Good morning, church.
If you missed Sunday school this morning,
you missed a great lesson about the American pilgrims and Puritans,
but in their honor of our spiritual forebears,
the sermon this morning will be three hours long.
I'm kidding.
Oh, if only we had the kind of passion and fervor for God's Word
that some of our spiritual forebears did.
Well, we're actually looking at Revelation 20 this morning,
so would you turn with me to Revelation 20?
That's page 976 in the Pew Bible.
Revelation 20, we'll be considering verses 1 through 10 today.
976, Revelation 20.
Let me pray for us, and then I'll read.
Father in heaven, what a gift it is to us to have the Scriptures.
Lord, as we think about our pews and our homes and our bookstores,
it's embarrassing, God, how easy it is for us
to get a hold of your life-giving Word and read it
and meditate upon it,
to memorize it, to study it,
to worship you and pray to you with it.
Lord, what a great treasure it is.
And we know that we neglect it, God,
so we ask for your forgiveness,
but we thank you for this morning
when we can realign our hearts to it again.
We admit, God, that without your Spirit,
our reading and our preaching and our studying
would be to no avail.
So, Jesus, we look to your Holy Spirit
in these moments to come
and enliven our hearts and our minds
to be receptive to your Word
and to do the work that only you can do
to conform us to the image of Christ
so that we might be image-bearers
and witness-bearers as you've ordained us to be.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, Revelation 20, 1 through 10.
John writes this,
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit
and a great chain.
And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,
who is the devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years.
And threw him into the pit
and shut it and sealed it over him
so that he might not deceive the nations any longer
until the thousand years were ended.
After that, he must be released for a little while.
Then I saw thrones,
and seated on them were those
to whom the authority to judge was committed.
Also, I saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus
and for the Word of God,
and those who had not worshipped the beast
or its image and had not received its mark
on their foreheads or their hands.
They came to life and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were ended.
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is the one who shares
in the first resurrection.
Over such, the second death has no power,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ,
and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
And when the thousand years are ended,
Satan will be released from his prison
and will come out to deceive the nations
that are at the four corners of the earth,
Gog and Magog,
to gather them for battle.
Their number is like the sand of the sea.
And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth
and surrounded the camp of the saints
and the beloved city,
but fire came down from heaven and consumed them.
And the devil who had deceived them
was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur
where the beast and the false prophet were,
and they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.
So, one of the things about studying
the book of Revelation
is that as you work your way through the book,
you'll often read in various commentaries
or you'll hear teachers say things like,
this passage is a difficult one to interpret,
or historically, Christians have differed
over the meaning of this text.
You see that kind of again and again
in almost every passage of this book.
But when you come to Revelation 20,
that sentiment raises to a whole new level.
One writer put it this way,
the interpretation of this chapter, he says,
comprises what is arguably the chief controversy
in eschatological studies,
if not in all evangelical theology.
Wow.
Now, I think he's overstating things a little bit.
I wouldn't say that this is the chief controversy
in all evangelical theology,
but you get the point.
When it comes to John's vision
of the 1,000 years in Revelation 20,
faithful Christians have consistently come
to different conclusions
about what exactly this refers to.
So before we walk through this passage,
section by section as we normally do,
I want to briefly mention
the three major approaches,
and then I want to draw out
a pastoral point from that
that's very relevant for our life
as a local church.
Now, I know some of you
have been waiting for the day
in our series in Revelation
when we'd finally get down into the weeds
and maybe pull out some charts
and some graphs
and compare the different approaches
and just go for it.
Well, you'll probably love today's sermon.
This one's for you.
But some of you,
having perhaps been subjected
to a sermon series in Revelation before,
have been dreading the moment
when we talk about this view
or that view,
and you've struggled to see
why any of that actually matters.
Well, let me assure you
that we will spend some time
considering why Revelation 20 matters.
And we're going to see
that no matter what your view
of this passage,
Revelation 20 is really good news
for the church today.
So as I mentioned,
there are broadly speaking
three ways to understand this text.
