Thanks, Rob.
So let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation 22, the very, very end, the last few verses
of Revelation and indeed all of Scripture.
Before we read, just a couple of extra things to say.
Yes, the carol service tonight at 5.30, so look forward to having everybody along to that.
If you're wanting to know how can I help, well, come early.
Imagine if you're a visitor and you've never been here before and you're the first person
to arrive because all the locals arrive at 25.2 or something like that.
So come early, take your seats and be ready to welcome those who come.
The other thing is the Thanksgiving service tomorrow for Mrs. Beamish, which will be out
in Westside in Bandon.
If anybody is going to that, I'll be taking the service.
If anybody's going, if they'd let me know, we're just looking for another person to help
with stewarding and welcoming people.
So just speak to me afterwards about that.
Well, let's turn to God's Word.
Revelation 22, verse 6, to the end.
Let's hear what God has to say to us today.
Remember, John the disciple is writing.
The angel said to me,
These words are trustworthy and true.
The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets,
sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.
Look, I am coming soon.
Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.
And when I heard and seen them,
I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.
But he said to me,
Don't do that.
I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets
and with all who keep the words of the scroll.
Worship God.
Then he told me,
Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll
because the time is near.
Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong.
Let the vile person continue to be vile.
Let the one who does right continue to do right.
And let the holy person continue to be holy.
Look, I am coming soon.
My reward is with me and I will give to each person according to what they have 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
that they may have the right to the tree of life
and may go through the gates into the city.
Outside are the dogs,
those who practice magic arts,
the sexually immoral,
the murderers,
the idolaters,
and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David,
the bright morning star.
The spirit and the bride say,
come.
And let the one who hears say,
come.
Let the one who is thirsty,
come.
And let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll.
If anyone adds anything to them,
God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.
And if anyone takes away any from this scroll,
God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life
and in the holy city,
which are described in this scroll.
He who testifies to these things says,
yes,
I am coming soon.
Amen.
Come,
Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.
Amen.
Well, let's pray.
Our Father God,
we echo these words.
Come,
Lord Jesus.
Come,
by the power of your Holy Spirit,
so that we may have eyes and ears
to see and hear
the amazing truth of your word
and what you are speaking to the churches
in this time and this generation,
what you are speaking to us
today.
Help us to hear
and help us to live our life
in response to you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, are you ready?
As we thought about at the beginning of our service,
are you prepared?
Well, if you're not,
you'd better get a move on
because Christmas is only seven days away.
A date has been set.
Yes.
Everybody knows
the 25th of December
is Christmas Day.
Leave it a day late
and it's too late.
So in preparation,
we've all been busy.
Decorations up.
The tree is there.
Plans for dinner.
Got the presents.
You visit friends.
You send the cards.
Because having the date
keeps our minds very focused.
Leave it a day late,
the 26th,
and it's too late.
Well, Christmas is not the only day
that is coming.
There is another day.
We don't know the date of this day,
but we can be absolutely sure it's coming.
Did you see the promise in our text?
Look at verse 7.
Jesus says,
Look, I am coming soon.
And in case we missed it,
verse 12,
Look, I am coming soon.
And again, verse 20,
Jesus, who testifies to these things,
says,
Yes, I am coming soon.
You better believe it.
So we must be ready.
We must be prepared.
Leave it a day late,
and it's too late.
Of course, if we've been following along
in our studies in Revelation,
this will come as no surprise whatsoever.
Look back at verse 6.
The angel said to John,
This is the angel who'd been giving him the visions.
The visions had come from God
to the angel to John.
The angel said to me,
These words are trustworthy and true.
Well, what words?
What words is he talking about?
Well, all the words that we've been reading
through Revelation.
The book of Revelation is trustworthy and true.
You can believe every word,
and you can depend on every word.
Because these words tell us
what we are to expect.
Look at the rest of verse 6.
