WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.080 Amen. So, this morning, we're thinking about this idea that we introduced a couple of weeks ago 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:15.179 of living life backwards. The idea that when we have a future goal or a future destination, 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:22.940 it gives motivation, it gives direction for today. By way of illustration, many years ago, 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:28.199 myself and a friend went inter-railing. In the days before, mobile phones are really much 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:33.280 of the way of internet technology. We had a friend who was working in Munich for a summer, 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:42.259 and so we set off knowing that in five days, we had arranged a time mid-Saturday afternoon to meet 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:49.340 on this particular street in Munich. And so, we spent five days of poring over train timetables, 00:00:49.859 --> 00:00:55.939 zigzagging our way through Central Europe, planning our routes, at every stage thinking about that 00:00:55.939 --> 00:01:04.939 final destination, every decision influenced by meeting our friend on Saturday afternoon. 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:12.299 The purpose of Revelation 8 to 11, and we didn't read it all. If you have time, you can read it at 00:01:12.299 --> 00:01:22.640 your leisure, is to remind us of the great end goal of history, God's end goal. Chapter 11, verse 15, 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:30.480 when the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah, and he will reign forever 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:40.980 and ever. We are reminded of the reality of eternal judgment and of eternal reward. And knowing this to 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:47.879 be true, it would direct our lives today that we would live life backwards so that either if we're 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:50.879 Christians, we would keep following the path of Christians, we would keep following the path of Jesus, 00:01:52.019 --> 00:01:55.819 or if you're here today and you're not a Christian, that you would change direction, you would repent 00:01:55.819 --> 00:02:02.000 and believe so that you would be walking in the way of Jesus. That together we'd all live life backwards, 00:02:02.539 --> 00:02:09.259 seeing clearly where history is heading, seeing where we are heading, so that we would trust King Jesus 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:18.780 and his path for our lives. Okay, so we've got a lot to cover, and we'll try and do it briefly, and I hope 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:24.579 with God's help clearly. Here's the first thing I want us to see. We are to live life backwards 00:02:24.579 --> 00:02:34.079 because of eternity. So we're going to begin at the end of our reading, and we start there on purpose, 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:42.880 because here we see Jesus presenting again eternal hope for his suffering church, first century church 00:02:42.880 --> 00:02:50.240 struggling badly, 21st century church we often feel the same. Think about what we are presented with here. 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:57.540 In verse 15, when the announcement comes, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:05.739 and his Messiah. We're being told, here is the end of struggle and the beginning of the final, 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:12.739 eternal kingdom of God. What's happening in the world today, it's the testimony of the Bible, 00:03:12.859 --> 00:03:21.340 it's the experience of our lives, is that we live through spiritual battle. We see growing hostility 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:29.719 to Christianity, and there is difficulty all around. But in the end, according to God's great plan, 00:03:30.140 --> 00:03:35.780 there is the rule of God, there is the glory of God that spreads through all the world, 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:42.300 and so all those in heaven are praising God. So it's the end of struggle and the beginning of the final 00:03:42.300 --> 00:03:51.319 reign. Verse 17, we're reminded of the end of history and the beginning of eternity. 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:58.980 I don't know if you noticed as we were reading the title given to God, we give thanks to you, 00:03:59.060 --> 00:04:10.379 Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was. Right at the beginning of the book of Revelation, 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:17.340 we're given the title, but it's different. Revelation 1 verse 4, 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:26.419 grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come. Verse 8, 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:39.039 I am the Alpha and the Omega who is and who was and who is to come. Why is there no more the God who is 00:04:39.039 --> 00:04:46.779 to come? Because this is anticipating the day when future hope, our future hope, then becomes present 00:04:46.779 --> 00:04:54.779 reality. When there's nothing more of God's plan to be revealed, when there's God in his glory is with 00:04:54.779 --> 00:05:02.799 his people. When he has, according to verse 17, he's taken his great power. When he has once and for all 00:05:02.799 --> 00:05:09.339 defeated evil and all the forces of darkness, and he has begun to reign. When he answers our prayer, 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:17.560 your kingdom come. So, it's the end of history and the beginning of eternity. And it's also the end of 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:28.319 