Uncovering Our Future Hope!
"The Best is Yet to Come!" • Sermon • Submitted
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Handout
Handout
Hope is an interesting word.
HOPE - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
We are living in a time where we are hoping for a lot of things
A cure for COVID-19
That our economy doesn’t sink to a place where it cannot recover
That my loved ones don’t contract this virus and die
That your employer will be able to keep you or bring you back to work
That my 401k recovers...
So many things to hope for...
But I submit to you this morning that there is something greater for you to place your hope in. I want you to learn a few things about hope from a very old man - the Apostle John. And if you pay close attention, you might find true hope regardless of the circumstances you are facing right now!
Main Idea - A Special Revelation of Hope to a Beloved Friend!
Main Idea - A Special Revelation of Hope to a Beloved Friend!
1. A Special Revelation of Blessing (vs. 1-3)
1. A Special Revelation of Blessing (vs. 1-3)
Lead in…People are always fascinated with prophecy. In the past there have been week long conferences about the subject, many books have been written about it - some good, many bad! Whenever churches venture into the subject, inevitably church pews begin to fill! What is so intriguing and inviting about prophecy? Because we are a curious lot and we want to know what the future holds.
But is that the point of prophecy? To satisfy our curiosity? No, that is not it at all. Actually prophecy is a gift from God to compel the unbeliever to turn to Christ and for the believer to live in holy expectation that the Lord will return and make all things right.
This is what God is is doing though the Apostle John. This is why we have this letter. First and foremost to challenge belivers to live a holy, God honoring life. And Second to draw the unbelieving to himself.
Let’s see what John has to teach us, shall we...
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” - the ἀπο-κά-λυ-ψις means to uncover. John is uncovering for his reader a very important message from the Lord Jesus Christ.
ἀποκάλυψις
And the Scriptures are clear - one day the Lord Jesus Christ will be revealed for all the world to see.
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Each one of these passages uses the same word as John ἀπο-κά-λυ-ψις. So you can see not only the witness of John but of Paul and Peter as well - the servants of Christ. But the text is clear, God is using John to show the rest of God’s servants (including you and I) what is to come.
Jesus is showing John what will soon take place. You might be thinking that it’s been 2000 year since the Lord walked the earth - What’s taking so long?
The word soon here means something different than you might think. It means SUDDENLY. So the idea is, when the Lord returns it will happen suddenly! Once the eschatological or end-time events begin, it will happen very suddenly - especially in comparison to the waiting process that we have been in for the last two thousand years. Remember, the apostles very much expected the Lord’s return in their lifetime....
How did God give this information? Through his angel - His messenger! This is what angels do, after all!
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Some think this could have been Gabriel. He did bring messages to Daniel, Mary, Zechariah and Joseph.
And this servant, John - who was Jesus’ beloved friend, who was one of the sons of thunder, who wrote the fourth Gospel, and 1,2,3 John also is the author of this strange, eclectic, frightening, encouraging, powerful and hope-filled letter!
John, just like a witness on a court’s witness stand, testifies to everything he saw on this very strange, vision-filled journey.
What did he witness to? What did John see? The Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Not only was the apostle John given the privilege of walking and learning from the incarnate Christ, but now he is given a special opportunity to be the one to see the future and report it and record it as the holy and perfect Word of Christ.
And this brings us to the best part of these first three verses. There is a promise here - A promise that is a blessing. A three-fold blessing - Look again at verse 3...
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Do you see it?
There is a blessing for the one who reads this prophecy aloud - in front of a group of people - the congregation of believers, the Church of Jesus Christ.
There is a blessing for the one who hears - they have their ears open to the truth...
There is a blessing for the one who not only hears, but who obeys what is written in the words of this prophecy -
28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Luke
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
So God wants to bless His children. He desires for His prophecy to be read and the reader will be bless. But he will also bless those who hear and obey!
This isn’t just true of the book of Revelation, but of the entire New Testament...
28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
John 8:
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
Rom
But the promise from God is clear - those who take this prophecy serious will be blessed. Why? Because it is an exercise of faith in Christ, and faith in Christ is pleasing to God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
So if you want to be blessed of God, Share this (read aloud), listen and obey!
