Well, good morning, church.
Summer is here.
I'm glad to see some of you waving the fans.
If you do get hot during the service,
the service is being streamed in our overflow rooms
and air conditioning, I believe.
Right, Corbin?
Yes, so there's an overflow room downstairs
in the new edition that's air conditioned.
You can watch the service down there.
The fellowship hall, we also have the speaker on down there.
You can go there.
Or here's an even better option.
If you've been coming to Trinity for four to six months,
you can volunteer with children's ministry,
which means that you can then enjoy the service
in air conditioning while you spend time with children,
which is probably one of the best things
you can do for your soul, is spend time with kids.
Because Jesus said,
that's who the kingdom of heaven belongs to.
So, with that being said,
why don't we turn to Revelation chapter 22.
We've come to the end of our series in Revelation today.
Today, we are going to be considering verses 6 through 21.
These verses form the epilogue,
the kind of final words of this majestic book of Revelation.
That's the last page in the Pew Bible.
If you'd like to turn there with me,
I will pray for us, and then I'll read,
and then we'll dive in.
Let's pray together.
Father, we have just sung about the wondrous mystery
of the incarnation of your Son,
the perfect life of your Son,
the atoning death of your Son,
the glorious resurrection,
and his mighty return.
Father, this is what we want to see more and more of,
Christ in all his glory and beauty.
Because we know that as we behold Christ,
we are not just changed into his likeness more and more,
but you receive more and more of the glory and praise
that you deserve,
that we were created to give you.
We find the very purpose for which we were made.
So help us in these few moments
as we turn to this final passage
of this great book of Revelation
to help us to see more and more of Christ
by the power of your Spirit.
Amen.
All right, Revelation 22, 6 through 21.
Remember, John, at this point in the book,
has just been shown by an angel
the glorious vision of the new heavens and the new earth,
the future that God has in store for his people
and for his creation.
And then we read this.
And he, that is the angel, said to me,
these words are trustworthy and true,
and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,
has sent his angel to show his servants
what must soon take place.
And now John hears the voice of Jesus himself saying,
and behold, I am coming soon.
Blessed is the one who keeps the words
of the prophecy of this book.
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things,
and when I heard and saw them,
I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel
who showed them to me.
But he said to me,
you must not do that.
I am a fellow servant with you
and your brothers, the prophets,
and with those who keep the words of this book.
Worship God.
And he said to me,
do not seal up the words of this prophecy,
of this book,
for the time is near.
Let the evildoer still do evil,
and the filthy still be filthy,
and the righteous still do right,
and the holy still be holy.
And again, John hears the voice of Jesus say,
behold, I am coming soon,
bringing my recompense with me
to repay each one for what he has 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
so that they might have the right
to the tree of life,
and that they may enter the city by the gates.
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers,
and the sexually immoral,
and murderers and idolaters,
and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
I, Jesus, have sent my angel
to testify to you about these things
for the churches.
I am the root and the descendant of David,
the bright morning star.
The spirit and the bride say,
come.
And let the one who hears say,
come.
And let the one who is thirsty,
come.
Let the one who desires,
take the water of life without price.
I warn everyone who hears the words
of the prophecy of this book.
If anyone adds to them,
God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
And if anyone takes away from the words
of the book of this prophecy,
God will take away his share in the tree of life
and in the holy city,
which are described in this book.
He who testifies to these things says,
surely I am coming soon.
Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus
be with all.
Amen.
So, what is the final word
of this great and powerful book of Revelation?
What's the last thing that God wants
ringing in our ears
as the Bible comes to a close?
Well, three times
we hear the voice of Jesus say,
I am coming soon.
Verse 7,
verse 12,
and verse 20.
Behold,
surely
I am coming
soon.
The imminent return of Jesus,
that is the nearness
of his return,
that's the parting word.
That's the final chord struck
as the great symphony of Scripture
comes to a close.
And I want to ask
two simple questions then
as we draw our sermon series
to a close.
First,
what does it mean
that Jesus is coming soon?
And second,
how should we live now
in light of that?
What does it mean
that Jesus is coming soon?
And how do we live now
in light of that?
And as we answer
those two questions,
we'll see that this final passage
of Revelation
actually gathers together
many of the great themes
of this book
one more time.
So here we actually
have a great summary
of the application
of this book
as we draw our series
to a close.
So first,
consider with me,
what does it mean
that Jesus is coming soon?