waiting and the beginning of eternal reward. Just to hear the promised hope for God's people in this 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:38.899 announcement in verse 18, it says, the time has come for rewarding your servants. Remember that hope 00:05:38.899 --> 00:05:46.319 that Jesus presents in one of his parables to those who are faithful in following, that there will be 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:55.039 that great welcome, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter your master's happiness. Here we have it in a 00:05:55.040 --> 00:06:01.900 different form in the book of Revelation. And then in verse 19, you get this image of God's temple in 00:06:01.900 --> 00:06:07.800 heaven being opened, and there's the ark of his covenant. And remember, the temple and the ark, 00:06:08.320 --> 00:06:15.340 they're a symbol to us of God being present with his people. Of God being present with his people 00:06:15.340 --> 00:06:23.120 to bless his people by being with us. And there is a day coming, the Bible is saying here, 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:31.379 when our waiting and our longing is over, and the people of God take full possession of our eternal 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:45.060 reward. And so, Jesus' vision here, it connects our future home with our future hope in a really 00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:49.220 wonderful way. God and his people together forever comes up so often in Revelation. 00:06:49.220 --> 00:06:57.120 Again, I had a friend who, a number of years ago, ran a marathon that was very mountainous, 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:03.280 very arduous, up in the west coast, in the Highlands. And he said the last few miles, what kept him going 00:07:03.280 --> 00:07:11.580 was thinking about a nice warm shower and a seat by the fire, and for his mom to cook him a really nice 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:20.539 big meal. He was kept going because of the hope and the promise of home. And that's the way God designs 00:07:20.539 --> 00:07:30.680 our faith to operate. That the hope for God's people of an eternal homecoming is to fuel our Christian hope 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:40.120 today. That the promise that God and the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over this earth, and this earth 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:48.079 will be renewed. That heaven will come down to earth. That we look forward to seeing the face of Jesus. 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:56.600 That our hope is not vague, but it's tied to the person of our Savior. That it's not vague, but it's tied to our 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:06.780 true home. It's the great promise. So that in light of our future goal, our home, believers are to live 00:08:06.780 --> 00:08:16.160 with faith and perseverance today, knowing our true citizenship is in heaven, and we wait for a returning 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:24.840 Savior, for when our hope will become sight. And Jesus' vision here at the end of this section does 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:32.259 another thing for us. It also makes absolutely clear that Christ's victory is connected with the church's 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:40.779 victory. The victory of Jesus is ours. Revelation, we've seen it and will continue to see it, is full 00:08:40.779 --> 00:08:46.500 of the reality of Christian suffering. It was really hard to be a follower of Jesus in the first century. 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:50.559 People were getting thrown in prison. People were getting killed for their faith. 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:59.599 People were rejecting Jesus and rejecting the people of Jesus. And that's still the story around 00:08:59.599 --> 00:09:06.459 the world. This week, in Parliament, Open Doors were delivering their annual report to the government 00:09:06.459 --> 00:09:12.299 about the 50 places in the world where it's hardest to be a Christian, where there is intense persecution. 00:09:12.479 --> 00:09:19.539 The world watch list that comes out every year. There are many people today joining in the prayer 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:27.159 of the saints of Revelation. How long, O Lord, till we see justice for all that we have suffered. 00:09:28.299 --> 00:09:36.519 Christians today are still victimized and marginalized and wronged as the world does its worst in its 00:09:36.519 --> 00:09:45.480 opposition to God and His people. But there is hope. There is reason to press on in faith 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:56.200 because of the victory of Jesus. Notice the contrast in verse 18. The nations were angry. This is the reality. 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:04.500 People act in fierce opposition to God. But it says, your wrath, God's wrath, has come. 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:14.940 There is a justice that will come. And because that justice will be done, peace will reign. 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:23.500 For the people of God, there will one day be a freedom from all that is sinful and all that is awful. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:32.039 For us to enjoy our eternal reward and our eternal home, our God must deal with everything that threatens 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:39.419 and opposes and opposes. And that will come on the day Christ returns as King and Judge. 00:10:40.199 --> 00:10:47.939 And so we're invited to live life backwards in light of the certainty of eternity. 