we've always got to remember that we are in the presence of the King of Glory. The most majestic, holy, powerful being in the whole universe.
[7:42] And sometimes we forget that. We forget it because we are so used to Jesus as the one who has come down with us. And who has presenced himself with us.
[7:54] God with us. Emmanuel. Emmanuel. But sometimes we forget the otherness, the holiness, the glory, the majesty of God. We're told in Scripture that God is a consuming fire.
[8:06] And we must never forget that. There are times when God reveals his purity and his holiness and his majesty like that. So whenever we come and worship, we must always, always remember who it is that we come before, whose presence we actually come into.
[8:28] And then in verse 10, we see here, it says, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
[8:39] The Bible, we're told here, is not yet a closed book. Now, isn't it quite amazing? I think it's one of the saddest things that there are countries in this world that close their borders to the Bible.
[8:55] For them, the Bible is a closed book. And I cannot imagine the awfulness of the judgment that rulers and leaders are going to face who were determined to prevent their people from ever hearing the word of God or being allowed to open a Bible.
[9:22] That is one of the worst crimes that any passion can commit, is forbidding a passion to hear and to read the word of God.
[9:34] Because the Lord is saying this is still an open book. And the Lord wants everybody to come to hear the word. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
[9:47] And we must pray for nations that tonight do not have access to the word of God. To places where the word of God is forbidden. When you think of the hundreds of thousands of millions of people who are being starved from ever getting the word of God.
[10:07] But you know, in another sense, an even greater tragedy is for the many people who have access to the word of God. And the word of God is a closed book to them.
[10:19] Where they won't open it. And I'm sure that even in this town, there are many people. And the word of God is a closed book. They won't open it. They won't read the pages.
[10:31] They won't listen. And to hear what God the Lord will speak. And that in itself is one of the great crimes. Because the word of God is not a closed book.
[10:45] It is not a sealed book. And the great thing for you tonight, if you're here and Jesus Christ is not your savior, you're in the best place possible. I don't mean by that, that Kenneth Street is the best place he could possibly be.
[10:59] What I mean is that you are under the word of God. You are in the place where God is speaking to you. And he's speaking clearly in his word.
[11:10] And he's inviting you. And he's challenging you. And he's pleading with you. That you will come to him. Because he wants to do your soul good. Be persuaded of that.
[11:22] I know that there's another voice in your mind saying just now, Oh no. It's going to really mess up my life. I'm not dismissing Christianity. I'm not dismissing coming to faith.
[11:33] But right now, it's going to so affect my life. God is saying, do you know it won't? It will affect your life, but only for good. Please, please tonight. Remember, faith comes by hearing.
[11:45] And hearing by the word of God. But then we see as we move on that there's a division. Verse 11 shows us that there is a division here.
[11:57] There are those who live one way, the righteous. And those who live another way, the evil and the filthy. Now these are the two different lifestyles.
[12:07] Now that doesn't mean that the righteous, every single moment of their life, that they never do anything evil or think anything evil, or that a filthy thought or anything goes through their mind.
[12:20] That's not what it's saying. Because we know that as sinners, these things are true of us. What it is speaking about here is the main way of our life, the main thrust of our life.
[12:35] We are either going in one direction or another. We cannot go both ways at the same time. A person cannot possibly, just as humanly, you cannot walk in two different directions at the same time.
[12:48] It doesn't matter how athletic or agile you are. It is humanly impossible to walk both ways or opposite ways at the same time.
[13:00] And it's equally true spiritually. You cannot go in two directions at the same time. And you are either going one way or another. And what is the predominant feature of your life?
[13:15] We are not talking about what is part, goes here and there and bits and pieces, but the main direction, the main thrust of your life.
[13:27] Is it one that is living and depending upon the righteousness of Jesus, one that has been changed into his righteousness more and more, or is it one that is evil?
[13:41] And remember that this evil, although we may not be conscious of it, we are being influenced one way or another.
[13:53] There's only two great influences in this world. There's the influence of good or evil, the influence of God or the influence of Satan. And we're told that those out of Christ are being influenced.
[14:07] They're not aware of it, but they're being influenced by Satan. And one of the things he does is he blinds people's minds to the gospel so that they're not able to see.
[14:19] They're not able to believe. The whole way of salvation is a fog. The whole way of salvation is something that's way out there. And although it might be explained, and although you may to a certain extent understand it, it's still a fog.
