Revelation

If you're wondering where my cane is this morning of, so am I?

I had it when I came in and I don't have it now, so if you see it somewhere, send up a player.

Probably if you had the name, the book of the Bible that's the most misused and the most misunderstood it would be the Book of Revelation. A lot of very extreme Behavior has been justified by things that people have read in in the symbols that are included in the Book of Revelation. Probably many of you know that One of the most extreme examples of our time is a Charles Manson and the Manson is head of the murderers Colton. California believe that he was getting messages from God. He bought sit the winged angels from Revelation chapter 9. We're supposed to pass on God's information to him how he decided that the four Beatles with a for winged angels and he didn't pick up. You know, love, love me. Do or do you want to hold my hand? Hillsong was Helter Skelter and just try to justify did justify it. It's on my mind too many. Credibly strange in the end and devious Behavior. The point reason I point that out is when we look at revelation, we have a tendency to Just dig through there and find a symbol yohei. I bet they can be you know and all kinds of strange and weird games come out of that process and weather. And I know it can be interesting at times to talk about the 144,000 or the mark of the beast or various kinds of things. Do you need to be careful in that book? And the reason for that is so we're going to look at Revelation just a bit it. But before we do that go with the second Peter

Check chapter 1 verses 2021.

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by The Prophet's own interpretation for prophecy. Never had its origin in the human, will the prophets the human spoke from God that they were carried Along by the Holy Spirit.

All of us, have a responsibility to be receptive to the voice and the message of God and it's important that we clarify what that message is and not how we would interpret it. And this passage indicates that, you know, this is still room for private interpretation of what did this symbol mean in The Book of Revelation, you can have your your opinion about it and then debated but obviously there are times when we can get off the path, very, very quickly, things like this before, but you really want to get a feel for what Revelations all about. Sit down and read it at a single sitting. If you read it from the beginning to the end, it is a book, the victory. There was hard times, and God is warning us about the hard times, and I think he was warning. The people of the first-century who understood the symbols for more complete than we do, and giving them some very direct pieces of information.

But you keep reading through all the bad stuff and you wind up in the last two chapters with this beautiful triumphant people who now live in this perfect place that God has prepared for us and so many of the passages, do they use about heaven? Come from those last, two chapters in The Book of Revelations. Because we're told so much about what's going to be there, but it's going to be like and the information that we're going to need to have I bring it all up because I struggled this whole year with what to do with a section from Revelation. The idea of Victorious living, really comes from The Book of Revelation. That's the really where the concept comes from, and you can support it and other places, but it's strongly there in Revelations, 2, and 3. You probably know the seven churches of Asia. Jesus talks to John and tells him what to tell the messenger, from each of those, seven churches. And some of this criticism, some of it sprays correction, alterations and changes just a various kinds of things. But in each of those situations, me, and that discussion by saying, this is the victory. You could achieve And there's a specific victory for each of those seven churches. And my original idea was to do seven weeks and do all seven church. And I've tried to put that together a number of different times and the reality is it just becomes too cumbersome. And I'm afraid that that sounds very repetitive. And so I've decided to just look at one of those churches, as a representative of those of those seven churches. There should be no debate that the seven churches are real. You can find it on the map. You can see the descriptions of them. There are people. And you mean, you need to know this as you doesn't people. There are people who don't believe that the seven churches are real. Are the seven churches are symbolic just like the rest of Revelation. And so, you have to guess, which church it is, because it could be epices stands for something else, stands for something else. And you can imagine how complicated it gets if you go by without that particular Road,