The blessing of being prepared Covid-19...
God chose John, while exiled on the island of Patmos, to uncover “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. To share with whomever would read and listen - the things that would take place.
There is great blessing in being prepared for what is to come. Now I don’t know when the end of the world as we know it will happen. I refuse to put a date or time on it because God’s Word warns me not to. But this I do know, this world will not continue on the way it has for millennia. It will end! And for those that hear the revelation of this prophecy will be blessed if they are prepared.
Are you prepared? Are you ready? You had better be. And if it takes the threat of an unseen enemy to get you to consider the frailty of your mortality, then great!
None of us get out of this life alive - are you ready for your own personal death? It’s time to take that question seriously.
Review - A Special Revelation of Hope to a Beloved Friend!
A Special Revelation of Blessing
Transition - Now lets take a look at another something special...
2. A Special Witness from Heaven (vs. 4-6)
2. A Special Witness from Heaven (vs. 4-6)
Lead in…John has the distinct honor to great Jesus’ bride on Jesus’ behalf. And for the first three chapters of this letter, we get to hear the Lord’s sweet words of love, loving correction and praise for these 7 local churches. Look at verses 4-6 with me...
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
John writes to these Seven (real and actual) churches located in the Rpman province of Asia Minor (modern Turkey)
And the first thing he writes to these 7 churches are some of the most beautiful a believer can hear...
“Grace to you and peace...”
Grace is God attitude toward you, Christian!
Peace is your standing before God as well as the sense of calm that comes from knowing you are no longer at war with God but you are sheltered in the palm of His mighty hand.
Where does this grace come from? Look at what John tells us...
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
It comes from God himself. First we see the Father - “from him who is and who was and who is to come (the eternal God)
John also says this grace and peace comes from “the seven spirits who are before his throne” What does this mean? He is speaking of the Holy Spirit.
It probably refers to the 7 fold ministry of the Holy Spirit in...
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
2
Isaiah
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1
the seven spirits. Revelation presents the Holy Spirit as one person (3:6, 13; cf. Eph. 4:4), but he also appears as “seven spirits” (cf. Rev. 3:1; 4:5; etc.), representing perfection, and as “seven torches of fire” (4:5) and “seven eyes” (5:6) to express his omnipresence and omniscience.
And then finally the Christ...
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
John calls Jesus the “faithful witness” - did you ever consider that Jesus was a witness for God?
1 Tim
Also the ruler of kings on earth -
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
John calls Jesus the “firstborn from the dead” - John is comforting his readers by reminding them that this Jesus beat death! This is the HOPE for all believers...
But there is also a preeminence that comes with being called firstborn. I comes with great authority because firstborn means the preeminent one! Look at this prophecy in Psalms...
27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
Jesus is the preeminent one! His is the King of all kings and rulers this world has ever offered.
In Short John is wishing his readers grace and peace from God the Father, God the Spirit and God the Son! He is wishing them Grace and peace from the only ONE who can TRULY offer it! The Holy, Omnipotent, Triune God of the Universe!!!
Now, look back at the last part of verse 5...
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Revelation
This God, this King of kings, this Jesus isn’t some distant, austere, aloof deity! NO WAY! He LOVES US!
Yes, can I remind you in these challenging and fearful days that you have an all-powerful God that LOVES you?!
Well, you might say, then why is He allowing this horrible situation in my life? Good question! I don’t know!
But this I do know - You and I have a much worse and deadly condition the the potential of contracting COVID-19. We are infected from head to toe with SIN! And that sin will kill us. Not just physically, but spiritually for all of eternity! And the only cure for the virus of sin is the shed blood of Christ Jesus. This is how God loves us...
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
He loved us by giving up His life for us on the Cross 2000 years ago. And that one propitiatory act was enough to satisfy God’s wrath against you for all eternity. In other words, Jesus Christ’s death paid for the eternal death that you and I deserve. And If I place my faith in Christ, I can be saved from eternal condemnation.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
John says this so well! Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood! Place you faith in Him today!
But it doesn’t stop there...
Look at what else Jesus does for the believer...
6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
This was a promise for the Jews...
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
Ex 19:6
And this is a promise for the Church - you!
