While We Wait

Lead Vocalist (Kelly)

Welcome & Announcements (Mike K)

Good morning family!

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Announcements:

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Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Psalm 69:30-34)

Prayer of Praise (Brannan Holdren)

He Calls Me Friend (PBC Kids)

How Firm a Foundation

Prayer of Confession (Joey Flowers), Failure to read our Bibles

Assurance of Pardon (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Your Will Be Done

Speak O Lord

Scripture Reading (Revelation 10:1-11)—page 1224 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Mike K)

Prayer for PBC—Help us to trust you when we don't understand

Prayer for kingdom partner—Reformation Christian Fellowship (Kenny D’Auria)

Prayer for US—For State Legislatures

Prayer for the world—Morocco

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

A few months ago, our family started watching the TV show LOST. Holly and I were huge fans when it originally aired twenty years ago, so it's been fun introducing it to our kids.

But watching LOST today is a completely different experience than watching it when it first aired.

Every ten minutes—just when something exciting happened—we had to watch another commercial.

And back then, you couldn't just click "Next Episode." You watched one episode a week, then waited seven days for the next one.

Then, when the season ended on another cliffhanger, you waited months before the next season premiered.

During those months, people talked about the show everywhere. They debated theories with their friends. They searched for clues online. They tried to predict what would happen next. The waiting became part of the experience.

When we explained this to our kids, they said: “I don’t know how you did this, mom and dad. What did you do while you waited to see how the story ended?”

That question reminds me of the book of Revelation.

SHOW SEVEN CYCLES IMAGE

In chapters 4-7, the Lamb opened six of the seven seals before pausing prior to the seventh.

Now here in Revelation 10, six of the seven trumpets sound before the action pauses again.

Naturally, we're expecting the seventh trumpet to sound. But instead, God inserts another intermission.

Not because the story has stalled, but because...

God's people need something even more important than knowing what happens next.

We need to know how to live while we wait.

That’s what Revelation 10 is all about.

It’s not enough to know that the end is coming.

In a sense, Revelation 10 answers the question our kids asked: “What are we supposed to do while we wait for the story to end?”

Here’s the answer: While we wait for the end, we must trust God’s secret plans and treasure His revealed Word.

That’s the Big idea I’d like to show you from our text this morning.

As we study this chapter, we’ll learn two lessons to help us as we wait for the end:

In verses 1-7, we’ll learn to Trust God’s Secret Plans,…

… and in verses 8-11, we’ll learn to Treasure God’s Revealed Word.

Before we jump into the text, I want to show you a verse that I think captures the heart of Revelation 10:

Shortly before his death, Moses said this to the people of God waiting in the wilderness...

Deuteronomy 29:29—The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God has secret things. Things He has chosen not to tell us. Things that belong to Him alone. Our job is to trust Him with those things.

But thankfully, God has revealed many things to us in His Word. Our job is to treasure those things. To pass them along to our children. To obey them.

Unfortunately, many Christians do the exact opposite. We obsess over the secret things that God hasn’t revealed to us and ignore what He has clearly revealed in His Word.

My prayer this morning is that we'll become the kind of Christians who are content to leave God's secrets with Him, while faithfully living in light of what He has revealed.

If this chapter helps us trust His secret plans more deeply and treasure His revealed Word more faithfully, then it will have accomplished exactly what God intended.

While we wait for Christ's return, we must…

1) Trust God’s Secret Plans

Revelation 10:1–7—Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

Let’s try to get the big picture of these verses before we zoom in on some of the details.

After the sixth trumpet sounds, the Apostle John sees another vision.

This time he sees a glorious mighty angel, and he hears something called “the seven thunders.”

And just when he was about to write down what the seven thunders said, a voice forbids him.

Whatever these seven thunders are, they are not meant for us to know. They are God’s secret plans.

William Hendriksen puts it like this: “The meaning is clearly this: never shall we be able to know and to describe all the factors and agencies that determine the future. . . . So let us be very careful in making predictions regarding the future.” [1]

When LOST was still on TV, fans tried to solve every mystery before the writers revealed it. And all those theories actually left many fans disillusioned and disappointed when the end finally came. It just couldn’t live up to the hype many had created.