The Lord,
the God who inspires the prophets,
that is,
the God who gives words to the prophets,
sent his angel to show his servants
the things that must soon take place.
What must soon take place
is what's happening between the resurrection of Jesus
and the return of Jesus.
And the climax of what must soon take place
is and will be the coming of Jesus again.
This is where all of history is heading.
It's heading to that day
when Jesus will return.
Every day is a step closer
to Christ's coming.
But how do we know?
How can we be absolutely sure
that Jesus is coming?
How do we know these aren't just made up words?
Well, we know that Jesus came once.
Two thousand years ago.
That's what we celebrate at Christmas.
Just as the prophets foretold.
So look at this from Matthew's Gospel.
It was talking about the birth of Jesus.
And the writer Matthew says this,
All this, the coming of Jesus,
all this took place to fulfil
what the Lord had said through the prophets.
And he quotes from Isaiah,
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
which means God is with us.
God had spoken in the past
about the coming of Jesus.
Jesus came and now God speaks again
through his servant John,
who is telling us that in the future,
Jesus will come again.
Just as the first promise is true,
so the second promise is true.
So we can trust God's words.
They are trustworthy.
You can build your life on them.
What he says we can depend on.
So are you ready?
Leave it a day late and it's too late.
Well through our text,
we're going to see that there are three ways
we can be prepared.
This is how we are to live our lives
as we wait for the return of Jesus.
Three things.
Keep the words of Jesus.
Obey the words of Jesus.
And heed the words of Jesus.
So keep, obey and heed.
So the first one.
We are blessed by keeping the words of Jesus.
Look at verse 7.
Look, I am coming soon.
Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy
written in this scroll.
He's given us his word.
And rather than ignore revelation,
we're to keep it.
And keeping the words of Jesus
are going to mean at least two things.
First, it's going to mean that we meditate
on them continually.
Now verse 7 is reflective
of chapter 1 verse 3.
Go back to chapter 1 verse 3.
It's really a repeat of what we were told
at the very beginning of Revelation.
Revelation chapter 1 verse 3.
And this will help us to understand
what it means to meditate.
So verse 3.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud
the words of this prophecy.
Blessed are those who hear it.
And take to heart what is written in it
because the time is near.
Because Jesus is coming soon.
So to keep the word of Jesus
means that we're to read it.
We're to hear it.
We're to learn it.
But not in a mechanical way.
We are, look at verse 3,
to take it to heart.
That means we're to reflect on it.
We're to think deeply
about the words of Revelation.
We're to study it.
We're to meditate on it.
Not just once,
but continually.
Let's go back to chapter 22.
Chapter 22 verse 10.
We're to meditate on it.
Not just once,
but continually.
Look at verse 10.
Then he said to me,
do not seal up the words
of the prophecy of this scroll
because the time is near.
But you might think,
well, this is the last sermon.
This is Revelation done.
Tick box.
I don't have to read it again.
No.
Now that you've read it,
don't seal it up.
Don't staple the pages
of Revelation together.
You've read it.
You've heard its message.
Don't ignore it.
But keep on reading it.
Meditate on the words
of Revelation continually.
Now this helps explain
the strange words
that we read in verse 11.
Let the one who does wrong
continue to do wrong.
Let the vile person
continue to be vile.
But let the one who does right
continue to do right.
And let the holy person
continue to do holy things.
You see, it's pushing us
to make a choice.
What are we going to do
now that we've gone
through Revelation?
There's no middle ground.
We either shut it up
and close it up
and we live our own way
or we keep it open
and we keep on reading it
and live God's way.
So what's our response
going to be?
Meditate on it continually.
Now second,
to keep God's word
is not just to meditate
but it's to worship God.
You see,
when John received
these visions,
we're told in verse 8
that he went to
worship the angel.
But,
verse 9,
the angel said to me,
don't do that.
Stop.
I'm a fellow servant
with you
and with your fellow prophets
and with all who keep
the words of this scroll.
Worship God.