Now perhaps,
before we consider
the soonness
of Jesus' return,
maybe we need to pause
on the mere fact
of his return.
You see,
nearly all the New Testament
writers,
and as a result,
all of the historical creeds
and confessions
of Christianity
through the ages
have affirmed
that Jesus will return.
And not just spiritually
or symbolically,
but he will return bodily.
Now of course,
the idea of the bodily
return of Christ
can at first feel
a little strange, right?
How exactly are we supposed
to imagine this kind of
bodily return of Jesus
from heaven?
And yet,
this is indeed
what the New Testament teaches.
As the angels said
to the disciples,
do you remember
on the day of Jesus' ascension?
The angels turned
to the disciples
and said,
this Jesus who was taken
up from you into heaven
will come in the same way
as you saw him go
into heaven.
So it may sound
strange at first,
but it is undoubtedly true.
It stretches our imagination,
but the stretching
of our imagination
is not a bad thing.
After all,
we need our finite imaginations
stretched a little bit,
don't we,
so that we can begin
to wrap our minds
around the wonder of God
and God's ways.
Now you'll remember
Revelation has given us
multiple images
of Christ's bodily return,
hasn't it?
Jesus will be like a groom
coming for his bride.
Jesus will be like
a warrior king
returning to bring peace
and freedom to his country.
Jesus will be like a judge
coming to finally put things right
and issue lasting justice.
But if you struggle
with the fact of Jesus' bodily return,
I wonder if you realize
what good news it is.
After all,
the bodily return of Jesus,
it tells us something staggering,
doesn't it?
If Jesus is indeed
to return in a body,
does not that mean
that our loving Savior
who united himself
to our humanity
in his incarnation,
if he's going to return
in that same body,
don't you see what that tells us?
It tells us
that Christ has not let us go.
He has not let our humanity go.
God the Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
will become
and has become
one with us forever.
I mean,
what greater token of love
could there be?
Even in his glorious return,
Jesus will remain
our incarnate Lord
and our divine lover
who took the form of a servant,
humbled himself to death
on a cross,
who rose on the third day
in love,
Jesus took our flesh
and even in glory,
he's not let it go.
It's kind of like
the soldiers
on the front lines of war,
you know,
who kind of carry
in their innermost pocket
of their vest
a picture of their loved ones
or their family
who they cherish.
They take with them
what matters most
into battle
and home again.
It's like that.
Jesus has assumed our flesh.
He's kept it close
and he's going to carry it
for eternity.
To put it simply,
do you wonder
if God loves you?
Then consider Christ
will return in a body
marked with scars
because he loves you.
But if you're still
kind of wrestling
with this fact
of Jesus' bodily return,
consider not just
what it tells us
about God's love for us,
but also what it tells us
about this material creation,
this bodily existence
that we inhabit.
You know,
many religions of the world
see as their goal
the kind of escape
of the material world,
right?
In their view,
this material world
is full of change
and suffering
and the body
is finite and frail,
so the goal then
is to escape the body,
to escape the material world.
But that's not Christianity.
Christianity,
while acknowledging
the brokenness
and fallenness
of the world,
affirms the material world's goodness,
affirms bodies
and bodily existence.
How does it do that?
Well, friend,
if the Lord of the universe
chose to come
and to live
and to die
and to rise
and even return
in a material body,
then these bodies of ours
must be
of incalculable worth.
You won't find
a worldview
or a religion
that is as embracing
of material creation
and bodily existence
than the faith
that centers
around Jesus Christ.
And this is why
Christians care so much
about work
and art
and culture,
because these material
means are part
of the worship
of the incarnate
and returning Lord.
and this is why
Christians care so much
about what we do
with our bodies,
right,
and what happens
to our fellow humans' bodies,
right?
We care about these bodies
that God has given us,
whether it's an unborn child
or an international refugee
or an elderly neighbor.
Christians affirm
the dignity
of every human body,
regardless
of how politically
or culturally fashionable
or unfashionable
that affirmation may be.
Because our ethics,
friends,
they're tethered.
What are our ethics
tethered to as believers?
Not to the passing whim
of our kind of
social sensibilities,
but what we believe
is right and good
and the fullness of life.
What's it tethered to?
It's tethered to
the body of Jesus,
a body that's broken for us,
a body that's been risen for us,
and a body that's
returning in glory.
So the fact
of the bodily return
of Christ
is good news.