And each view is commonly given a name
based on how this 1,000-year period
or millennium
relates to the return of Christ.
But what we'll also see
is that each of these views
also sees the nature
of that 1,000-year period
or millennium differently.
And it's that,
the different nature
of the 1,000 years,
that's a really significant difference
between the three views.
So let's just kind of walk through.
The first view that we might consider
is called the pre-millennial position.
Now this view would say
that Christ returns to earth in glory
before the 1,000 years.
Hence, it's called pre-millennial.
Makes sense.
And the 1,000 years itself
is understood
to be a literal earthly reign of Christ
with the resurrected saints
over the nations
during that 1,000 years.
And after the 1,000-year reign is over,
Christ will defeat evil once and for all
and then establish the new heavens
and new earth
or what's sometimes called
the eternal state.
Now, it's pretty easy to see
why folks take this view, isn't it?
After all, in Revelation 19,
the chapter right before,
we see a picture of Jesus
returning in glory
and defeating the beast
and the false prophet.
Revelation 20 just seems to be
the next step in the story.
Jesus reigns on earth
for 1,000 years
with the resurrected saints.
And at the end of that time,
Satan is defeated
and thrown down
to join the beast
and the false prophet
where they already are.
Pretty straightforward, right?
And this view has a very impressive pedigree.
Justin Martyr from the 2nd century,
Charles Spurgeon,
Francis Schaeffer from the 20th century,
and many other faithful,
Bible-believing pastors and theologians
have held this pre-millennial view.
But then there are others who would say
that the return of Christ in glory
happens not before,
but after the millennium.
So this view has come to be called
the post-millennial view
because Christ returns
after the millennium.
And the 1,000 years itself
is actually referring to,
in this view,
not a sort of literal
earthly reign of Christ,
but a coming time in history,
towards the end of history,
a coming time of powerful
gospel advance
before Jesus returns.
Through the preaching of the gospel
and the pouring out of the spirit,
this view would see,
Satan will be bound
and there will be a massive
global spiritual flourishing.
And then at the end
of this golden age of the gospel,
Christ will return in glory,
defeat evil once and for all,
and establish the new heavens
and new earth.
We're going to find
they all sort of end the same way, right?
Now admittedly,
this view,
this post-millennial view,
is probably the least popular today.
But there have been
some weighty
and godly teachers
who have held
to a post-millennial view.
John Owen,
perhaps the greatest
English-speaking theologian.
Jonathan Edwards,
who many consider
the greatest American theologian.
Charles Hodge,
the great Princeton defender
of orthodoxy
in the 19th century.
All these,
and many, many more,
were post-millennial
in their view.
So, you know,
even if many aren't
fully persuaded
by this view today,
we still have to pause
and realize that there must be
something to it, right?
And perhaps,
if we had lived
through the great revivals
of Jonathan Edwards' day,
and seen the power
of the gospel
like that firsthand,
or perhaps,
if we had the sort of confidence
in God's powerful grace,
even through trials
and suffering,
like a John Owen did,
well, maybe we too
could believe
that God could bring about
a dramatic,
worldwide movement
of the gospel
that would usher in
the return of Christ.
Okay, so that's
post-millennialism.
Lastly, there's a third view,
a third view called
amillennial,
that holds that
the thousand years
is neither
a literal earthly reign
of Christ
after his return,
nor would it say
that it's a sort of
golden age of the gospel
before Christ's return.
Rather,
this view would say,
like so much else
in the book of Revelation,
this third view
would say that
the thousand years
is a symbol.
Specifically,
the thousand years
is taken to be
a symbolic expression
for the church age,
the entire time
between Christ's
first and second coming.
So Revelation 20,
in this view,
is yet another perspective,
another camera angle,
another portrait
in the art gallery
of the same stretch of time,
the same events
that we've seen
again and again
in Revelation.
According to this view,
because of Christ's death
and resurrection
at his first coming,
Satan has been bound,
much like we saw
in Revelation 12,
when Satan was cast
down from heaven
upon the advent of Christ,
the first advent of Christ.
