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Summary: auto-extracted from transcripts

Summary

Anytime we watch anything that touches on a theological notion I go this is just this just bad theology and and she started stopping me as we're watching something she just says mom I know I know it's I'm not turning to this for theology I'm turning it to it for fun but anyway so so there you go the Nephilim the great mystery not as exciting as we think or as as sometimes it's portrayed but but it makes more sense it's more realistic and so there we go all right so we started in Genesis now we're going to jump all the way to revelation there is um revelation is I mean we could I know we talked about this last year we could spend just years in revelation and still um be fascinated and find more uh we're gonna go to revelation 12 revelation 12 so we started in Genesis the very first book of the Bible and we're going all the way to the end to revelation the very last book in the Bible so we're making it very easy to find today um we don't even have to open to the middle and then flip we just know you either go to the front of the back so we're in the back of the Bible revelation verse 12 um so have you ever been reading in Daniel it also has this where where you read and it talks about a time times in half a time and we kind of read past that and go yep okay sounds good what is time times and half a time so that is what we're going to be looking at today so we're going to start with verses uh one through six because this is very interesting remember how we talked last year about how revelation goes in these cycles right it's cyclical writing and so here we're going to find in these first six verses of chapter 12 we find that um that it's it's a quick version of then what is laid out in the rest of 12 so let's go ahead and read verses one through six where John is seeing the vision and he says a great portant appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of 12 stars she was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs in the agony of giving birth then another portant appeared in heaven a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadams on his heads his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born and she gave birth to a son a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron but her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne and the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God so that there she can be nourished for 1,260 days okay so a great sign it begins by saying a great sign a great sign is it's pointing to something of importance remember how we hear that there will be signs and wonders that Jesus did many signs and wonders he is it that is always pointing to something of divine importance that's happening a visual representation of something divine right we know that when Jesus performs miracles something divine is happening right there we know that anytime there's a sign given there's something divine that's happening that's going on so so this woman is wearing a crown of 12 stars on her head now a crown was given in reward for a contest it was it was it showed a victory and this crown of of 12 stars it represents 12 of the 24 elders that were around the throne of God so in the throne room we read about the 12 elders that are praising and worshipping the Lord and we knew when we talked about this last year we talked about how 12 those 12 of those 24 represented or were the 12 tribes of Israel and the other 12 were the 12 apostles so you have the Old Testament and the New Testament coming together and you have the 24 represented so you have you have this woman who is wearing the crown of 12 stars on her head and prior to the child's birth the 12 stars are representing the 12 tribes of Israel it's those those 12 tribes so it's really that old testament people that are being represented here it's it's all the people of God in the Old Testament that are represented then after the child is born the 12 stars are representing the other 12 elders that are that are the 12 apostles which represents the New Testament Church which represents the people of God both both of the Old and the New it's it's the complete people of God the stars are signifying that the woman represents the entire people of God Israel and the New Israel the Old Israel and the New Israel Mary is is the model of the woman or for the woman she's also the model for and represents the church so here we have this woman and and and she is I mean we know that Mary did give birth to Christ but we also know that the church is referred to as a bride remember in the Old Testament how consistently the prophets write and and God writes through through them talking about the the unfaithful bride that is the church and then afterwards we hear in the New Testament about the church that is adorned as the bride for Christ right the bride of the lamb so the church is adorned with the sun and crown of stars God loves and honors his people God loves his people his people of all his people of now and his people to come God loves all of his church the moon that is under the woman's feet that shows that she's the dominant earth entity in his creation so everything everything in creation is governed for the benefit of the church the church is to increase to be cared for the church is protected by God the dragon then is sitting here it's just incredible imagery this dragon that is just waiting for this child to be born to debour him so so we see that the dragon at the start isn't again or isn't after the woman the dragon wants to destroy the child the dragon wants has a focus against the child that's where the warfare is all centered but the child escapes the dragon and that's when the dragon turns his rage toward the woman so if you keep your hand in revelation and if you go to Psalm 2 now we're going to open to the middle of our Bibles into Psalm 2 please it's just incredible when you get into you know I like the the Lutheran the Lutheran way of understanding that scripture interpret scripture because it helps to clarify it helps a lot to make sense of what doesn't seem to make sense and we see that that God has it he has what he wants us to know in his word so so it's just kind of cool that's a total aside but it's just it's just really cool to see how God gives us always through his word understanding so so in in Psalm 2 we read we read about the prophecy of this so reading in Psalm 2 it says why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed saying let us burst their bonds a sundering cast their cords from us he who sits in the heavens laugh the Lord has them in derision then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them within his fury saying I have set my king on Zion my holy hill I will tell of the decree of the Lord he said to me you are my son today I have begotten you ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel now therefore oh kings be wise be warned oh rulers of the earth serve the Lord with fear with trembling kiss