It's good news
that God loves us,
and it's good news
that this material world,
this bodily existence
that we inhabit
is good.
But what about
the nearness
of Jesus' return?
Behold,
I'm coming soon,
Jesus says.
Now,
we have to be honest,
right?
Living nearly
2,000 years
after Jesus' ascension,
it doesn't exactly feel
like Jesus' return
is soon,
right?
But we have to remember
that the nearness
of Jesus' return
isn't necessarily
a chronological statement.
It's a redemptive
historical statement.
Here's what I mean.
That Jesus' coming soon
isn't about measuring
hours and days
and months and years,
right?
That's chronology.
That's clock time.
That's kind of ordinary time.
That's not the sort of
nearness we're talking about.
Rather,
what we're talking about
is what part of the story
we're in.
In the story of redemption
that began in Genesis 3,
when God promised
to send one
who would crush
the head of the serpent,
when redemptive history
began from that moment,
what chapter are we in?
Are we in the first chapter
with many to go?
Are we in the second,
the third?
No, friends,
we exist
in the last chapter
of God's redemptive history.
This is it.
The Messiah has come.
The decisive victory
has been won
over sin and death
in His death
and resurrection.
He has ascended
to His throne.
His message
of forgiveness
and freedom
is resounding forth
to the nations
through the proclamation
of the gospel of grace.
the movement of Jesus.
The kingdom of God
has advanced
around the world.
This is the last chapter
that we're living.
Or as the New Testament writers
say over and over again,
these are the last days.
And what is it we're waiting for
in these last days?
Well, there's one last part
to the story.
The return of the King.
At any moment,
the trumpet could sound,
the clouds could part,
and the Lord Jesus
will descend in glory.
You see,
from the perspective
of redemptive history,
from the perspective
of the story
we find ourselves in,
Jesus is coming soon.
Soon,
the heavenly groom
will come for His bride,
and we will feast
with Him in love.
Soon,
the divine champion
will come
to defeat His enemies
and liberate creation
from oppression.
Soon,
the perfect judge
will come
to put all things right
and justice will flow
like rivers and streams.
Soon,
the sun and moon
will be outshone
by the glory of God
and the Lamb
dwelling in the midst
of the new city
where people
from every tribe
and tongue and nation
will gather
to worship Him
and to reign with Him.
Soon,
there will be
no more death,
no more decay,
no more tears,
and no more sin.
On that day,
what a great day,
it will be impossible
for us
to sin.
There will be no going back
to the old ways.
God will be all in all.
There will be no ocean
of chaos
or destruction
or death,
only an ocean
of triune love,
the bottom of which
we will never reach
world without end
soon.
And that's why we pray
with verse 20.
Come,
Lord Jesus.
Jesus.
The church eagerly
longs for the return
of Christ.
As the Apostle Paul
says in 2 Timothy 4,
8,
we love His appearing.
Do you love His appearing,
brothers and sisters?
Are you eager
for His day to come?
Do you pray,
come,
Lord Jesus?
That's one of the most
ancient prayers
of the church.
We see it reflected
in verse 17.
The spirit and the bride
say,
come.
Let the one who hears
say,
come.
And then there's a twist.
Let the one who is thirsty
come.
As we pray this prayer
for Jesus to come,
it's also an invitation
to the thirsty.
For the soul
that's thirsty
for hope,
come.
Let the one who desires
take the water of life
without price.
this drink
will satisfy you.
This drink
will give you a hope
like no other.
Jesus has paid the price
so you can drink deeply
of His grace
now,
of His life
now,
and when He returns,
you will drink
the fullness
of unending joy.
We long
for His coming
like thirsty people
longing for a drink.
Of course,
there will be some
who scoff at this idea.
The Apostle Peter
speaks to this very thing
in the reading
that we heard earlier
in the service.
Where is the promise
of His coming,
some were saying,
even in Peter's day.
But you remember
how the Apostle
responded to that?
He said,
don't overlook this fact,
beloved,
that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years
is one day.
The Lord is not slow
to fulfill His promise
as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you,
not wishing that any
should perish,
but that all should
reach repentance.
You see,
if,
from our finite perspective,
the Lord seems to be
delaying His return,
it's not because
His promise is untrue,
but because His patience
is so great.
You see,
the truth about us
is that we've lived
our lives
in our own steam.
You know,
you and I,
you've been your own master,
your own king,
your own savior.
