Revelation - “I Am Coming Soon”

SERMON DETAILS

Date: 12.15.24 (Sunday)

Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Location: 1677 Delaware Crossing, Independence, KY 41051)

Audience: Youth Students (6th - 12th Grade)

Book: Revelation

Passage: Revelation 22:12-13 (ESV)

Title: “I Am Coming Soon”

Series: 1/1

INTRO

Good Evening, thank you for making it a priority to be here. The Leaders and I are truly grateful for you guys and we are excited to dive into Gods Word with you tonight

If there is one thing that I absolutely love… it is opening God’s Word and seeing that our savior is not silent… I love seeing, knowing, and hearing from Lord and savior…

I love that God is here for me… that loves me… that he cares for me… that he loves me… and that he has written an entire book so that I could get to know him and tell others about him…

VERSE - GOD’S WORD

Matthew 4:4 says…

Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

But he answered, “It is written,

“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

These words were spoken Jesus Christ… when he was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness…

Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights and he went into and entered the wilderness… where the “tempter” the devil… tempts him…

Satan knows that Jesus is hungry and says to him… “If you are the Son of God… command these stones to become loaves of bread…”

Jesus responds by saying… “Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone… But By Every Word That Comes From the Mouth of God”…

Jesus was quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy… Deuteronomy 8:3… where Moses was appealing to the Israelites to remember the Lord their God…

I bring this verse up because Jesus lived by every word that came from the mouth of the Lord…

His life was in aligned with, agreed with, and proclaimed the word of God because he lived by the Word of God…

I love Matthew 4:4 because I see how Jesus responds to the tempter… the devil… when the tempter tempts him… Jesus responds with Scripture… Jesus responds with the word of God…

Why do I get excited about opening God’s Word with you?

Because it is the only place that I can go to truly live… to truly respond to the enemy… and to know who my God truly is…

God’s Word is what we live off of… With this truth in mind… Would you pray with me before we see what God is trying to teach us…

OPENING/INTRO PRAYER

Father God… Would you prepare our hearts to be able to understand your Word… Would you gracious reveal to us… through your Spirit and through the reading of your Word… the truth that you have for us… Father… please be with us and we dive into your living Word… Lord… you tell us that man shall not live by bread alone… but by every word that comes from your mouth… Help us to understand apply your words that bring life to our lives… in your Son Jesus name we pray… Amen…

The Passage we will be looking at his evening is Revelation 22:12-13… Revelation 22:12-13…

Revelation is the last book in the Bible and New Testament…

Please following along as I read the text… for Revelation 22:12-13 says…

Revelation 22:12–13 (ESV)

“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.”

What is happening in the text? What is the Context surrounding this text?

Context is important because the context gives us a CLEAR picture of the CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING the STORY…

CONTEXT OF REVELATION:

Written By: The author of Revelation was John… this John was a disciple, friend, and companion of Jesus Christ… John wrote the Book of Revelation when he was exiled to the island of Patmos for his faith… Traditionally… many scholars believe claim that John also wrote the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John… John was a part of the inner circle… where he experienced miracles and witnessed things with Jesus that other disciples did not get to… He witnessed the transfiguration of Christ on a mountain in Luke 9 and Mark 9… John was referred to as the “disciple whom Jesus Loved”…

Date: Many Scholars believe that Revelation was written around and in-between AD 90-95… In other words, the book of Revelation was written about 90-95 years after the birth of Jesus Christ…

Audience:

Why:

WHO: Jesus is the one speaking in Revelation 22:12-13… he is the one saying… “Behold, I Am Coming Soon”.

My Goal: My goal is not to provide you with every interpretation of all the things that happen in the book of Revelation… my goal is to point you to one of the main points that the book of Revelation drives home…the book of Revelation is not meant to cause you to retreat, run away, or be left undone… the Book of Revelation was given to us to remind us of what matters most…

TRANISITION:

Now that we have the CONTEXT in place… now that we know the CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING the STORY and have a clear picture of the background of the text… we can ask ourselves…

What is God teaching us through this text?

How does that teaching apply to our lives today?