And while the gospel
goes forth in this view,
the saints and martyrs
are seen as reigning
with Christ in heaven.
That's much like
Revelation 6,
where we saw a vision
of the martyred saints
in heaven rejoicing
before the throne of God.
And when the church age
is complete,
Christ will return
to defeat Satan
once and for all
and establish
the new heavens
and new earth.
Like I told you,
they all end the same,
right?
So this battle
in verses 7 through 10
and the amillennial view
is seen as a parallel
description to the many
other scenes of Christ's
return and the defeat
of evil that we've seen
throughout the book.
Again,
it's another camera angle
on the same events.
That's the amillennial view.
It sees these thousand years
as a symbol
for the church age.
And again,
this view also has
an impressive pedigree.
Augustine,
Calvin,
J.I. Packer
in the 20th century
and many other faithful
men and women
have taken this view.
Okay,
there you go.
And there are
hundreds of variations
on these three views
depending on who you talk to.
Now,
what do we take
from the fact
that good,
faithful Christians
can take such different
views of the same passage?
Well,
I think it ought to be
a lesson for us
in charity.
There are some doctrines
which are essential
to Christianity
and the gospel.
Doctrines which are
abundantly clear
in scripture
such that if you
visited a church
in the first century
or in the 10th century
or in the 21st century
today,
we would hold them
in common
whether you were
in Africa
or Asia
or North America.
Doctrines like
the deity of Christ,
the triune nature
of God,
the atoning death
of Jesus,
the bodily resurrection
of Jesus,
the bodily return
of Jesus,
the personhood
of the Holy Spirit,
the authority
of the scriptures.
These are the doctrines
that are primary
and essential
to historic
biblical faith.
Those are the doctrines
that make Christians
Christians.
And those are the doctrines
that are worth struggling for,
worth battling for
because they're at the heart
of the good news.
The heart of the good news
that the God
who created all things
loved the world
and sent his son
to die for our sins
and rise again
on the third day
so that everyone
who believes in him
from every tribe
and every nation
and every language
might be forgiven
of their sins,
granted new spiritual life
by the Holy Spirit
and assured
of eternal life.
These are the primary
things that we hold.
But there are other doctrines
that are not primary.
There are doctrines
where faithful Christians
disagree.
Doctrines that are not
essential to the gospel
or essential
to biblical holiness.
And the temptation,
temptation, though,
is to approach
these primary
or even tertiary,
that is,
third order doctrines,
with the same passion
and fight
as the primary ones.
That's the temptation.
Of course,
it's good
to develop
your convictions
about those things.
But when our swords
come out
over the millennium
or spiritual gifts
or church polity,
what happens?
Well, then a local church
becomes known more
for its stance
on the end times
or what have you
than its joyful
embrace of the gospel.
And that's what
we want to be known for.
That's the thing
that gives us life
and energizes us.
In other words,
you know,
what is it that we want
to define ourselves?
Do we want to be defined
by the center
that we hold in common?
Or do we want to be defined
by the boundaries
of the secondary
and tertiary issues
that we've come to?
I think developing
this wisdom
to discern what's primary
and secondary
and even tertiary
and then to show
appropriate charity
toward those
with whom we disagree
on secondary
and tertiary issues
is critical for us today.
It's critical
for our life together
and it's critical
for our witness
to the world.
Justin Martyr,
the second century apologist
that I mentioned earlier,
was a premillennialist,
right?
But he realized
that Christians,
even in the second century,
didn't all agree
on the details
of the end times.
And he's actually
a really good model for us.
In one place,
he writes,
I and many others
are of this opinion
and believe
that such will take place
as you are assuredly aware.
So he says,
look,
this is what I believe,
as you know.
Then he goes on
to say this,
but on the other hand,
I signify to you
that many who belong
to the pure
and pious faith
and are true Christians
think otherwise.
Did you catch that?
He says,
many who are true Christians
think otherwise.
Friends,
beware of a teacher
or a website
or a theological movement
that makes secondary
or tertiary issues
a litmus test
for orthodoxy.