Christians can approach Revelation the same way. We become consumed with decoding what God has chosen to keep secret, instead of faithfully responding to what He has clearly revealed. Ironically, some people are disappointed by that approach. They want Revelation to answer questions God never intended it to answer.

Or maybe it’s not Revelation. Maybe it’s the ins and outs of your own life. Where should I work? Who should I marry? How many kids should I have? When should I retire? Should I pursue that treatment? You might have desires or inclinations that help you answer these questions, but the truth is God hasn’t revealed these things to you. They’re a part of His secret plans for your life.

So how can we grow to trust God’s secret plans?

John gives us two anchors to steady us when God's plans remain hidden.

We will grow in our ability to trust God’s secret plans as we…

A) Remember God’s Greatness

The chapter begins with a description of a mighty angel:

He is wrapped in a cloud,…

He has a rainbow over His head,…

His face shines like the sun,…

His legs are like pillars of fire,…

He’s so massive he’s standing with his right foot on the ocean and his left foot on the land,…

And he has a voice that sounds like a lion roaring.

In his commentary on Revelation, G.K. Beale writes this: “If he is an angel, he is an extraordinary one, since he is described in a majestic way, unlike any other angel in the book. He is given attributes that are given only to God in the OT or to God or Christ in Revelation.” [2]

Some commentators (including Beale) have concluded that this angel must be a symbolic reference to Jesus Himself!

Whether or not this angel is a reference to Jesus, the application still remains: If one of God’s’ angels is this great, how much greater is God Himself?!?

In the 20th century, one theologian who faithfully banged the drum of God’s greatness was a man named A.W. Pink. In his classic book The Sovereignty of God, he wrote this: “Only two alternatives are possible: God must either rule, or be ruled; sway, or be swayed; accomplish His own will, or be thwarted by His creatures. . . . Because God is God He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases; [and] His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory. . . . How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. . . . a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man.” [3]

Is this the God you worship? Is He a God who “does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases”? Or is he a “miserable caricature. . . who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man”?

If God is not this great, you cannot trust His secret plans. How could you possibly leave anything in His hands if you’re not sure those hands are strong enough to guarantee a good outcome?

But if God is this great, you can trust Him. You don’t need to have everything in Revelation figured out. You can trust Him that the world will end on His timeline. You can trust Him to hold you fast until the end.

And if God is this great, you can trust Him with the details of your life. You can do the next right thing, even when you can’t see the outcome. You can trust His secret plans because you know He is in control.

Remembering God's greatness gives us confidence in His power.

But verses 5–7 remind us of something equally important:

God isn't merely great. He's also good.

So we must…

B) Rest in God’s Goodness

After telling John not to write down the seven thunders, the angel swears an oath and makes a promise.

And what exactly has He promised?

"There would be no more delay."

That doesn't mean everything will happen immediately.

It means history is not wandering aimlessly. Evil will not reign forever. The suffering of God's people will not continue indefinitely.

The seventh trumpet will sound.

The mystery of God—that great plan He announced through the prophets to judge evil, save His people, and establish His eternal kingdom—will most certainly be fulfilled.

This is where we see not only God's greatness but also His goodness.

Sometimes when people hear about God's sovereignty, they picture Him as cold, distant, or detached.

But Revelation presents something very different.

God's sovereign plan is a good plan.

It ends with evil defeated, justice established, Christ reigning, and His people safely home with Him forever. His promises are not merely inevitable—they are glorious.

Think about your own life. There are countless things you don't know. Will your health improve? Will your prodigal child return to Christ? Will this trial ever end? Will this ministry bear fruit? God has not answered every one of those questions. Those belong to His secret plans.

But He has answered the most important question of all: How does the story end? Christ wins. Satan loses. God's kingdom comes. His people are rescued. Every one of His promises will come to pass.

You may not know every chapter that lies ahead, but because of God's goodness, you can trust the ending.

If you ever find yourself doubting either God's greatness or His goodness, don't look first to the mysteries of Revelation. Look to the gospel.