You've dug your own wells.
We all have.
But they can't hold any water.
You see,
in running our lives
our own way,
the prophet Jeremiah says,
we've rejected the fount
of living water,
and we've dug our own wells
that can't even hold any.
But what is repentance?
Repentance is admitting
that you've been running
your life your own way,
and it's turning
to surrender your life
to the one who lived
and died for you,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance means
admitting you're not God
and taking Jesus as Lord.
Repentance means
admitting that you can't
please God
by your own good works
and resting completely
in Jesus' record
instead of your own.
See,
at its heart,
repentance,
it's a transfer
of trust,
you see.
In our natural
fallen state,
we trust in ourselves,
we trust in created things.
That's actually
what the Bible
defines as sin.
trusting in ourselves
and in created things.
But repentance means
to transfer our trust
from those things
to the risen Jesus.
And here's the truly
amazing thing.
Consider what Scripture
says is true
for all who make
that transfer of trust
the Bible calls repentance.
We come bankrupt
to Jesus,
and we are given
the riches of His grace.
We come spiritually dead
and we're made
spiritually alive.
We come dirty
and full of shame
and we're clothed
in glory and honor.
We come as rebels
and we're embraced
as sons and daughters.
We come as moral failures
and we're credited
with perfect righteousness.
We come with empty hands
and we're given
a full measure,
shifted and shaken down
and overflowing,
put right into our lap.
We come without hope,
with no future
to look forward to,
and we're given
eternity.
An ever-satisfying
eternity
that causes us to pray,
come, Lord Jesus.
So this is what it means
that Jesus is coming soon.
That's the first question
we've been asking
of this final section
of Revelation.
Behold, I'm coming soon.
It means that we live
in the last act
of the drama of redemption
and Jesus could return
in glory at any moment
to judge and to save.
So we long for that moment
and we prepare for that moment
with genuine repentance.
But now we need to ask,
how do we live now
in light of His coming soon?
How do we live
knowing that Jesus
is coming soon?
Well, with the little bit
of time we have left,
let me mention just four things
we see in our passage.
As we eagerly long
for Jesus' return,
as we pray,
come, Lord Jesus,
with our hearts aflame
with love and expectation,
this passage presents
four practical ways to live
and each of these
actually harkens back
to a major application
of the whole book
of Revelation.
So what do we see first?
First, we're told
to worship God alone.
In verse 8,
John falls down in worship
before the angelic messenger
who showed him
all these things,
but the angel says,
don't do that.
I'm a servant just like you,
like all who hear this book.
Worship God.
And friends,
hasn't that been
the great theme
of this book?
God.
He alone
is worthy
of worship.
Reread chapters 4
and 5,
the great throne room
scene in heaven.
Let this book
remind you
that all the imitations
of this world,
the dragon
and his beasts
of power
and prosperity,
none of that
should capture our hearts.
Only God.
fear God
and you have
nothing to fear.
But this book
has also showed us
who God is.
God is not
some distant deity.
He's not some
philosophical construct,
some unmoved mover.
No,
the one true God
has made himself
known
in the face
of Jesus Christ.
Sitting on the throne,
worthy of worship,
is whom?
The Lamb.
Worship God,
the angel says,
and all of heaven
and earth
worships
the Lamb.
And this is
no contradiction
because Jesus
is one
with God the Father.
As he says here
in verse 13,
Jesus says,
I'm the alpha
and the omega,
the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.
Do you remember
where we heard
those words earlier
in this book?
All the way back
in chapter 1,
verse 8,
those very words
are spoken
by the Lord God,
God the Father.
Here is Jesus
saying the same
exact thing
because the Father
and the Son
are one.
So we long
for Jesus' return
and we don't give
our hearts
allegiance
to any lesser God
than the Lamb
who sits on the throne.
You know,
it's interesting
that John here
was tempted
to worship
the one who brought
him this message.
And can't that
sometimes be
our temptation too?
To revere
kind of a great
Christian leader
or to sort of
revere a great
Christian movement.
We sort of place
them on a pedestal
but when we find
that they have
feet of clay,
what happens?
Suddenly our faith
is shaken.
No, friends,
we must worship
God,
not the messenger.
We can thank God
for those who have
mentored us
and discipled us.
These are great gifts.
It's good to have
heroes of the faith
to emulate.
But we must not
worship them.
Our worship belongs
to Christ alone.