We ought to have
a closed hand
around the core
of our faith,
the essential teachings
of the gospel,
the clear teachings
of biblical holiness
and ethics,
and an open hand
to the non-essential ones.
Develop your convictions.
Yes.
Have hearty conversations.
Yes.
And some of those
secondary issues
like baptism
or church polity,
that may mean
that we choose
to attend
one local church
over another,
right?
That's okay.
But all of our
hearty conversations
about these topics
should end
with love
for your brothers
and sisters in Christ.
And in so doing,
we,
as the church,
are modeling
for the world
the difference
that God's grace
makes
in our human interactions.
Inside the church,
we're embodying
together
a new way
to be human.
No longer
driven by anger
or fear,
but
by a deep
conviction
for the truth,
yes,
and by a deep
love for one another.
So the pastoral point
of observing
these different
views of Revelation 20
is a call
to interpretive
and communal
humility
and charity
toward those
with whom we disagree
and to do so
for Christ's sake.
Now,
having said all that,
you might be wondering,
okay,
but where does Trinity
land on all this,
right?
Well,
you'll notice
if you go onto our website
or if you've been
to Trinity 101,
our doctrinal statement
does not take a position
on the question
of the millennium.
So we don't require
our members
or our church officers
to believe one view
or the other.
Now,
personally,
I find myself
slightly more convinced
by the amillennial view,
but only slightly,
actually.
There are days
when I read the text
and I think,
you know,
those premillennialists
have to be right,
right?
I would joke
with Pastor Matt
before he left
for sabbatical
because I think
he's a premillennialist.
I would joke with him,
I'd say,
Matt,
I think I'm coming over
to your camp.
I think I'm being convinced.
So anyway,
Revelation 20,
it teaches us
a lesson in charity,
but what else
is it meant to teach us?
What else?
What was John
hoping to convey
to the original readers
of Revelation?
Well,
as we take a step back
and consider
where we've come
in this beautiful
and bracing book
that we call Revelation,
it seems clear
that Revelation 20
is showing us
sort of the climactic
victory of Christ
and his people
over the great deceiver.
This is the victory
of Christ over Satan,
the one Revelation
calls the dragon.
If last week showed us
the defeat of the beast
and the false prophet,
now the camera shifts
and shows us
what about the dragon?
And it shows us
this victory
in three steps.
First,
it shows us
that Satan's deception,
because he's called here
the great deceiver,
but first it shows us
that his deception
will be restrained.
That's verses 1-3.
Deception restrained.
Satan is bound
and locked away
and then we're told
this beautiful good news,
that the nations
are deceived no more,
so that the nations
might not be deceived
anymore.
The darkness
is lifting.
Now,
the premillennial view
would see this
as a time
after Christ returns,
and for a thousand years
the lies of Satan
will be locked away.
what joy
that will be
on earth.
What freedom
that will bring.
But can't we also say
that something like this
is true even today?
In the amillennial view,
the thousand years
is the church age,
as we said,
and when you consider
how the gospel
has advanced
over the last
two thousand years
from one corner
of the world
to the other,
it would seem
that Satan's power
to deceive the nations
has been dealt
a mighty death blow.
Nancy Guthrie
makes this observation
in her excellent book
on Revelation.
It's one of the best
I've been reading,
actually,
as we've walked
through this series.
She says this,
she makes these observations,
she says,
if we go back
to the Old Testament
and we remember
after we read
about the promise
to Abraham
that through him
all the families
on the earth
shall be blessed,
remember that
in Genesis 12?
Well,
when that happens,
there's not an immediately
huge influx
of the nations
taking hold
of the covenant promises
of God,
is there?
We read about
individuals
or particular tribes
joining themselves
to the people of God
in the Old Testament,
but it's limited.
But then,
everything changes
with the coming
of Jesus
into the world
and the sending
of his spirit
upon his ascension.
We read in Acts
how Pentecost
ushered in an era
of the gospel
being preached
to Jerusalem,
Judea,
and Samaria
and to the ends
of the earth.
We read in the epistles
about churches
being formed
throughout the known world.
what changed?