Ephesus. They've forgotten their first loved us were no, we're going to talk about in just a moment pergamum, they accepted the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans Jezebel Sardis and they have a great reputation but they're kind of empty on the inside Philadelphia God or Jesus, they hang on. Hold on, I'm coming. I'm going to be there before you know it and they ought to see if forces are hot and cold that we talked about but let's go starting at 8 and go down 2 verse 11. Do the angel of the church in Smyrna, right? Well, who's this angel? Don't know, don't have any idea. Most most many versions translate this messenger. And so it probably is one of the local people who were involved in in the providing, the message at the Kingdom. These are the first words of him, who is the first in the last who died and came to life? Obviously Jesus. I know your afflictions and your poverty yet you are rich. Hot Spot above pelvic contradiction doesn't fit in our world. I know that you are people of poverty and yet I declare you rich. And there's all kinds of lessons there. We could talk about our values and what makes things valuable to us and, and various kinds of things. Cuz I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not but are a synagogue of Satan and that's the problem that they dealt with over and over again. And then V10, you wouldn't want it to have been sitting in the assembly on the day that this letter was read. There would have been a day when this letter was read specifically. And people that's part of this message directly do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to text you and you will suffer persecution for 10 days. 10 actual real days. No, that's a euphemism for a short. Of time and he's just trying to make sure. They understand that there's some brevity, at least in the context, dear and then here's the passage that I think is so critical. Be faithful. Even to the point of death and I will give you life as your Victor's Crown. Victorious living cuz I'm going to give it to you. You may think you're poor, but you're really rich and you've got some stuff that's fixing to happen to you. And one of the things that human beings are going to do very easily is look up and say, what did I do wrong? Why is this happening? Why is God punishing me? Why is God and happy with me? And God is trying to create this understanding for the people of Smyrna. That's not the situation at all. This is a persecution. And hang in there, hang on. Continue. To be faithful. Verse 11 do ever have any ears. Let them hear what the church says, to what the spirit says to the churches. The one who is Victorious will not be hurt at all by the second desk and we can spend a lot of times baby with the second. Death is revelation, go to the fire. It's a permanent punishment from which you cannot Retreat. And so, the first death you can Retreat and you can change and you can alter what's going to happen in that situation. The second does the permanent punishment that occurs

Be faithful. It was a lot of ways we can be faithful in our lives. A bunch of years ago. Probably get at least a decade back. I mentioned the guy by the name of Andrei Kirilenko who was the NBA basketball player, not any longer play the long time for the Utah Jazz and he was cuz of his initials and his number. He was called AK-47 and so people can remember him. He was even more famous for one other thing though, he was married to a Russian Rock Star by the name of Masha and he didn't wash it. One day year, they could be unfaithful to each other. Now, would you look at that? How much would that be really? One day out of 365 days. That's 99 + percentage typically when we find above 99% we're like, yeah, that's good enough. But we know better than that. I was interested. I'd look up and see if they were still married. Then they are from all indications that I can find all those. She says that she's never exercised,

Opportunity, he will not say that so we don't really know what's going on there. But

Faithful. Yeah, and Mary just certainly one of them if you if you said that your partner, okay? Just one day, a year, it won't count. Will not have Accounts at that point in time. You don't get to do it to work at it that way. And other times, we have opportunities, to be faithful to our family. That means we step up to the responsibilities. We have to care and provide for the people that are in our family. The people that we love the people that God has given us responsibility for taking care of. We do that because we're trying to be faithful, we can be faithful to organizations. We can certainly be faithful to Christ's body there. Just so many things that cause us to be faithful. now, sometimes I have discussions with people who are very, very faithful people and they feel like I'm not doing enough. And while that may be true, it is swimming good for that, time to challenge ourselves and to see what's going on in our lives. And if we really, as faithful as we ought to be, But there's a positive thing about being faithful, something, sometimes are difficult. And I think he's saying to Smyrna, it's going to get hard and it may be. That the very least of their only thing you could hold onto is being faithful things. Maybe so difficult and so hard. But that's really all you can face up to and handle at that particular time.

But there's more than that to Smyrna. Because he says, what faithful unto death. Is he warning them that the persecution may be so severe? That some of them are going to die. I think. So there's going to actually be loss of life because of their Christianity because of their face and we can stop and say, wow, how terrible, how thankful I am that? I don't live in that kind of situation. And certainly, we need to be thankful but we also need to realize that there are people who live in our world. Who don't have that, they actually placed their lives in Jeopardy. When they do things that are obedient to God. They are in the situation we're being faithful unto death. Actually could involve their physical death.

What a struggle it is. We're called to that particular point. I don't do enough. I don't give enough. I don't make the right choices. Are you Faithful? Are you faithful to God? God calls us to be a faithful servant. And sometimes that's all we can manage it. Maybe because of our health. It may be because of our circumstances, it may be because of what's going on in our lives. There. Just all kinds of challenges. It makes it very difficult to be active at times. It probably everybody here.

I would say there were times when I just had to hunker down and and survive, there were times when I just had to reach out for help and sustenance and resources, because all I can do is just stay faithful, and that's so critical. Two passages. Let's look at Hebrews chapter 3 for spinning.

I'm doing the old style that I'm actually looking up in the Bible. It said, being able to Pace them It's a lot harder.

Verses 12 and 13 of Hebrews chapter 3.