So that's the first
practical way
we live now
in light of Jesus'
coming soon.
We worship God alone.
Second,
we persevere.
In holiness.
In verses 10 through 14,
we hear the angel
tell John,
don't seal up the book.
Now it's interesting,
that's the exact opposite
of what the prophet
Daniel was told
all the way back
in Daniel 12.
For Daniel,
the events that he saw
were a long way off
so the angel said,
seal up the book.
But for John,
these events
were underway.
So he's told,
don't seal it up.
Let its message go.
And then in verse 11,
we have this
strange message.
Let the evildoers
still do evil,
and the filthy
still be filthy,
and the righteous
still do right,
and the holy
still be holy.
That's a strange verse,
isn't it?
At first,
it kind of sounds
a bit fatalistic,
right?
A bit resigned.
Well,
if evil people
are going to do evil,
we might as well
let them,
right?
But I don't think
that's the point
that is being made.
Rather,
the meaning
seems to be this.
Even if
evildoers
go on doing evil,
even if the shameful
go on doing
shameful things,
and they will,
you must be different.
Let the righteous
still do right,
and the holy
still be holy.
Persevere
in Christ's likeness,
even if the world
around you
is not.
And again,
hasn't this been
a great theme
of Revelation?
The theme
to overcome,
to be conquerors.
Conquerors,
not in a worldly sense,
but in the Christian sense,
that is to remain
faithful to the Lord Jesus,
even though the world
may despise you for it.
And what is the incentive
for doing so?
Verse 12,
Behold,
I'm coming soon,
Jesus says,
bringing my recompense
with me
to repay each one
for what he has done.
A perfect reckoning
is coming,
and soon.
For those who persist
in rejecting God's grace
in this life,
their works will be found
wanting.
Those who seem to be
on the inside
in this life,
verse 15 says,
they will be forever
on the outside
of the eternal city,
never to enter.
But for those
who have been washed
in the saving blood
of Christ,
those who have received
a righteousness
not their own,
those who have
humbled themselves
before the throne
of God
to be saved
by his grace
and not their works,
we're told
something wonderful
will be true
and almost too hard,
almost hard to believe.
We're told
that the good works
Christians have done
in this life,
though they will not
be what saves us
or justifies us
or earns God favor,
even so,
those humble,
imperfect,
good works of ours
will be rewarded
in the new heavens
and new earth.
It will be grace
upon grace.
We will be saved
by grace alone,
and yet,
even our imperfect deeds
done in faith
in this life
will receive a reward
from Christ.
What a gracious king.
He will give us
a reward
holy by grace,
holy as an act
of loving kindness.
You see,
every act
of persevering faith,
every good work
done in secret,
every sacrifice,
every kind word,
every act
of forgiveness,
Christ will acknowledge
them all
and they will receive
their reward.
of course,
the greatest reward,
though,
won't be what God
chooses to give
for our imperfect
good works.
The greatest reward
we will receive
will be the presence
of Christ himself.
We will have the right
to the tree of life,
the right to enter
the city by the gates,
and who is in the midst
of that city?
Who is the tree of life?
It's Christ.
Christ.
Now,
as we long
for Christ's return,
as we long
for this eternity
with him
in the new heavens
and new earth,
we can't help
but want to be like him
in this life.
You know,
isn't that true
of the sort of
earthly heroes
or people you
kind of admire?
You study them,
you see them,
and you start
to emulate them,
right?
You start to imitate them.
It's the same
in our relationship
with Christ.
He should be the one
we ultimately worship
and we ultimately emulate,
and as we long
for his appearing,
for his return,
as we long
to be with him,
we live more
and more like him.
Nearly every New Testament
writer draws
this connection.
The Apostle Peter says,
what sort of people
ought you to be
but those who live lives
of holiness
and godliness,
waiting for and hastening
the coming of the day
of God?
The Apostle Paul says,
keep the commandment
unstained and free
from approach
until the appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which he will display
at the proper time.
He who is the only
blessed and only sovereign,
the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
And the Apostle John
probably says it
the most clear.
He says,
beloved,
we are God's children now
and what we will be
has not yet appeared,
but we know
that when he appears,
we shall be like him
because we shall see him
as he is.
And then he says,
and everyone who thus
hopes in him
purifies himself
even as he is pure.
So as we long
for Christ's coming soon,
we persevere
in Christ's likeness,
wanting to become
like this one
we are longing to see.