What changed was
through the life,
death,
resurrection,
and ascension
of Jesus,
Satan was bound
so that the nations
are no longer deceived
and they begin
streaming in.
And Satan remains bound
until all who were chosen
in Christ for salvation
from every people group
of the world
are safely brought
into the fold.
You know,
Revelation has held up
for us a vision
again and again,
hasn't it?
That we as the church
are meant to be witness bearers.
The church bears witness
through suffering
to the true God
who is the creator
and redeemer.
And in light
of this passage,
we should remain
confident
in this calling
that God has given us.
It may feel like
the gospel
is implausible
to so many
around us,
but the deceiver,
friends,
has been bound.
He may roar
from time to time,
but his lies
have been exposed.
And before the light
of the gospel
and the power
of the Holy Spirit,
the deceiver
is no match.
So that co-worker
you've been praying for
or that family member
you've been sharing
the gospel with,
friends,
don't get discouraged.
Don't think
it's a lost cause.
The gospel
is a liberating power
and the lies
of Satan
are no match.
So stay faithful.
Stay prayerful.
And pray for the nations.
Pray for the people groups
who've not yet
heard the good news.
Satan binds them
no longer.
His deception
has been restrained.
Pray that God
would raise up workers
for the harvest.
Perhaps he might
even be calling you.
In fact,
if I can go out
on a limb,
he is calling you.
Because right here
in New Haven,
people from around
the world
are gathering.
Do you think
Satan enjoys
this result
of globalization,
right?
That people from
around the world,
some of whom
have never heard
the gospel,
end up
in New Haven,
Connecticut
and can hear
about the saving
love of Jesus
for the first time.
Think of the
strategic location
that God
has given us
for the global
advance of the gospel.
We don't need
to get into a plane
to win the nations,
although some of you
might be called
to do that.
In fact,
we don't even need
to get into our cars.
The field is white
for the harvest.
Will you lift
your eyes
and see it?
Will we pray
for the Holy Spirit
to move in power?
Yes,
Satan may be trying
to do all he can,
but his lies
are no match
for the gospel.
So the first paragraph
shows us
deception restrained.
The next paragraph,
verses 4-6,
shows us
deception overturned.
Deception overturned.
Now,
what do I mean by that?
Well,
consider who
John sees
in this part
of the vision,
verses 4-6.
He sees the saints.
Christians.
Now,
what did Satan
have to say
about these saints,
about these Christians?
They refuse
to worship the beast.
They refuse
to take the mark
of the beast.
So according
to worldly standards,
right,
they're fools.
They're on the losing
side of history.
And some of them
are even martyred
for their resistance
to the idolatry
and greed
and oppressive power
of the dragon
and his beasts.
They're dead.
Doesn't that prove
that Christianity
is a lost cause?
The godless powers
put them to death.
Does that not prove
that the dragon
and his beasts
are the ones
really calling
the shots around here?
Shouldn't we just
give in?
Ah,
but John sees
a different reality.
Those saints
and martyrs
who looked weak,
who looked like fools,
who looked like
they were clearly
on the wrong side
of history,
they came to life
and reigned
with Christ
for a thousand years.
Do you remember
when Frodo
and Sam
in The Lord of the Rings
first meet Strider
in The Prancing Pony?
Some of you are like,
you lost me, Nick.
That's like total geekdom.
I'm out.
So The Prancing Pony
is the name of this inn
and these two hobbits
go there
and there's this guy
named Strider
and they meet him
and all they see,
all they see
is a weather-worn wanderer.
All they see
is a suspicious vagabond.
But what their untrained eyes
could not see
was that this weary
and weathered
and forsaken man
was actually
the true king.
John's making
the same point here
of every believer
in Christ.
The world may condemn,
ridicule,
even kill you,
but the truth is
you are priests of God
and you will reign with him.
And whether this reign
takes place
in a literal kingdom
after Christ returns
or whether this reign
is taking place
now in heaven,
it makes little difference.
whether the first resurrection
is a metaphor
for the life of the saints
right now
before the throne of the Lamb
like we see in Revelation 6
or whether the first resurrection
is the bodily coming to life
of all Christians
a thousand years
before non-Christians.