[14:36] It's cloudy. That is because the evil one is blinding your mind. And that means you need to have your spiritual eyes opened. And there's only one who can do that.
[14:47] And that's Jesus. And I would say to anybody in here tonight who still feels in that fog, ask Jesus right now, Lord, open my eyes to see. Because you can't do it yourself, but he'll do it for you.
[14:59] That's seeking the Lord. And if you're really serious about this, ask him right now, Lord, open my eyes. Help me to see you. Help me to see the way of salvation.
[15:10] Help me to see what the cross is about. Help me to lay hold upon you. And you know something? He'll answer that prayer. If you're serious, if you really want that, he will answer that prayer.
[15:23] He will do what you're asking. And then John says, let the evil doer, excuse me, still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.
[15:42] And really what John is saying here is, that if a person doesn't accept Jesus as saviour, then they'll carry on just doing evil. That's the way it's going.
[15:52] And very simply what is happening here is, in life we either make a decision to follow Jesus, or we don't, right? And the decision that we make affects our character.
[16:09] And our character affects our destiny. Remember that. The decision that we make will affect our character. If we accept Jesus Christ, then Christ will change us.
[16:25] And he changes us, what keeps on changing us. And this decision that we make that affects our character, ultimately affects our destiny. It's serious stuff, this.
[16:38] So we're traveling either one way or another. And we see, it goes on to say, that there are those who are inside and those who are outside. Verse 15 talks about those who are outside.
[16:50] And there's only, you see, there's only two places. That's what we're saying. People may say, ah, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter as long as you're sincere. No, you can be as sincere in the whole wide world and still be wrong.
[17:05] You can be 100% sincere going down the wrong road. And the Lord is saying, you're either inside or you're outside. And those who are inside are those who we are told in verse 14, have washed their robes.
[17:22] And we're told elsewhere in Revelation that they washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. That's the only place where we can be made clean. It's the only place of shelter is under the blood.
[17:37] That was one thing that the Bible shows all the way through, that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Cannot have it. And that was the picture with the Old Testament.
[17:49] The Old Testament was full of blood. All the way through from able sacrifice, all the way through, it was blood, blood, blood, blood, blood. God was showing us that without blood, you cannot have forgiveness.
[18:05] That was a great picture in Egypt. The night the angel of death passed over, there had to be blood on the doorposts and the lintel. And if any of the Israelites thought, ah, you know, that seems too far-fetched.
[18:22] I'm not going to bother doing that. Then death. You see, there had to be the blood. There had to be the blood. Ah. And God is showing us that there is no other way but through the blood of Jesus Christ.
[18:36] And so we find that this is God's provision. And those we see, it tells us those who do this, they have a right to the tree of life.
[18:48] Isn't that wonderful? That's what Adam and Eve lost in the garden, was the tree of life. They were expelled from the garden. Remember? And an angel with a flaming sword was set to guard.
[19:03] Lest they get back into the garden and get to the tree of life. That's what was forbidden. They couldn't get to it. But this is what, this is one of the great blessings and the privileges of being inside, that we have our right to what was lost in the garden.
[19:25] it's restored. It's restored. It is given back to us, the tree of life. But we're also shown that those on the outside are the dogs and it goes on, tells us all the different things and it says, at the end, those who love and practice falsehood.
[19:46] Now to practice simply means it's your way of life, it's your lifestyle, this is what you do, it's your day by day by day. It's not that you're practicing to get better, it's just what you, I think we've used the illustration before, we use the term, the doctor's practice.
[20:04] It's not that the doctor's practicing a wee bit before you go so that you'll be a bit better. It's, it's, it's this, that's where he, he works day by day and you go to see him.
[20:14] It's this, this idea, this is our life. And so we see very clearly that there is the great dividing mark in the scripture is the cross of Christ.
[20:30] The cross of Christ divides either to accept or reject. And I think the, the clearest picture of that is when Jesus himself was on the cross.
[20:43] Because when Jesus was on the cross there were two people on either side. And there we have a, a, a fearfully solemn and serious and yet glorious picture of what the cross is about.
[20:58] The division of the cross. Two people dying. One on either side of Jesus. One calling out to Jesus for mercy and the other mocking Jesus.
[21:10] One dying, calling for mercy and the other dying, mocking Jesus. And that's who it was and that's who it is. And it's still the same.