00:10:49.719 --> 00:10:55.480 The second thing that we need to see is that we are invited in this section to live life 00:10:55.480 --> 00:11:01.659 backwards in order to check the path that we find ourselves on. 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:06.360 This is chapters 8 and 9. 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:12.220 Kind of takes us to the two ways to live idea. Have you ever had this experience on a journey? 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:17.259 I imagine I'm not on my own. You find yourself heading to somewhere you're not exactly sure where 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:21.980 you're going. And so you set off, you have to pick a road, you start off on that road, 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:26.920 and after a while you think, I'm pretty sure I'm not heading in the right direction. I'm pretty sure 00:11:26.920 --> 00:11:32.300 this is not going to take me to where I want to go. But I'm just going to keep going anyway. 00:11:32.920 --> 00:11:37.539 Because that seems easier than turning and changing direction. And maybe you don't have a map. 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:46.060 And maybe you just like to persevere and blind optimism. Now that's okay if you're heading on a 00:11:46.060 --> 00:11:49.980 holiday destination or if you're traveling around the city. It's an inconvenience, 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:54.960 sometimes a major inconvenience. But the Bible would say and Jesus would say to us, 00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:03.139 it's not okay when we think about our eternal destination. Chapters 8 and 9, we've heard some 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:12.300 of the imagery. It contains vivid, honestly terrifying images. And they come to us from Jesus to help us to 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:21.659 think. What is the future destination that I want? And what is the path that I am on right now? 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:30.399 Where is my life leading? The clear focus in the book of Revelation is to say to us, 00:12:30.439 --> 00:12:37.339 Christ Jesus came once. He came to this earth in all humility. He came to die on the cross. He came to 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:42.780 establish the kingdom of God through His death and resurrection. But this Jesus will come again 00:12:42.780 --> 00:12:49.980 in glory to finally and forever set up His eternal kingdom to bring both eternal judgment and salvation. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:13:01.139 For some people, the return of Jesus will be a cause of eternal joy. We'll join the song of the angels. 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:08.319 But others will join in that awful cry of Revelation 6, asking the mountains and the hills, 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:17.819 fall on us so that we can escape the wrath of God. Jesus in the gospel says there's two ways to live. 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:28.879 We can either accept Him or we can reject Him. We heard Him talk about the narrow way that leads to life 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:36.820 and the broad way that leads to destruction. The Jesus who spoke those words is the same Jesus who 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:46.860 gave us this vision. Jesus who so many admire as the most loving person who ever lived is the Jesus who 00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:56.440 used very graphic language to speak to us of the realities of judgment and of hell, of weeping and 00:13:56.440 --> 00:14:11.260 gnashing and utter darkness and eternal fire. Why? Well, we hear in Revelation 8 and 9, six trumpet blasts of judgment. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:19.760 Visions and symbols that sound a loving warning from King Jesus. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:30.500 An opportunity for us to recognize that judgment will come and it will be terrible. 00:14:31.700 --> 00:14:37.100 So that we might decide if we're not followers of Jesus to perform a spiritual U-turn 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:47.559 in order to trust Him as Savior. So we heard the first four trumpets that speak to us graphically 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:54.819 of judgment that will come on those who reject God. And we know it's about those who reject God because 00:14:54.819 --> 00:15:00.879 the vision draws on the language of the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus has these plagues that fall 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:08.079 on the land of Egypt that's held Israel, God's people, as slaves. It's a judgment that comes on Pharaoh 00:15:08.079 --> 00:15:14.199 because Pharaoh was strutting around saying, I'm God, I'm a son of the God. I don't need to listen to the 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:18.180 Lord God. So he rejected God and His Word and His messengers and His people. 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:25.860 It was a judgment on the false gods of Egypt, showing they were powerless to save. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:32.180 And the book of Exodus was full of judgment also on those who refused to turn to the one true and 00:15:32.180 --> 00:15:36.680 living God. One of the amazing things in the book of Exodus is that some of the Egyptians become part of 00:15:36.680 --> 00:15:40.879 the people of God because they see how powerful and how good God is. Others didn't. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:47.639 And so the book of Revelation draws from the judgments of the book of Exodus, 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:55.519 but helps us to see that it's even more intense. So you get, for example, in verse 7, you know, 00:15:55.580 --> 00:16:00.600 there's a plague in Exodus or the plague of hail, but now it's hail and it's fire and it's mixed with 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:09.580 blood. In verse 8, we hear about the ocean, a third of an ocean turning to blood. In the book of Exodus, 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:15.780 it was the river Nile that turned to the blood. Judgment is becoming more intense and it's inviting us to 00:16:15.780 --> 00:16:29.860 see God alone rules, God alone judges, and to reject Jesus as Lord and as King is to be walking on a path 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:40.680 that leads to disaster. God is on His throne. The whole earth belongs to God so that to run to Him 00:16:40.680 --> 00:16:45.740 is to run to the one who gives life and who is life, but to run from Him 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:53.360 is ultimately to know darkness and destruction and death. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:17:01.019 We also heard in verse 13 of chapter 8, an eagle giving a warning that worse was still to come, 00:17:01.680 --> 00:17:11.500 and the trumpet blasts 5 and 6 announce a judgment where death and destruction are unleashed, 00:17:12.120 --> 00:17:18.640 and where we are presented with creatures from our very worst nightmares, 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:28.380 making the creatures from, you know, fantasy novels or movies like Lord of the Rings seem tame by comparison. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:42.420 Trumpet 5, as an example, has these creatures coming up from the abyss, coming from the very pit of hell, 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:50.259 and in verse 3 it says, out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:56.620 like that of scorpions of the earth. So, there are these creatures that are like locusts and that they 00:17:56.620 --> 00:18:02.519 bring destruction, but they're like scorpions. We're told they get scorpions' tails, so they bring agony 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:09.320 and torture. In verse 7 we discover the locusts look like horses prepared for battle, 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:17.200 so they're about to come on an attacking charge. They got teeth like lions, they're fierce, 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:23.359 they're iron-plated, there's no defense against them, and we're told in verse 11 their king 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:33.960 goes by the name of the destroyer. These are awful creatures bringing awful, terrible judgment. 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:41.440 And then in trumpet 6 we meet a great cavalry 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:53.559 of horses and riders sent out to bring death and destruction. Verse 16, the number of the mounted 00:18:53.559 --> 00:19:00.940 troops was twice 10,000 times 10,000. That's symbolic language, but if we do the math, I think it's 20 00:19:00.940 --> 00:19:08.420 million. The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this. Their breastplates were fiery 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:13.980 red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:21.740 and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur. And as if that wasn't terrifying enough, 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:30.700 the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails were like snakes. 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:37.200 Having heads with which they inflict injury. So you've got horses that are like lions that are 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:41.720 breathing fire, which have got tails, which are like snakes, which are stinging poison. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:54.039 Here is the devil. Here is evil doing its destructive work. Of course, this is symbol and its image, 00:19:54.039 --> 00:20:00.180 but its symbol and image pointing to true and terrible reality. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:12.180 Telling us something we already know, that evil is terrible. The pages of history littered with terrible, 00:20:12.639 --> 00:20:19.099 horrible things. But we also know something of evil within our own hearts, 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:28.519 and we know the terrible pain that we can cause to others. Evil is terrible whenever we turn on the 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:33.039 news or we check out our media. We see it everywhere across the globe and in our own country. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:42.639 Evil is terrible when we meet it up close and personal. And as we recognize how terrible and evil 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:52.860 sin and destruction is, we find within our hearts that desire, that need for justice. If there is to be 00:20:52.860 --> 00:21:03.759 hope, there must be justice. Evil is terrible. We're also reminded in these two chapters that sin 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:11.940 is terrible. There's this awful, shocking, sad thing at the end of chapter 9, verse 20. 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:21.839 The rest of mankind, these are the ones who don't belong to Jesus, who were not killed by these plagues, 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:31.740 still did not repent of the work of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols, 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:37.160 nor did they repent of their murder, magic arts, sexual immorality or theft. 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:53.460 Sin is addictive. And here we find people keep on worshiping what is literally what will actually 00:21:53.460 --> 00:22:00.559 kill them. Some of us, we know the power of addiction all too well. 