You see,
the words that we are reading
and learning,
the words of Revelation
that we are taking to heart,
lead us
to worship God.
In other words,
to keep the words of Jesus
means
that we respond
in thanks
and praise.
As we take in
God's word,
we see his sovereignty
over suffering
and opposition.
We see his victory
over Satan and evil.
We see the glory
of the new creation
to come.
His words
lead us
to trust
and depend
on him
who knows all things
and rules all things.
And in response,
we worship
God.
We worship
God.
Now,
if we keep
his words,
if we're meditating
on them,
if we're worshipping
God,
there's going to be
a blessing.
Look at verse 7.
Look,
I am coming soon.
Blessed
is the one
who keeps
the words.
To be blessed
blessed
is to know and experience
God's
favour
in your life.
In other words,
revelation
isn't to be used
to speculate
about the future.
It's to
bless us.
Yeah,
we find parts
of it difficult,
but the main
things
are always
the plain
things,
and the plain
things are always
the main
things.
We can all
read that
and get
that message.
And if we
keep these
words,
they are going
to encourage
you to keep
on going.
Read these
words and they
will strengthen
you in times
of hardship.
Read these
words and they
will keep
you as you
face opposition.
So first,
let's
together
keep the
words
of Jesus
and you
will be
blessed.
Keep the
words of
Jesus
and you
will be
prepared
for the
coming of
Jesus.
So,
first one is
obey the
words.
Second,
sorry,
keep the
words.
Second,
we're to
obey the
words.
We know
life if we
obey the
words of
Jesus.
Look with
me at
verse 12.
Again,
look,
I am
coming soon.
My reward
is with
me and
I will
give to
each person
according to
what they
have done.
You see,
how we
live today
is really
important.
as we
wait for
the
coming of
Jesus,
it really
matters
because he
will reward
us according
to what we
have done.
And we
don't need
to be
concerned that
it's going
to be
unfair or
unjust.
Look who
holds us
to account.
Verse 13.
Jesus
says,
I am the
Alpha and
the Omega,
the first
and the
last,
the beginning
and the
end.
I see
your life
from your
first breath
to your
last breath,
from your
birthday
to your
death day.
I see
all,
I know
all,
the private
things,
the public
things,
and I
will give
to each
person
according to
what they
have done.
So how
am I
going to
be ready?
And what
kind of
reward am
I going
to receive?
Well,
to be
ready we
need to
obey.
We need
to obey
the words
of Jesus.
And that
will mean
two things.
First,
it will
mean that
we obey
the call
for cleansing
or obey
the command
for cleansing.
Look at
verse 14.
Blessed
are those
who wash
their robes
that they
may have
the right
to the
tree of
life
and may
go through
the gates
into the
city.
Look,
if we're
unclean,
we can't
enter God's
city.
If we're
impure,
we'll not
come to
the new
creation.
Because sin
stains and
spoils,
it leaves
us dirty,
filthy,
unacceptable
to God.
Like the
workman,
we mentioned
this before
in Revelation,
who's been
clearing the
sewage pipes
all day
and then
tries to
gain access
to a fine
dining restaurant.
No way,
you're not
coming in.
clean.
So Jesus
says, if
you're not
clean,
then,
verse 15,
outside are
the dogs,
meaning the
dogs are
those who
roll about
in their
own filth,
they don't
care.
Those who
practice
magic arts,
the sexually
immoral,
not just the
person who
has an
affair,
but the
one who
looks and
lingers
too long,
the murderers,
not just
those who
actually kill,
but those
who have
hate in
their hearts,
the idolaters,
anyone who
puts anything
or any
person before
God,
and everyone
who loves
and practices
falsehood.
have you
ever loved
the sin
you've been
involved in?
You see,
verse 15
is challenging
because,
well, I see
myself in
verse 15.
Can you see
yourself there?
we won't
be allowed
access into
the city.
This will
be our
reward.