[21:20] Either in or out. The cross divides. And I hope tonight that the cross is central to your life. because you know the thing is that if you die without the cross, without the benefit of what Jesus did on the cross, then you will remain on the outside.
[21:42] And I cannot think of a worse place to be than on the outside. Outside from God. From his favor. From his love. From his mercy.
[21:52] From his grace. That's hell. That is to be banished from every favor that God gives. It's a fearful thought of what, of what, of really what that is.
[22:08] and the lost soul hates Christ. There is no soul in hell tonight that loves the Lord Jesus Christ.
[22:19] They hate him. And if the truth be told, they hated him in this world. Or else they would have accepted him. That's, we, you know, we might not understand that or believe it.
[22:31] But that is the bottom line. A person who rejects Jesus, the bottom line is that they actually hate him. And you might say, Yeshua, that's very strong.
[22:42] Well, the Bible tells us that in our natural state, we are enemies. And an enemy is somebody who has hatred in his or her heart. And that's where we are.
[22:54] We don't realize it. And it's not until the Lord breaks that, that that enmity is removed. And the hatred is removed. And love is put in place of hatred.
[23:06] But outside of Christ there is a hatred that cannot really be discovered in this life in most people. But if we die without Jesus, then all these things of the strands, as it were, of common grace which are given by God are taken away.
[23:26] And the soul is consumed with anger and lust and hatred and self-centeredness. and all these things so that it's a downward spiral of eternal consuming of these things.
[23:42] It's a fearful thought. And that's why God has so loved the world. He doesn't want the Bible is very clear that that he has no delight in the death of the wicked.
[23:58] that there is no question whatever of God's great love to us in sending his son Jesus Christ into this world.
[24:09] And in fact, there's a lot of things we could say here, but when we move on, the time is going. You'll see how much God loves us. See how it finishes off in verse 17.
[24:21] Here we come to this, we've said to the end. We're coming to the end in this great book, the Bible, and see the great invitation that is given. The Spirit and the Bride say come.
[24:34] The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit tonight is saying to you, come, come. If you've never come, you come to Jesus tonight. And the Holy Spirit invites us by influencing us, by convincing us of our need, by drawing us so that there's a desire in our heart for Jesus.
[24:54] If there's a desire in your heart tonight for Jesus, that's the Holy Spirit who's touching you. Don't resist. Don't put up barriers. Don't close your ears but say, Lord, help me to yield.
[25:08] Help me to give in. Maybe some of you here have fought long enough. It's time to give in. So the Spirit tonight is inviting you. The Bride is inviting.
[25:19] Who's the Bride? Bride is a church. Individually and collectively. Jesus is termed the Bridegroom. The church is the Bride of Christ.
[25:32] And tonight the church is inviting. Present and past. May I say when I talk about the past, I mean, and I want you to think tonight, maybe there are some of you in here tonight who are, you have not come to faith in Jesus Christ.
[25:56] And you had a mom or a dad or grandparents or all of them who were Christians. The years have gone on and as the years have gone on, you are hearing their words to you.
[26:12] You know, it's amazing as the time goes on and the years go on, your memory goes back and you can remember their life and you can remember their influence and you can remember things they said and you can remember hearing them praying for you and the word of God says, yet dead, yet speaketh.
[26:36] That's what it says. So that although their voice is physically silent, the words continue, the impact continues, and the answer to prayers continue.
[26:51] And so tonight they, from the past, are inviting you to come and to taste and to see that God is good. And I would love that it would be even these voices from the past that God would use them even in the present to speak to you and to draw you so that you will come yourself and to taste and to see that God is good.
[27:19] And let the one who hears say come and of course again that's the church, the believer because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And let the one who is thirsty come.
[27:30] this is the person who has tried life. Remember the woman from Samaria? She tried life in all its, she went down, lived in the fast lane for long enough.
[27:45] And at the end of it all, there was nobody around that area more dissatisfied. She was an empty woman and she met with Jesus. and she discovered that Jesus had for her what she couldn't find anywhere else.
[28:02] Oh, she said, give me some of that water. That water that I will never thirst again if I take it. And that's what Jesus is offering to you tonight.
[28:13] That, you see, the world, the world squeezes everything out. You can chase down the road where the world can give you and there's no denying it.