Ctuit brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away for the Living God. But encourage one another daily as long as it's called today. So that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ's if indeed we hold our ritual conviction, firmly to the very end today. If you hear his voice, do not Harden your heart. As you did in the Rebellion, we have a responsibility to assist each other. In the process of holding on and remaining faithful.

People who get to the end of the rope in a lot of ways. And often the boys, that matters to them is the voice of somebody who cares about them, Sherry critical information.

Go to 2nd Timothy chapter 4.

Start number 6.

1st Timothy does read the same as

Ball says their Grandma already being poured out like a drink-offering and the time for my departure is near now. We heard these words so many times that we can just easily kind of Passover, them that really get on those kind of fault fault and focus that are there. Paul says, in verse 7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Just done it. I completed it. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me but also to those with long face. Back in SportWagen, see something about Smyrna, Smyrna, be faithful unto death and receive the Crown of Life. Paul is talking about different circumstances, only different situation but exactly the same idea. The same concept, the same reward from God this life. And I think that sometimes comes in the place where people begin to wonder, is it worth it is to sacrifice worth it. I'm so weary I so tired. I don't know if I can keep going. I don't know if I can handle another problem. I don't know if something else comes out of the blue, if I'm to Way by that, I'm just to the place where I can't go any further. I got this, just be faithful. just, Be faithful.

I rid of a new book, Moriarty, the lady, who writes this particular broke its brand-new. I didn't like the book, cuz it's not, it's not, it's not like the things that that she normally writes, but it does make you go and deal with your own mortality and that's the whole point of it. Look death in the face and really have some thoughts, maybe even some discussions about what that means for you. A lot of us, have you? I want to accomplish this, I want to accomplish that. I want to leave something behind when I go, like to be a person that that had an impact in all those kind of things, but when it comes right down to it, it's just a wee faithful or not. That's it. Is God going to say Well done, good and faithful servant and run to the joy of your lord if he is. We won the victory. If he isn't. Then we need to be doing something different with our live at this point in time.

I'm thinking about the subject and thinking about the mortality, I couldn't help, but think about the number of people that we've lost in this church in the last 2 years. So many senior Saints, have gone from our presence. Just go back to Ron's passing, almost 2 years ago, save, I put something in my mail sometime want to savor look for later on and so, did I do that? A punch a button and it brings me of the choices. They are, the choices are wrong because r, o n r, o, r, o B & R O N. So every time I do that, it pulls Ron's name of and I have to go between those two. And there are times when I thought, you know, I need to go ahead and delete that cuz it would be simpler. But it also is kind of hard at times because it reminds you of the fact that that person isn't here. And so I've left it there because I think it's probably better to have the reminder. There are others. You, you go into your directory and you start to see people have come and gone. They bless us, they've helped us, they've encouraged this and then all kinds of positive things. And their memory memory really moves us And inspires us. 3in with this. But I work in Houston. The second church, we had a missionary in Jerusalem.

Now, think about that for a minute. Where did this all start?

It's all started in Jerusalem, Peter Feast of the First Gospel sermon in, in Jerusalem, that the Christians had. The first congregation, the First Assembly, the first working group was in Jerusalem. Why would you need to go back and send missionaries back to the place of origin?

The lot of religious community confusion that goes along with that particular place has been so much fighting so much Distortion about what's really involved with God and serving God in various kinds of things. And every time, I would think of that, every time we every time we thought about the mission group in in Jerusalem, you go back to this passage just be faithful.

If the people had been faithful you would need to have a missionary intrusive, you wouldn't need to have missionaries in Macedonia, you wouldn't need to have missionaries in Scotland, you would need to have been missionaries even in some rural parts of the United States right now. Because I, we didn't hold the primary task of being faithful. It's something we can all do. It's a challenge that God gives to us. Would you play with me?

Your father, give us the strength to be faithful. Help us to hold your hand until the last moment of this life and then to cross over and be with you. Help us to celebrate that homecoming. Help us to feel and know that Victory. Father. We pray that we might have the kind of Abundant Life that we live here. And then we go on and be with you. We just asked you to strengthen. This has helped us make us aware of the things that maybe need to be altered in our lives. So that that's a guarantee. You it is a complete thing that will happen for us. We just asked you to help us. Father, I thank you so much for the open doors and the open opportunities that you provide for us. We pray that we might represent you in a way that would make you proud. We pray this to your precious son. Amen. This morning, our custom is to be extended invitation. We end. We extend dance invitation if you need to respond to that. We encourage you to do that. While we said sing together,