This is
what we
will deserve.
But if
we obey
the command
of Jesus
in verse
14,
to wash
our robes,
well,
then we
will be
given
entry.
Now,
this isn't
a physical
washing,
but a
spiritual
washing.
It's not
about taking
off our
clothes and
sticking them
in the
washing machine
and giving
them a
good old
clean.
It's about
an internal
cleaning of
our hearts.
It's coming
to Jesus
and trusting
him that
when Jesus
took my
sin,
Jesus
became
unclean
for me.
And in
his place,
we receive
the cleanliness,
the purity
of Jesus.
He takes
my uncleanness
and by
faith,
I receive
his
cleanness.
What I
deserve,
the rewards
that I
should get,
Jesus
takes.
And the
rewards that
Jesus deserves,
I now
receive by
faith.
I am
made
clean.
Like the
sewage worker
who goes
home,
has his
shower,
scrubs
up,
puts on
his clean
clothes from
the wardrobe
and comes
to that
fine dining
restaurant,
he will be
welcomed in
to sit,
eat,
drink and
feast.
Well,
here's the
command.
Get
yourself
clean,
not by
doing things
yourself,
but by
coming to
Jesus,
who will
wash you,
so that you
have the
right to
go through
into the
city,
the new
creation.
second,
then,
is not
just get
clean,
but invite
to come.
You see,
the evidence
that we have
been made
clean,
the evidence
is that we
want others
to be made
clean and
ready too.
If I
say,
yes,
I'm trusting
Jesus,
then a
big part of
my life
is going
to be
wanting
others
to be
there in
the new
creation.
Look at
verse 17.
The spirit
and the
bride say,
come.
Well,
we know
the bride
is the
church,
God's
people,
so the
spirit
speaks
through
the church,
through
God's
people,
he gives
the church
an invitation
to send
that invitation
out to
people,
and the
invitation
is simply,
come.
Well,
come to
what?
What are
we inviting
people to?
Well,
look at the
rest of
verse 17.
And let
the one
who hears
say,
come.
Let the
one who
is thirsty
come.
And let
the one
who wishes
take the
free gift
of the
water of
life.
It's an
invitation
to people
to say,
come.
Come to
Jesus.
You see,
people all
around us
are thirsty.
And maybe
you're thirsty
today,
not in the
physical sense,
but in the
spiritual sense.
You're not
satisfied with
what the
world throws
at you.
You're left
empty,
dry,
and thirsty.
You keep
drinking it
in,
but nothing
changes.
Whatever you
add to your
life never
seems to
quench your
thirst.
Well,
come to
Jesus who
gives,
verse 17,
the free
gift of
the water
of life.
Jesus will
quench you.
Listen to
his words.
Take on
board his
words.
Come to
him and
he will
clean up
your life.
He will
deal with
your past
and give
you a
new and
eternal
reward.
You see,
that's what
we're about
as we
wait for
the coming
of Jesus.
Our
business,
wherever we
are,
whether it's
at home
with our
children,
or at
work with
people,
or at
college,
amongst
our neighbours,
we're people
who have
been sent
out with
an invite,
and the
invite is
just simply
come.
Come to
Jesus.
Because now,
today,
is a time
of mercy
and grace.
Now is a
time of
salvation.
Come now.
Come and
take this
free gift
of life.
Now,
if we
obey these
words of
Jesus,
if we
obey the
command to
come,
then we
receive
life.
Isn't that
the message
of verse
14?
Clean up,
get washed
up,
so that you
can have
the right
to the
tree of
life.
Also,
the end
of verse
17,
take the
free gift
of the
water of
life.
You see,
Jesus is
not just
the creator
of physical
life,
he is the
source of
true,
lasting,
and abundant
life.
You see,
to have
life from
Jesus means
that whatever
circumstances we
are in right
now,
whether we're
rich or
poor,
whether we
think ourselves
as being
healthy or
unhealthy,
healthy,
whether we're
sad or
happy,
worried or
no concerns,
whatever our
situation,
Jesus will
always be
enough for
you.