Let’s not waste anytime… What is God Teaching us?…

POINT #1: JESUS is COMING SOON

Look at Revelation 22:12 and that first phrase… it says…

Revelation 22:12 (ESV)

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

Oh I hope… that the truth and reality… that Jesus Christ is coming back soon… is something that you get excited about…

I hope that the thought of your savior coming back to get you… that he has not forgotten you… that he has a place ready for you… that you get to see him face to face… that you get to be in his presence for an eternity… that you no longer have to battle or fight sin… that there is no more death… that there is no more shame or embarrassment for things that we wish ought not have done… that you get to be embraced by the one who showed you true love, compassion, joy, forgiveness, mercy, and grace… Oh how I hope that the Return of Jesus Christ would be the thing you look forward to most…

I want to speak to two groups tonight…

1.) Those who live there lives today with the end in mind…

2.) Those who live theirs lives with today in mind…

ILLUSTRATION/ “THE END MATTERS”

I could be wrong… but I do not think many of us live our lives with the end in mind…

I think a lot of us live our lives with today in mind…

In other words, we live our lives based upon what we want today… how we feel today… what we want to experience today… who we want to hang out with today… we live lives that are focused on what life and this world has to offer us today… because we think that if we do not get it today or now… then we have somehow missed out… that we will not experience something that would radically change, enhance, or brighten our lives…

Some of us live our lives for today… because we fear that we might miss out on something before we have another tomorrow…

Leading us to view the experiences of this life as most important and of the highest priority…

I want to be clear… the things that this life has to offer… like:

Sports: A sport that you love playing and get enough of

Wealth and Money: The since of security, value, and freedom you get from having money

Fame: The adoration and praise from other people that you long for and desire

Trips and Vacations: Filling your life with the best experiences and places to visit and travel… seeing the most gorgeous sights and views that only a handful of people will get to see

Education/knowledge: Accomplishing multiple degrees and filling your head with knowledge

All do not stand a chance when it comes to be in the presence of your Savior Lord and King Jesus Christ for an eternity…

But those are not the only things that pale in comparison to the presence of living with our savior and Lord Jesus Christ for eternity… Things like:

Family

Children

Friends

Things that are good gifts from God stand no chance to the end and new beginning we will experience when we are in the presence of God… Why? Because they are gifts and good things are great and fun to open… but they will never compare to the love of the actual love and presence of the actual person…

ILLUSTRATION:

I love my dad… my dad is 54 years old… my dad is Superman… I love him… he is not perfect… he has made many mistakes… but he is someone that I cherish, love, and would do anything for… when I was a boy he was my father, friend, protector, comforter, and someone who holds a very special and dear place in my heart…

One thing I love about my dad is that on Christmas day he would always hide a present… he would take a present that he knew wanted most and would act like he did not buy it for us… and he would act like all the gifts were all gone… and then he would sneak off and bring us one more gift to open… the gift we had hoped and longed for… He loved giving us good gifts… and as much as I loved the good gift my dad would give me at Christmas… I would never trade a gift… no matter what it cost… no matter how good it is… for my dad…

My dad gave me good gifts… but I would never trade a gift for my dad… I would never choose a gift over being in the presence of my father…

The thought of my father passing away and longer being here with me and for me is terrifying… I mean he is Superman… he the one I can look to, run to, be comforted by… he is my dad… and the thought of my dad being gone breaks me… no gift could ever take the place of my father… there not even on the same level…

My point is this… Some of us live our lives for the gifts and long for the gifts of God instead of the presence of God…

We look at the good things that God allows us to have and say… ah yes! This is it… this is what I am living for… this is the best it gets… instead of seeing and realizing that the presence of God the person of God is far more valuable than the gifts he has given…

I love my dad and I am thankful for him… he is truly a gift from God… but he pales in comparison and could never replace the God who gave me the gift of my Father…

We often do not live today with the end in mind… because we view the gifts of God as better than the presence of God…

Many people do not get excited about, like to think about, or look forward to Jesus Christ returning… because they think the gifts of God are more precious than the presence of God…

The presence of my dad is far more precious to me than the any gift that he could give me…

My question for you is… are you someone who is living for today… because you view the gifts and good things that God offers as better than the presence of God?

God gave the greatest gift in the world… his Son Jesus Christ for our salvation… Imagine how great being in his presence will be…

I guarantee, when you stand before the Father… and you are in his presence… you will not pause and think… man… this is great… but I wish I would have been able to see the Bengals win a super bowl… I wish I would have gotten first… I wish I would have a child first… I wish I would have gotten to go to Paris first…. I wish I would have gotten to be an attorney first… I wish I could have hung out with children for another 10 years…

You will be see and realize that the person and presence of God tomorrow is far better than any gift or experience you get today…

The book of Revelation is not meant to cause you to retreat, run away, or be left undone… the Book of Revelation was given to us to remind us of what matters most…

What matters most is the reality that Jesus Christ is coming back soon… do you look forward to being in the presence of God… more than the good gifts that God allows you to experience?