Again,
it makes little difference.
The point is the same.
As Tolkien wrote,
all that is gold
does not glitter.
Not all those who wander
are lost.
The old that is strong
does not wither.
Deep roots are not reached
by the frost.
From the ashes
a fire shall be woken.
A light from the shadows
shall spring.
Renewed
shall be the blade
that was broken.
The crownless again
shall be king.
The crownless again
shall be king.
Christian,
you
are a co-regent
with Christ
no matter what
this world says about you.
Even death
cannot steal
your dignity.
The deceptions
of Satan,
his lies about
who you are
and what you are
are overturned
by the verdict
of God.
So Christian,
when trials come,
hold your head high.
When the hurricane
of trials
and afflictions come,
when the world
does its worst,
remember,
you are blessed.
The crownless again
shall be king.
Let not the noise
of the world
or the evil one
silence your love
for him
or for one another.
Persevere
in faithfulness,
compassion,
goodness.
Let your reign
fall on the just
and the unjust
just like your heavenly
father.
You will reign
with the king.
Or perhaps
you've been considering
Christianity
for some time
but you've not yet
given your life
to Christ.
You've been counting
the cost
of following him
and that's good.
Jesus tells us
to count the cost.
But friend,
don't you realize
that whatever you lose
for his sake
is nothing
compared to what you gain?
Even if you count
everything is lost,
by comparison,
you have nothing to lose
and everything to gain.
Our life is a short
span of years.
How long will we live?
80 years?
90 years?
What is the reputation
of a moment?
What is the wealth
of a passing hour
compared
to reigning
with the king
of glory?
He stands
at the door
and knocks
and he knocks
even for you.
Will you open
the door
of your life
and let him
come in
and dine?
will you surrender
your life
to him?
He surrendered
his life
for you,
you see.
He gave up
his crown,
he was crucified
so that you
could take up
a crown
and live forever.
Is there any
better exchange
than that?
Than the gospel?
Is there any
better bargain
than what Christ
holds out for you?
your sin
for his righteousness,
your rebellion
and shame
for his crown
and glory?
So the call
is clear.
Open the door.
Let Christ
take your sins
and let him
put a crown
on your head
and anything
you lose
will be nothing
compared to
what you gain.
So John
shows us
then deception
restrained,
deception
overturned,
and finally
deception
defeated.
This is verses
7 through 10.
Deception
defeated.
And again,
here the point
is the same
regardless of
your view.
Satan's lies
will be exposed
and removed
once and for all.
John makes
an allusion
to the prophet
Ezekiel here,
Gog and Magog.
In Ezekiel 38
and 39,
Gog is the
name of a
terrible and
great enemy
of God's people
and Magog
is sort of
his land,
his nation.
So Gog and
Magog
means something
like prince
and people.
And John
is showing
us here
the ultimate
fulfillment
of Ezekiel's
shadowy vision.
The dragon
leads his
people to war
against the
camp of the
saints.
The saints
who are
God's beloved
city,
the church.
But in that
final assault,
the end
comes swiftly.
Satan and
his lies
are vanquished
once and
for all.
The spell
of deception
is finally
broken.
I wonder
if you can
imagine a
world where
the lingering
thoughts and
the lingering
doubts that
have haunted
humanity since
the fall
no longer
plague us.
Can you
imagine a
world like
that?
The surfeit
said in
Genesis 3,
did God
really say?
Did God
really say?
Isn't that
not the
great lie,
the great
insinuation,
the great
deception?
Surely God
didn't say
that.
In other
words,
underneath that
lie, that
insinuation,
are the lies
that God
isn't good,
God can't
be trusted,
God doesn't
love you,
you have to
find your
happiness
somewhere else.
You're on
your own,
Satan says.
But then
ironically he
says,
you're on
your own,
so follow
me.
And follow
him we
did.
That's the
history of
humanity.
And misery
was the
result.