He will
satisfy you
and fill
you.
His words,
the words of
revelation,
will give
you all
that you
need every
single day,
moment by
moment,
as you
live your
Christian
life.
remember
Jesus'
invitation
to the
broken and
forsaken
woman at
the well?
He was
speaking about
himself when
he said
this,
whoever drinks
the water
I give
them will
never thirst.
Indeed,
the water
I give
them will
become in
them a
spring of
water,
welling up
to eternal
life.
people
around us
are thirsty
and they're
trying to
quench that
thirst with
things that
will never
satisfy.
And we've
been sent
with an
invitation to
say come
and receive
life,
life from
Jesus.
So keep
the words
of Jesus,
obey the
words of
Jesus.
And third,
heed the
words.
We have
hope by
heeding the
words of
Jesus.
Look at
verse 18.
I warn
everyone who
hears the
words of the
prophecy of
this scroll.
A warning
to everyone
who's read
Revelation.
we need
to heed
these words
of Jesus.
And we do
that in
two ways.
First,
come on
flicker,
don't add
verse 18.
He says,
I warn
everyone who
hears the
words of
the prophecy
of this
scroll,
if anyone
adds
anything
to them.
Don't
add.
The word
of Jesus
is full
and final.
What he's
given to
us in
the book
of Revelation
is enough.
We don't
need to
add anything
extra to
it.
That means
we need to
be very
careful of
well-meaning
folk who
say things
like,
God
told me,
God
revealed to
me,
God
told me
to tell
you.
We need
to be
especially
careful of
people who
claim to
have
knowledge
about the
end times
and how
it's all
going to
figure out.
No,
we don't
need to
add to
it.
Jesus
has
spoken
and he
has his
words written
down for
us.
He
didn't
forget to
put
something
in and
he now
needs you
or I
to finish
it off.
Jesus
isn't
going,
oh my
goodness,
Revelation
23,
I forgot.
Would you
please finish
23 for
me?
No,
don't add
anything to
it.
And this
is serious,
look at
verse 18.
If anyone
adds anything
to them,
God will
add to
that person
the plagues
described in
this scroll.
Well,
the plagues
were those
of judgment.
So mess
with God's
word,
add to
God's
word,
and you
will face
judgment.
The other
way in which
we heed
God's word
is the
opposite.
Don't
subtract
verse 19.
and if
anyone
takes
words
away
from
this
scroll
of
prophecy.
You see,
the word
of Jesus
is sufficient
and complete.
What he's
given to us
in Revelation
is just
what we
need to
hear.
We're not
to leave
any of
the bits
out.
Again,
that means
we need
to be
careful of
well-meaning
folk who
say things
like,
well,
you know
what we
read in
Revelation?
Revelation,
that only
applied to
people in
the first
century.
Things are
very different
now.
We've kind
of moved
on.
And if
people are
going to
accept Jesus,
you're talking
about the
invitation to
life.
Well,
we've got
to subtract.
We've got
to take
some of
the things
out.
I mean,
it's pretty
dark,
isn't it,
some of
Revelation?
The rider
coming on
the horse
with his
sword.
I mean,
let's leave
those judgment
bits out.
They're a bit
uncomfortable.
And the
talk of
the beast
rising up
from the
sea.
All that
stuff of
Satan,
people don't
want to
hear that.
Let's just
talk about
the new
creation.
No,
don't
subtract
from it.
What Jesus
has spoken,
we need
to hear.
We need
to hear
all of
Revelation.
And it's
serious,
verse 19.
Look at
the end
of verse
19,
if we
subtract,
God will
take away
from that
person any
share in
the tree
of life
and in
the holy
city which
are described
in this
scroll.
Mess
with God's
word
and we
will not
enter the
city.
God's
love.
You see,
Jesus doesn't
need an
editor,
does he?