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:07.900 We're presented with this awful reality that the true God, the glorious God, 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:17.620 the God who is awesome, is rejected. The relationship with Him is broken, that instead, 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:27.700 idols continue to be chosen. Immorality continues to be chosen as people reject the loving warning. 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:35.440 The section reminds us also that judgment is terrible. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:44.820 And remember that these awful images, terrible pictures are pictures given to us by Jesus. 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:54.860 And these visions line up with what we learn in the Gospels. And it explains why Jesus came, 00:22:55.180 --> 00:23:04.620 that Jesus came on a loving rescue mission. Jesus came to save us from judgment. 00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:12.939 To save sinners from hell by dying on the cross in our place for our sins, so that by faith, 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:14.939 we might have heaven. 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:24.019 And as we encounter something of the horror of God's judgment, we remember too in the Gospel 00:23:24.019 --> 00:23:29.879 that Jesus will take the horror of God's judgment that Jesus will take the horror of God's judgment onto Himself. 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:39.059 Jesus will resolutely, with faith and obedience, face the horrors of the cross, 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:48.500 bearing sin, entering into profound darkness, experiencing God's wrath, so that you and I, 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:57.319 simply by trusting in Jesus and turning from sin, we would never have to. 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:07.599 As we pause for a moment to reflect, maybe today, as you think about the way your life is going, 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:13.200 you know, I'm on the wrong path. I'm far away from God. I haven't come to Jesus for forgiveness. 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:19.079 Maybe right now your spiritual sat-nav is going off telling you it's time to perform 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:22.519 that U-turn. How do we do that? 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.500 Well, we first have to hear the warning. We have to hear the reality. Remember, 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:35.960 Jesus isn't trying to give us nightmares. He's not trying to frighten us. He is, though, 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:42.519 confronting us with future reality to make us respond today with a sense of urgency, 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:48.039 urgency, so that we would recognize how awful our sin is, that we'd want to leave it behind, 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:53.299 to ask Jesus to forgive us, that we would trust Him, that our whole direction of life would be 00:24:53.299 --> 00:25:01.440 different, that we would hear the wonderful promise that there is in Jesus. So, within these judgment 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:09.359 sections, there's also promise. So, in chapter 9 and verse 4, these awful creatures that come from the 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:14.500 pit. In verse 4 of chapter 9, they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, 00:25:14.979 --> 00:25:20.799 but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Or to put it the other way, 00:25:21.439 --> 00:25:33.619 those who are sealed by God are saved. Those who belong to God will not experience judgment from God. 00:25:33.619 --> 00:25:42.779 To trust in Jesus today is to be safe for all eternity. 00:25:45.399 --> 00:25:54.339 We discovered that some refuse to change their ways. But then at the end of chapter 11, verse 13, 00:25:54.519 --> 00:26:01.279 in the midst of another awful scene of judgment, let me read 11, 13. At that very hour, there was a 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:06.859 severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake, 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:16.879 and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. To give glory to the God of 00:26:16.879 --> 00:26:22.879 heaven means that these people have seen the reality of judgment, and they've turned from their sin, 00:26:22.940 --> 00:26:26.720 they've put their trust in Jesus, they believe, and they're now worshiping. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:37.960 And so there is this reminder, it is never too late to turn and to give glory to God, 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:45.960 that today can be a day of salvation for anybody who turns to trust to believe. 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:56.160 that you and I, by faith in Jesus, we can have this promise that is offered, the promise of an eternal 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:02.220 home, a world of perfect love and peace and joy and happiness and glory that lasts forever. 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:11.420 So we must live life backwards, to think about our destination, to check which path that we are on. 