At the cross we see the goodness of God on full display. Because God is so good, He sent His sinless Son to die a sinner’s death in our place.

At the empty tomb we see the greatness of God on full display. Because God is so great, even death could not contain Him. Jesus rose from death on the third day so that whoever believes in Him can also defeat death and live forever.

Friend, do you believe in this Good News? Would you turn from your sins and trust in Jesus today? If you’d like to talk to someone more about what that means, I’d love to connect with you after the service.

Christian, because you have put your faith in this Good news, you can trust God’s secret plans.

Should storms of sevenfold thunder roll

And shake the globe from pole to pole;

No flaming bolt could daunt my face,

For Jesus is my hiding place.

On Him almighty vengeance fell,

That must have sunk a world to hell;

He bore it for the chosen race

And thus became their hiding place. [5]

If Jesus is your hiding place, you can trust God’s secret plans.

That’s what we’re called to do while we wait for the end.

But also, we must…

2) Treasure God’s Revealed Word

Revelation 10:8–11—Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

Again, let’s try to get the big picture of these verses before we zoom in on some of the details.

In verses 1-7, John is forbidden from writing something down.

But in verses 8-11, He is commanded to prophesy.

Verses 1-7 were about the secret plans of God.

Verses 8-11 deal with the revealed Word of God.

And it all centers around this little scroll.

Commentators disagree on what the scroll represents.

It could be the same scroll from Revelation 5.

It could be the entire book of Revelation.

But I agree with William Hendriksen and others who argue that it represents the Word of God. [5]

So what does it look like to treasure God’s revealed Word?

John gives us three steps to help us.

First, if you’re going to treasure God’s Word you must...

A) Get into the Word

Revelation 10:8—Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

You cannot begin to treasure God’s Word if you don’t first get into God’s Word.

Jerry Bridges says this: “It is impossible to practice godliness without a constant, consistent, and balanced intake of the Word of God in our lives.” [6]

I like that word “intake” there.

You can get Bible intake by sitting down and opening up an analog Bible.

You can also get Bible intake by opening up a Bible app on your phone or tablet.

And you can even get Bible intake by opening the audio Bible on that app and listening to God’s Word.

The truth is, Bible intake can happen in many ways, through personal reading, family worship, Sunday sermons, Sunday School, Midweek, and Scripture memory.

Here’s the question, Christian: are you faithfully and regularly getting into the Word of God?

Many Christians have a hit-and-run approach to Bible reading. You don’t have a plan so you’re bouncing from one thing to the next and nothing really seems to stick.

John Blanchard is right when he says hit-and-run Bible reading often turns into hit-and miss. [7]

If you need help coming up with a plan for your Bible reading, please talk to me or another pastor after the service. We would love to recommend something to help you grow in this area.

But the bottom line is you’re not going to treasure God’s Word if you’re never getting into God’s Word.

And yet, as important as getting into the Word is, it’s not enough.

Second, if you’re going to treasure God’s revealed Word you must...

B) Get the Word into you

Imagine a man who knows all about all the best restaurants in the area. Want bread pudding? He knows exactly where to find it. Want shrimp tacos? He’s got a recommendation. And yet, despite knowing all the best restaurants in the area, this man is starving. He's memorized every menu in town, but he never actually eats the food.

As important as mere Bible intake is, it’s not enough to help us treasure God’s Word.

In fact, we could say that Bible intake without meditation and personal application is a lot like memorizing menus.

The Apostle John is urged not merely to take the scroll, but to consume it.

Revelation 10:9–10—So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.

Now obviously, scrolls are not meant to be eaten. So what does it mean to "eat" God's Word?

It means we don't merely read it—we meditate on it until it’s truth becomes part of us.

The Puritan pastor Thomas Watson put it like this: “It is not the taking in of food—but the stomach's digesting it, which makes it turn into nourishment. Just so, it is not the taking in of a truth at the ear —but the meditating on it, which is the digestion of it in the mind, which makes it nourish. Without meditation, the Word preached may increase [knowledge], but not affection.” [8]

Christian, when is the last time you stopped to truly meditate on the Word of God? To slow down and think about it’s meaning? To think about how it applies to your marriage? Your schooling? Your work? Your parenting?