He doesn't
give us a
pen or an
eraser and
say, I want
you to go
through Revelation
or indeed all
of Scripture
and rub out
the bits that
you don't
like and
write in the
bits that
you want
to add.
God's
love.
God's
love.
He doesn't
need us to
proofread
Revelation.
He's made
no mistake
in giving us
his word.
What he
requires of
us is
humility,
humbleness
before his
word,
to keep
his word,
obey his
word,
and to
heed his
word.
that means
we need
to be
people who
have our
Bibles open
because if
we don't
have our
Bibles open,
we're adding
to it with
our own
way of
thinking and
we're subtracting
by keeping
it shut.
Now, if we
heed the
words of
Jesus,
there is
hope.
Not the
kind of
hope we
think of
like, I
hope to
get a
brand new
car this
Christmas.
Now, hope
in the
Bible is
complete
assurance
and total
confidence
that God
will always
deliver on
his promise.
And the
hope we
have is
both future
and present.
Look at
our future
hope,
verse 20.
He who
testifies,
Jesus who
testifies to
all these
things,
says,
yes,
I am
coming soon.
He'd
the
words of
Jesus
and we
have the
promise of
his word
that Jesus
is coming
again.
And when
he comes
again,
he's going
to bring
all things
to their
completion.
Where we
will live
in the
new creation
forever and
ever.
A world
full of
justice and
life.
No more
evil or
suffering.
Everything
made
wonderfully
new.
This is
our
guaranteed
future
hope.
But we
also have
a present
hope.
A hope
for today.
Look at
verse 21.
The
grace of
the Lord
Jesus
be with
God's
people.
Amen.
By
heeding the
words of
Jesus,
we have
the promise
of his
grace to
help us
and keep
us as
we wait
for the
coming of
Jesus.
You see,
it's all
by grace.
The fact
that we
have life
in Christ
today is
because he
came to
us and
he saved
us.
It's the
grace of
Jesus that's
going to
keep us
in times
of suffering
and opposition.
It's the
grace of
Jesus that
will sustain
us when
we want to
give up.
It's
grace all
the way
through.
As we
often sing
through many
dangers,
toils and
snares,
I have
already
come.
Tis grace
that brought
me safe
thus far
and grace
will lead
me home.
It's all
of grace
we have
a glorious
hope.
So
Christmas
will remind
us this
week and
this season
that Jesus
came once.
Tonight
we'll sing
carols,
we'll celebrate
the coming
of Christ,
the life
he comes
to bring.
But his
first coming
reminds us
of his
second coming.
are you
ready?
Are you
prepared?
Well the
way to
prepare is
to listen
to the
words of
Jesus,
verse 6,
the words
that are
trustworthy
and true.
So let's
together,
as we
start into
a new
year not
too far
away,
let's
live by
these words
as we
wait for
the soon
return of
Jesus.
Let's
together
keep his
word,
obey his
word and
heed his
word.
And if
we do,
our lives
will be the
better for
it for we
will be
blessed,
we will
experience
life in
all its
fullness and
we will
have hope
for today
and for
eternity
to come.
Let's
pray.
Lord God,
we thank
you so
much that
you gave
these
revelations,
these
visions to
John,
that he
wrote them
down so
that we
have access
to your
word today
speaking to
us today.
Thank you
for your
word.
Thank you
for its
trustworthiness.
Thank you
for its
truth.
And we
pray for the
help of your
Holy Spirit
that we
would be
keepers,
obeyers,
and
headers
of all
your
word.
And that
you would
work in
us a
life of
blessing,
a life
filled with
hope,
and life
forevermore.
Help us
then together,
we pray,
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
Well,
we're going
to sing
a song
that's
really
reflective
of our
theme
this
morning.
Speak,
O Lord,
as we
come to
you to
receive
the
food
of
your
Holy
Word.
May
this be
our
prayer,
our
encouragement
to one
another.
prayer.