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
We are loved by God and created into a very special people because of God. And the only way John’s readers and we can know this is true, is because of a very special witness...
Some people say that the Apostle Paul was the greatest witness of all time. I mean he wrote a large chunk of the New Testament. Others say it was Billy Graham. I mean He preached to millions and millions over the course of his life. As great as these men were, there is no greater witness that Jesus Christ himself
Friends - This is the point. God could have sent anyone to tell you about the gospel. But He sent the best witness He could - Himself!
The question for us as we embark on this journey is will you listen to this witness who is more powerful than the greatest ruler who ever lived? Will you listen to this witness who is preeminent over everyone and everything? Will you listen to this witness who selflessly gave His own life so you could beat your deadly sin virus and be giving not just life, but eternal life?
A jury will listen to the compelling testimony of a witness sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
My friends, will you listen to the one who rightfully claims to BE THE TRUTH? There is no greater witness than that!
Review - A Special Revelation of Hope to a Beloved Friend!
A Special Revelation of Blessing
A Special Witness from Heaven
Transition - on final special thing from this text...
3. A Special Promise from God (vs. 7-8)
3. A Special Promise from God (vs. 7-8)
Lead in…Probably the most important thing for John’s readers to hear is that the Lord they have heard so much about, the Lord that they have place their entire faith in will indeed return and make all things right! Look at the hope-filled words John pens…
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
What an amazing promise! The Lord is coming back! The Lord will make all things right! The Lord will bring us home with Him! In this troubling time, Isn’t it amazing to know that He will come to bring us home!
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
If you take a late date of the writing of Revelation (95-96 A.D.) John had waited some 50-60 years for the Lord to come back. And yet even in his ripe old age his faith did not waver. He knew that just because He hadn’t come back didn’t mean He wouldn’t. After all, He watched Him leave and he remembered what the Angel promised...
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
Acts 1
Him returning in the clouds wasn’t a new thing...
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
And, as John says, it won’t only be believers who will see this...
10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
“Every eye will see Him! Even those who pierced Him! All the tribes on the earth will WAIL on account of Him...”
Why all the crying? I don’t think these are tears of joy. Most scholars agree that these tears are because of the realization on their part of impending judgement.
Jesus came as an innocent lamb. He will return as a ferocious LION!
Jesus is the concurring King and you and I have the preview of this coming attraction!
And you are blessed if you HEAR this and BELIEVE this.
Don’t get caught up in the minutia of the details of when or where or how the Lord will return. Just know this, HE WILL RETURN and you had better be ready. Because when the LORD makes a promise - He will keep it!
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
As way of illustration of this fact, can I read to you the words of the Apostle Peter? I could think of no better proof to bring to your attention...
Illustration -
Illustration -
1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 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. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Jesus will return! This is a fact more real than this life we are living right now. And for some of you this is a great joy! You can’t wait to see your Lord and Savior.
Argumentation -
However, for some of you, there will be great weeping and wailing that will start when you see Him and never end.
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
God always keeps His word. If you are not a Christian is is not too late for you to repent and turn your life over to Christ. He loves you and desires to save you! Won’t you turn to Him today?
And for you, follower of Christ - are you living for the one who will return?
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Live everyday as if the Lord were coming back! Because one day, He will!
Review - A Special Revelation of Hope to a Beloved Friend!
A Special Revelation of Blessing
A Special Witness from Heaven
A Special Promise from God
Transition -
Conclusion
Conclusion
I’m not sure if your hope is in the right place this morning, but it should be since looking at this passage.
There is no guarantee for a cure for COVID-19
There is no guarantee that our economy doesn’t sink to a place where it cannot recover
There is no guarantee that my loved ones don’t contract this virus and die
There is no guarantee that your employer will be able to keep you or bring you back to work
There is no guarantee that my 401k recovers...
But there is one guarantee that I have for you this morning.
God ALWAYS keeps His word - Put your faith in Him
and
Live in light of your hope!
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What do these verses teach me about our character?
2. What do these verses teach me about God and his character?
3. Because these words are from God, they are TRUTH! What truth is he asking me to believe?
4. What do I need to do to obey him?
5. With whom can I share these truths?