But imagine
the day
when the
great lie
is broken
forever,
when deception
is defeated,
when the
truth of
God's
goodness
and love
will be
the
unquestioned
and undeniable
reality,
not just at
the bottom
of everything,
but alive
in our
own hearts.
What a
great day
that will
be.
And if
that is
the end,
John seems
to be telling
us here in
Revelation 20,
live now
in light of
it.
Don't let
the spin
and the
half-truths
of the
world
lull you
to sleep
or make
you afraid
or spin
you into
a rage.
I like how
Paul puts
it in
Colossians 3,
1-4.
He says,
if then you
have been
raised with
Christ,
seek the
things that
are above
where Christ
is,
seated at
the right
hand of
God.
Set your
minds on
things above,
not on the
things that
are on
earth.
For you
have died
and your
life is
hidden with
Christ and
God.
When Christ,
who is your
life appears,
then you
also will
appear with
him in
glory.
Set your
mind on
things above.
And again,
Paul says
this in
Philippians 4,
8-9.
He says,
finally,
brothers and
sisters,
whatever is
true,
whatever is
honorable,
whatever is
just,
whatever is
pure,
whatever is
lovely,
whatever is
commendable,
if there is
any excellence,
if there is
anything worthy
of praise,
think about
these things.
What you have
learned and
received and
heard and
seen and
me,
practice
these things
and the
God of
peace will
be with
you.
I think
it's vital
for the
church today
to take
these verses
to heart.
Deception
will be
defeated in
the end,
but in
the meantime,
we need
to set
our minds
on things
above.
We need
to set
our minds
on what's
true and
honorable and
just.
Are we
willing to
do some
self-examination
on this
front?
Do you
spend as
much time or
a comparable
amount of
time reading
and meditating
on scripture
as you do
consuming other
forms of
media?
Is it any
surprise that
Christians are
blown and
tossed by
cultural movements,
whether to the
left or to
the right,
given how much
time we spend
uncritically
ingesting the
world's media
and how little
time we spend
saturating
ourselves in
God's word?
food?
I'm not
saying we
should stick
our heads
in the
sand and
be unaware
of our
cultural
moment.
Of course
not.
Yes, we
need to
stay current
and be
involved.
We need
to contextualize
the gospel
for our
time and
our place.
But if
you find
yourself
watching the
news,
for example,
and getting
consistently
angry or
consistently
afraid,
it might
be a good
sign that
you're being
blown and
tossed by a
world that
wants to
keep you
angry and
afraid.
And you
may need to
think about
recalibrating
your daily
intake.
More time
with God's
word,
maybe a
little less
time with
human words.
Because
ultimately,
God's word
is what
will endure.
And that
means we
never need
to be
ultimately
angry or
afraid.
There are
some things
that may
rise in
us,
that righteous
anger,
right?
That's fine.
But friends,
so much of
our anger
and fear
is not
righteous.
Only God's
word is
what will
endure.
And if
we're rooted
in him
and in
his word,
then ultimately
we never
need to be
angry or
afraid in
those ways.
So if we
take anything
from Revelation
20, take
this,
the true
king is on
the throne,
the evil
one and all
his lies are
bound and
headed for
destruction,
and the
church will
be safe.
And not
just safe,
but they'll
reign.
The
crownless
again will
be kings,
priests who
reign with
Christ forever.
And as we
go to the
Lord's Supper
this morning,
as we're
going to do
in just a
minute,
what do we
see there
at the
table?
Well,
doesn't the
Lord's Supper
tell us who
we are and
whose we
are,
right?
Who are
we?
We're the
people for
whom Christ
died.
That's the
truth about
us.
And whose
are we?
We belong
to the
world's
true king
who died
and rose
again for
us and
our salvation.
You see,
at the
table,
the lies
are dispersed
as we
remember his
body broken
and his
blood shed.
In other
words, we
see God's
truth at
the table.
We see
the truth
of the
gospel.
We see
the truth
that our
sin was so
great that
Jesus had
to die
for us.
But we
see the
truth that
his love
for us
was so
great that
he came
and was
willingly
glad to
die for
us.
and
to
him
to
the