To get the Word of God into you, you have to go beyond merely hearing or reading the Word. You have to stop and think about it’s meaning and how it applies to your life

If you will be faithful to get the Word of God into you through biblical meditation, you will find the results will be bittersweet.

As the Psalmist writes…

Psalm 119:103—How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Why is God's Word sweet? Because there we meet Christ. There we discover forgiveness. There we find wisdom. There we hear God's promises. There we learn who we are and whose we are. God's Word satisfies the soul in a way nothing else can.

But anyone who has truly digested God's Word knows, it’s not only sweet. It’s also bitter. Sometimes it hurts going down.

God's Word comforts us and confronts us.

It assures us of God's love and exposes our pride.

It promises forgiveness and calls us to repentance.

It fills us with hope, but it also commands us to deny ourselves, forgive those who have wronged us, pursue holiness, and take up our cross.

The same Word that heals us also performs surgery on us.

Maybe that’s why some Christians rarely open their Bibles.

Instead, we settle for the world's cotton candy. It tastes sweet for a moment but it has no nourishment.

It leaves us emptier than before.

Worse still, the sweetness of sin eventually gives way to eternal bitterness.

God's Word works exactly the opposite way. Sometimes it tastes bitter because it calls us to repentance, sacrifice, and holiness.

But in the end it leads to everlasting joy.

Here’s the bottom line: you’re not going to treasure God’s Word if the Word is never getting into you.

The goal of Bible reading isn’t to finish a passage, but to let the passage finish its work in you.

And yet, as important as that is, it’s still not enough.

Because we haven’t fully treasured God’s revealed Word until we…

C) Get the Word out to others

Revelation 10:11—And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

Notice that John doesn't eat the scroll simply for his own benefit. God doesn't say, "Now enjoy it." He says, "Now proclaim it."

That's how God's Word has always worked. It isn't meant to stop with us. It is meant to flow through us to others.

You are not meant to be a cul-de-sac, but a conduit. The Word of God came to you so that it could go through you to somewhere else.

Think about it. If you've truly gotten into God's Word, and God's Word has truly gotten into you, it won't stay there.

It will begin to shape your conversations, your parenting, your counseling, your discipling, your evangelism, and your encouragement of other believers.

If the Word has transformed your heart, it will naturally begin to overflow from your lips.

Jesus didn’t tell us to “make Bible readers.” He told us to “make disciples.” And we make disciples by sharing the Word of God with others.

Christian, what are you doing to get the Word out to others? Parents, are you teaching your children the Word of God? Are you looking for opportunities to telling your co-workers, classmates, and neighbors the Good News about Jesus? Parents of adult children, are you faithfully telling your wayward kids the truth?

If the book of Revelation satisfies your curiosity about the end of the world, but it doesn’t challenge you in your evangelism you’ve missed the point! Over and over again this book is challenging us to tell the world the Good News of the Gospel!

We haven’t truly treasured God’s Word until we get into the Word, the Word gets into us, and we labor to get the Word out to others.

Remember the question our kids asked after we started watching LOST: "What did you do while you waited to see how the story ended?"

Revelation 10 gives God's answer. While we wait, we are to trust God's secret plans and treasure God's revealed Word.

Don't spend your life trying to decode what God has chosen to keep hidden.

Spend your life believing, obeying, and proclaiming what He has clearly revealed.

One day, the intermission will end. The seventh trumpet will sound. Christ will return. Every promise God has ever made will be fulfilled. Until that day, trust Him. Treasure His Word. Tell others about Jesus.

As we prepare to come to the Lord's Table, we're reminded that we, too, are living in one of those cliffhanger moments.

Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ has risen. But Christ has not yet returned.

And every time we eat this bread and drink this cup, we’re reminded that we’re still waiting until He comes.

But one day the waiting will be over.

The seventh trumpet will sound.

Faith will become sight.

Every mystery will be answered.

Every promise will be fulfilled.

Until that day, trust His secret plans. Treasure His revealed Word. And proclaim His Son.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

We Receive

LORD’S SUPPER

Doxology

Benediction (Romans 15:13)