[28:25] But you know, it runs out. That's one of the things. And you know, it's really exhausting going down the road of the world. That's what it does. It tires you out. It empties you.
[28:36] Promises a lot. Gives you for a while. But it runs out. You squeeze everything it has out. And you, it leaves you tired and you need more and you can't get it.
[28:48] It's just a, at the end of it, it leaves you disappointed. Jesus will never do that. He gives you what will satisfy your soul.
[29:02] Not only now, but forever and ever and ever. The one who is thirsty, let him come. And let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
[29:14] Doesn't matter what you've been. Doesn't matter what you've done. Doesn't matter how old you are. Doesn't matter how young you are. Hey, it's for you. This is a great thing. Here's a final invitation.
[29:26] The Lord is saying to you, come. Isn't that wonderful? Just come. But then it finishes with a warning. Because we're told here if anyone takes away from the prophecy of this book or if anybody adds to it or anything like that, the Lord will take take away his share in the tree of life and so on.
[29:49] There is nothing more solemn than to tamper with God's word. To play with God's word. And you know there's a lot of people do that. There's a lot of people within and we use the church in its broadest sense.
[30:03] But when you take the church in its very broadest sense there are people, a lot of people will say that the Bible contains the word of God. Now that is a fearful heresy.
[30:17] The Bible is the word of God. There's a massive difference. To say the Bible contains the word of God allows us the freedom to pick and choose what we want.
[30:29] So that we'll take out the bits we want and we'll discard the bits we don't. That means that we can make the Bible anything and we can base anything we want on the Bible or take out.
[30:43] And the Lord is putting one of the most fearful most serious cautious really upon the people who do that. Any person who does that. Any leader in the church who does that.
[30:55] His share. His share. That's what it says isn't it? His share in the tree of life and in the holy city will be taken away.
[31:08] Taken away. That's it. It's a fearful thought. But then it finishes saying Jesus says surely I am coming soon. It's not an amazing thought.
[31:21] Jesus says I'm coming soon. What does the church say? The church says come Lord Jesus. Are you able to say that tonight?
[31:31] We've said this often enough before. But I'm going to say it just once more. This will tell you where you are tonight. If you hand on heart can say Lord Jesus come it means you're ready.
[31:50] You're ready if Jesus comes tonight. Means or if you're saying if Jesus is saying I'm coming and he's going to come tonight and you say that suits me.
[32:04] I cannot think of anything greater. That tells you tells me tells the Lord where you stand. But if you're saying oh no oh no Lord don't come because why?
[32:19] Because I'm not ready. I would say to you tonight ask the Lord that he would come not in his final coming but that he would come in his saving power into your life tonight.
[32:38] I am coming soon well Lord please come into my life tonight. Will you ask him that? Or are you afraid to? please ask him to come into your life tonight.
[32:52] Let's pray. Oh Lord our God we give thanks that we are under the word and we pray that the word of God will burn down deep within our own hearts.
[33:06] It's a life changing experience but we give thanks Lord for your patience with us because we're slow to learn. we're often rebellious pupils and there's a lot of work to be done with us yet but we give thanks oh Lord that there is an ongoing work and that bit by bit we are being changed and so we ask to be with us pray to bless the fellowship which will take place in a little while and the wake later on watch over us all be merciful to us and forgive us all sin in Jesus name Amen concluding Psalm is Psalm 2 from Sing Psalms Psalm 2 and that's on page 2 we sing from verse 7 to the end the king then solemnly declares
[34:07] I will proclaim the Lord's decree today your father I've become you are my son he said to me ask me and for your heritage I'll give you nations near and far you'll break them with an iron rod and smash them like a potter's jar now therefore kings through wisdom find you judges of the earth give ear with reverence come and serve the Lord bow down with joy and trembling fear to the end of the Psalm Psalm 2 7 to the end the king then solemnly declares the king then solemnly declares I will proclaim the Lord's decree to thee your father
[35:11] I've become you are my son he said to me ask me and for you heritage and give you nations here and far you'll break them with an iron and love and smash them like a potter's child now therefore kings through wisdom find you judges on the earth give hear with reverence
[36:28] God and share the Lord but done with joy and trembling fear they they won't wish to the royal son let you in rough a side of trust for swiftly come his hunger blitz blessed are all who made him trust now may the grace mercy and peace of God the Father Son and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you now and forever more
[37:32] Amen