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:18.960 Now for many of us here today, of course, we're Christians. And we understand that following that 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:26.279 narrow road, that does include suffering, and it does include setback, and it does include struggle, 00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:31.960 just like the church of John's day was experiencing. Maybe sometimes we find ourselves asking, 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:39.420 how is it that life has got harder now that I'm following Jesus? And our need 00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:49.019 is also to live life backwards, to keep our eternal destination in view. To remind ourselves, 00:27:49.019 --> 00:27:58.620 with chapter 11, verse 18, that there is a day coming for awarding the servants of God, 00:27:58.860 --> 00:28:05.680 the prophets, and your people who revere your name, both great and small. There's a wonderful promise 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:13.380 in there, isn't there, that all of God's people share in God's reward. Those prophets who spoke for God, 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:23.120 who wrote down bits of the Bible, the greats, but also the small, share the same reward. Eternal life 00:28:23.120 --> 00:28:30.320 in God's kingdom of joy for those who write the books that we read and appreciate, but also 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:40.159 for those small Christians who serve as good neighbors, for the famous preachers who influence many, 00:28:40.159 --> 00:28:46.659 and for the faithful Christian parents who witness and influence their children, 00:28:47.659 --> 00:28:55.240 for those who lead great prayer movements, and those Christians who join week by week the tiny 00:28:55.240 --> 00:29:02.259 prayer meeting. There is reward for great, for small, for all in Jesus. 00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:09.799 And that leads us briefly to the one last thing to say, and this is especially for those of us who 00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:18.720 belong to Jesus. Thirdly, we live life backwards to motivate our mission. Just to go back to my 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:25.279 old school interrail journey in the days before the internet when life got much easier. We had to plot 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:32.500 and plan. Sometimes that journey, we ended up with discomfort. In northern Germany, I remember sleeping 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:40.160 in effectively a plastic tube in a farmer's field. That was all we could find. Sometimes we had to switch 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:50.000 roots, but always, always, always, always with that goal in mind. That weekend in Munich with our friends. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:59.440 And it was worth all the discomfort. In Revelation chapter 8 to 11, we have this wonderful future goal 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:09.200 promise. The eternal kingdom of God. When he will rule with absolute power and perfect love. When his glory 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:17.960 will fully and finally fill the whole earth. When all that is sad and evil is gone forever. When the Lord 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:27.200 Jesus lives with his people. It's a beautiful kingdom vision. It's not the last time we'll hear it. To inspire 00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:36.559 us, to encourage us, to mobilize us for life today until Christ returns. 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:49.200 Let me leave us with three actions that we find in our text. Action one, the church is called to pray. 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:58.240 At the start of chapter 8, just before the seventh seal is opened, there's that silence in heaven for about half an hour. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:01.200 It's this great scene of hush. 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:10.420 It's as heaven itself is on its tiptoes, waiting to see how God's plans will continue to unfold on the earth. 00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:19.779 And remarkably, part of the way that God is going to work out his plan is in response to the prayers of his people. 00:31:20.580 --> 00:31:26.100 That he includes the prayers of the church in his purposes. 00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:32.579 That's why we're told in verse 3 about this angel who had the golden center who stood at the altar, 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:37.139 and he was given much incense with the prayers of all God's people, 00:31:37.139 --> 00:31:41.459 and the smoke of the incense together with the prayers of God's people goes up to God, 00:31:41.699 --> 00:31:43.859 and then the judgment is announced. 00:31:45.219 --> 00:31:48.740 We heard in chapter 6 God's people praying how long? 00:31:48.740 --> 00:31:51.700 Well, here's the answer to their prayer. 00:31:53.140 --> 00:32:01.140 So we pray as a church, because prayer is one of God's ways to achieve his kingdom purposes. 00:32:02.579 --> 00:32:04.019 So we pray the Lord's Prayer. 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:08.099 Your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:10.819 We pray that as longing. 00:32:11.940 --> 00:32:13.299 Come, Lord Jesus. 00:32:14.420 --> 00:32:18.180 But we also pray it as mission. 00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:22.180 On our knees for others. 00:32:23.700 --> 00:32:28.180 Looking to invite people to discover Jesus for themselves. 00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:32.500 Praying for opportunities to share our faith. 00:32:34.099 --> 00:32:35.019 So we pray. 00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:40.500 Second action is that we witness. 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:47.559 So chapters 10 and 11 up to verse 14 are two scenes about witnessing. 