So how do we act now
in light of Jesus' coming?
We worship God alone.
We persevere in holiness.
And third,
we hold fast
to the whole word.
We hold fast
to the whole word.
In verses 19,
in verses 18 and 19,
there's a warning.
There's a warning
against those
who might add
or take away
from what's written
in the book of Revelation.
And this is an echo
from the book of Deuteronomy.
As Moses is sort of
beginning the final book
of the law
on the brink
of the promised land,
God tells Israel
through Moses,
you shall not add
to the word
that I command you,
nor take from it
that you may keep
the commandments
of the Lord your God
that I command you.
It's a similar thing
John is saying here
at the end of Revelation.
Here, as this book
comes to an end,
we find a similar warning.
Don't add
and don't take away.
You see,
there's always
the temptation
when reading God's word
to add
or to take away.
So often,
we want to add things
that we think
ought to be there.
Or we want to take away
things that we think
shouldn't be there.
And John says,
when it comes
to this book
of Revelation,
don't add anything,
don't take anything away.
Now, if Revelation
is about anything,
what is it about?
Well, I hope we've seen
that it's about
the gospel itself,
that God is the creator
of all things,
that humans have tragically
rebelled against
their creator
and deserve eternal death
for their sin.
But God,
in his unimaginable grace,
did the unthinkable
instead of condemning
humanity justly,
he became a human being
and was condemned.
He was willing
to become himself
the substitute
for the very creatures
who offended him.
And in so doing,
he satisfied
both his justice
and his mercy.
In justice,
the penalty of death
against sinful humans
was paid.
In mercy,
there's forgiveness
for all who trust
in the substitute
who is the Lamb,
the Lord Jesus.
Jesus.
Now, too often
when we think about
that message,
too often we want
to add to it,
right?
We don't believe
that God would save
through grace alone,
by faith alone,
so we add to it.
We add something to it.
We add certain rules,
we add certain
cultural practices,
we add certain
religious rituals
or rites.
And it's funny
that the tradition
of the church,
if you look through
the history of the church,
it's sort of this
constant battle
with being tempted
to add something
to the message
of salvation
by grace
through faith.
But in adding
to the words
of Scripture,
John says something
pretty scary.
We're actually adding
judgment upon ourselves.
He says,
the plagues
described in this book
will be added
to those who add.
And that makes sense,
actually,
when you think about it.
Because if we think
that we can't be saved
by just grace alone,
if we think that we can
contribute to our salvation,
and if we twist the Bible
so that others start
to think the same thing,
then what's happening?
The more and more
we do that,
the farther and farther
we're separating ourselves
from Christ,
the only hope of salvation.
Paul says something
very similar in Galatians
when he's talking
about people who think
that you need to be circumcised
in order to be saved.
He says,
look,
if you pursue that path,
you're actually cutting yourselves
off from Christ.
Because you're trusting
in your circumcision,
not in Jesus.
If we had,
we're separating ourselves
from Christ.
But the opposite tendency
is also true.
We're also tempted
to take away,
aren't we?
The book of Revelation
has shown us
the reality of God's judgment,
hasn't it?
The awesomeness
of His holiness.
The incompatibility
of a lifestyle of sin
with a profession
with a profession of Christ.
So we're tempted
to take those things away.
Take away God's wrath
against sin.
Take away God's call
to holiness in the church.
But when we take away
God's holiness
and God's wrath,
we take away
the very heart
of the gospel itself.
for the gospel says
that God does
and will judge sin.
Friends,
you and I are sinners
who deserve wrath.
Without that,
the gospel makes no sense.
Think about it.
Why in the world
would Jesus
have to die
on a cross
if our sins
weren't more terrible
than we could imagine?
Why would Jesus cry out,
my God,
why have you forsaken me
if there were no wrath
against sin?
If you take away
God's wrath,
you simultaneously
take away God's love
because then the cross
is just a tragedy.
It's just a mistake.
It's just an accident
of history.
But what is the cross,
really?
The cross
is the greatest demonstration
of the love of God.
That from eternity,
God set his saving love
on lost sinners
and planned to redeem them
through an infinite cost
to himself.
That he would bear
the cost
of the just wrath
against our sin
in love for us.
And as Revelation
has told us
more than once,
the Lamb's book of life
was written
before the foundation
of the world.
This had been God's plan
all along.
So we must not
take it away.