00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:54.759 Very briefly in chapter 10, we find John is commissioned by an angel to take this scroll, 00:32:54.759 --> 00:33:00.119 this scroll that again continues to reveal God's plan, and he has to eat the scroll. 00:33:01.399 --> 00:33:04.359 And the scroll, these words are bittersweet. 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:09.079 There is a bitterness because it's a sad thing. 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:13.480 To recognize the reality of God's judgment. 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:20.519 To recognize that as much as God's people call people to trust in Jesus, some people will say no. 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:24.119 That's a bitter and a hard thing. 00:33:25.720 --> 00:33:31.400 But there's a sweetness to this message because the sweetness of John's message is a message of Christ's victory. 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:38.360 And of the certainty of God's kingdom and end time salvation. 00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:44.679 And then in chapter 11, so that scene kind of takes some of its cues from Ezekiel. 00:33:44.919 --> 00:33:48.599 Chapter 11, we meet two witnesses from the book of Zechariah. 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:53.079 And these witnesses, they face desperate persecution. 00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:58.500 And the world thinks that they've killed the witnesses of God. 00:33:58.619 --> 00:33:59.979 And there's great rejoicing. 00:34:00.099 --> 00:34:03.259 We've got rid of witness for God on the earth. 00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:08.719 But, in verse 11, these witnesses that seem to have been killed, 00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:13.900 after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. 00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:18.179 And then in verse 12, they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 00:34:18.260 --> 00:34:20.139 Come up here. 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:26.820 The witness of God's people, yes, it faces opposition and hostility, 00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:29.820 but it will never be extinguished. 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:34.660 And those witnesses will one day be called home to eternal glory. 00:34:35.080 --> 00:34:38.400 But until then, we bear witness to Jesus. 00:34:40.160 --> 00:34:45.460 Christians' witness in the context of warfare has never, 00:34:45.539 --> 00:34:47.880 and it will never be easy to stand for Jesus. 00:34:48.019 --> 00:34:49.600 The cost is always high. 00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:55.380 Christian witness is, at the same time, worship. 00:34:55.380 --> 00:35:04.300 It's our privilege, and it's our joy to testify to the glory of God and Christ and His salvation, 00:35:04.300 --> 00:35:09.559 and to remind ourselves that Christian witness is worth it. 00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:14.680 Beyond those struggles that we have, beyond those difficulties that we have, 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:15.900 there is joy. 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:18.500 And we know it. 00:35:18.780 --> 00:35:22.079 You know that joy that we have whenever we see someone come to faith, 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:25.619 because we witness and the church witness, there's joy beyond struggle. 00:35:25.619 --> 00:35:31.340 And in a much greater way, there's the future eternal joy of being with the Savior 00:35:31.340 --> 00:35:34.039 that we've borne witness to when our faith becomes sign. 00:35:35.079 --> 00:35:40.960 So we pray, and we witness, and finally we wait with hope. 00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:47.019 Because there is a day coming when that final trumpet will sound, 00:35:47.019 --> 00:35:53.440 when the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, 00:35:53.880 --> 00:35:59.599 when the people of God will wake up to a reality beyond our wildest imagination, 00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:08.619 a reality that will make every tear, every trial, every trouble absolutely worth it. 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:15.659 And so we live life backwards, careful about the path that we are traveling on. 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:17.500 Am I following the narrow way today? 00:36:18.380 --> 00:36:21.339 Am I keeping Christ the King and His victory in focus? 00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:29.980 And we do so praying with hope, witnessing with urgency, and waiting with expectation. 00:36:29.980 --> 00:36:32.240 Let's pray together. 00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:43.400 Father God, we thank you that while sometimes your word is hard, hard to understand, hard for us to hear, 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:52.780 we thank you that it's also true, and we thank you that it's always shot through with wonderful hope of salvation. 00:36:52.780 --> 00:37:01.080 We pray that you would cause each one of us to have our hope fixed on Jesus today. 00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:06.780 That our home, our true home, would be eternity in heaven, 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:11.840 and that that final destination would set our course today. 00:37:12.700 --> 00:37:18.000 For those of us who are your people, make us a praying people, and a witnessing people, 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:25.659 and help us to wait with hope, praying your kingdom come, and your will be done. 00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:29.860 For Jesus' name's sake we pray. Amen. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:38.920 Now let's finish with a great hymn that reminds us of the feast.