So we must remain
faithful in our message.
Neither add
nor take away.
And friends,
we won't always
get it right.
Sometimes our interpretation
of things
will not be right.
You know,
when we all get to heaven
one day,
I'm sure the Lord
is going to say,
you know those things
that Nick taught you
about the book of Revelation?
You know,
some of those things
were a little off.
I don't think he got
all those symbols right.
Right?
You know,
we won't always
get the interpretation right.
But that's different
than adding and taking away.
We have to always
come back to Scripture.
We have to always
come back to these words
that God breathed out
for our teaching,
our reproof,
our correction,
our training
in righteousness.
You see, friends,
it's through the canon
of Scripture
that the King
leads His church.
So we cherish
every word
and we hold it up
knowing that this book
is good news,
that the gospel
it proclaims
is the power of God
for salvation
to all who believe.
So as we eagerly long
for Jesus to return,
we hold fast
to the whole word.
Every word is precious.
You know,
if you found a box
of letters
in your attic
from a late grandparent,
you say,
I mean,
wouldn't you prize them
if you discovered them?
You know,
what if you discovered
that they were all
actually addressed to you?
What if you discovered
a whole trove of letters
full of wisdom,
full of stories
about your family history,
full of expressions
of love for who you are
and who you'll become,
full of stories
about how
that great grandparent
sacrificed for you?
If you found
something like that,
you would prize
every word.
And friends,
that's exactly
what we have
in Scripture.
The King of creation
has given us
these writings
so that we might know
who we are
and whose we are
and all that He's done
and will do
to bring His promises
to fulfillment.
I mean,
how could we ever imagine
adding or taking away
from such a precious gift?
No,
even when the words
of Scripture
are hard to understand,
even when we wrestle
to interpret,
we hold fast
to the whole Word,
knowing that one day soon
we will meet the author
face to face.
So what's last then?
As we live now
in light of Jesus' coming soon,
we worship God alone,
we persevere
in Christ's likeness,
we hold fast
to the whole Word.
Finally,
we end with grace.
We end with grace.
The grace
of our Lord Jesus
be with all.
Amen.
Church,
may we keep
His grace
ever in our sights.
You know,
in the midst of all
the rich symbols
of this book
that are so powerful,
dragons and beasts,
seals and trumpets,
the message
at the end of the day
is a message of grace.
There's nothing
we have done
to earn His love.
And if you're in Christ,
there's nothing
you can do to lose it.
We've been forgiven much,
so we persevere
and we forgive in return.
He's laid down
His life for us,
so we willingly
lay down our lives
for Him,
knowing that to lose
our lives
is to find it.
It's all grace.
The grace of the Lamb
who was slain
and who will return soon
to redeem His beloved
and renew creation.
And by His grace,
church,
we will overcome.
Through external pressures
and persecution,
through internal conflicts
and compromise,
His grace will be with us.
But there's an even greater
future grace in store.
We long for the Lord's return.
We pray,
come, Lord Jesus,
because of grace to come.
Do you think
these last two chapters
of Revelation
that we've been studying
these last few weeks,
do you think that they
exhaustively contain
everything God has
in store for His people?
Streets of gold,
waters of life,
trees of life.
Do you think that's it?
How could they?
How could they possibly
be it?
The infinite God
has yet more grace
in store for His people.
What no eye has seen
nor ear heard
nor the heart of man imagined.
That's what God has prepared
for those who love Him.
So we pray,
come.
The Spirit and the Bride
say, come.
Let the one who hears
say, come.
And if you're thirsty,
come.
Let the one who desires
take the water of life
without price.
There's grace here for all.
Come.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we pray
for You to come.
Come in Your perfect timing.
Glorify Your name
and bring all Your promises
to fulfillment.
And Lord,
in Your sovereignty
as You tarry,
we pray that Your patience
would not be despised
by us.
That as we look forward
to Your return eagerly,
we would be marked
by lives
of turning,
of repentance.
And Lord,
as You tarry,
we pray that You would
pour out Your Spirit afresh
on those who do not know You.
Cause their eyes
to be opened.
Cause their hearts
to come alive
to see
that You are King,
that You are
the one true Savior,
and that the fullness
of life is found in You.
Would they come
to the water and drink,
placing their trust in You?
And would they join
with the church
and with the Spirit
and say, come.
We pray this,
Father,
in Jesus' mighty name.
Amen.