his feet or he will be angry and you will perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled happy are all who take refuge in him so we see that in Psalm 2 God is telling us that he will anoint his king he will install his king who is the anointed one and in Psalm 2 verse 9 when it talks about the iron rod it's looking past the present age where gods or Christ rain is hidden right it's looking past that into the future rain when Christ's rain will be revealed in power and with glory and so it's light in light of the future rain the the future rain of Christ the kings kings are told fear worship and serve the Lord in that knowing that this rain indeed is coming and so this is what is the kings and those of us on earth are invited to to fear and worship so that that the escape of the wrath of God can happen remember happier all who take refuge in him we know that the rain the eternal forever rain is the Lord's and so when he comes again in all power and glory and and his kingdom is no longer hidden from the world we know as believers we do not need to tremble because our time now is is revering the Lord our king and and we know his kingdom is to come so that is that is an invitation and a warning right that that those who who revel in the worldly rain and the reign of the dragon gods wrath indeed will come upon them the dragon the dragon though can only look toward or look forward to his complete termination his a complete termination of his of his rule and so he's furious with this child he's furious with this child and that's where he wants to to snatch the child in Luke chapter one verses 31 and 32 we find out that the male child that is to be born to marry is to rule on the throne forever we know that his his rule and reign will be forever it is eternal and Jesus declares in his ministry over and over again that he is the shepherd he is the one who has come to call and gather the sheep just as God had promised so so in verse five going back to Revelation in verse five we read she gave birth to a son a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron but her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne a lot happens in that phrase in this phrase we have the incarnation we have the ministry of Jesus we have the passion the death the resurrection and the ascension in just a little phrase so so so we have the sum of our whole everything that we know about Christ all in those few words that the child was born and snatched up to God Jesus the child he is exalted and enthroned it is not the dragon it is not the dragon who prevailed it is Christ it is the child born who prevailed praise the Lord the dragon couldn't destroy the child at his birth so now now we're going to jump down so so those verses one through six that an overall explanation of what's happening here then then John in his writing with the prophecy he comes back then beginning in verse seven and goes back over it and explains what happens and tells of it in more detail so in that we hear beginning in verse seven war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon the dragon and his angels fought back but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven the great dragon was thrown down that ancient ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan and deceiver of the whole world he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God but they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony for they did not cling to life even in the face of death rejoice then you heavens and those who dwell in them but woe to the earth and to the sea for the devil has come down to you with great wrath because he knows that his time is short okay a couple of things here why I keep highlighting that that this you know the first six verses give a shortened version and then we come back to get more details because when when one reads revelation in a linear fashion then we see that there are that that they're they're really then are two dragons how does this work and you see this timeline getting really muddled and very confused so when we understand that we're coming back to to the deeper explanation or more details it makes it clearer does that make sense yes oh good I'm so glad I also I also want to highlight I just find it so amazing these incredible descriptions of the serpent of the devil given where where it is it is in verse um verse 10 and into 11 it talks about um the accuser the accuser who accuses that day and night before our God and isn't that exactly what the devil does but stand there first saying you know come on it's okay you know tempting us warring us into sin we sin and then he says can you believe what you just did you should be ashamed you are unworthy you are un-savable right isn't that what the great accuser does I love those verses just it's just anyway so um so the dragon can't destroy child that has then the woman this this first Mary is now the church it's both the old and the new Israel um and and we read about that where where Paul in Romans writes about there's no longer Jew in Greek but but we're one in Ephesians chapter two we we read all about um the unity of who we are in Christ right that we are no longer separated but we are one we read in the New Testament in Paul where he talks about um you know we're all one in the Lord one Lord one spirit one baptism for the forgiveness of sin and so we have this unity and um let's go ahead and go back to Revelation verse 13 so when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child so he's pursuing after this woman he can't he cannot defeat the child and so he goes after the woman he goes after the church but the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time see time and times and half a time okay we're gonna math that's okay this is this is simple math okay yes so we have we have time that's one we have times so that's two so we have that and then we have half so that is time times and half a time one plus two is three plus half is three and a half simple math now I'm gonna explain what this even means so so um three three and a half is half of number seven right so the number seven is very key here okay so when we read um we read earlier in Revelation we read about um about a 1,260 days uh that the witnesses of God are on the earth right and we read about um 1,260 days where where the city is trampled right and and so this is a very figurative language um three and a half years equals 1,260 days so we we're coming to look at this figuratively um and not linear so it's not that there will be two prophets proclaiming for three and a half years exactly and then there will be burning in the city for three and a half years exactly and then but it's it's figurative so the two the the prophets the witnesses of God were in that time period okay so um but we're talking about times time time times and and half a time um so so three and a half is half of seven seven is God's number seven is God's number remember he created in seven days and created in six rested on the seventh but but it's the seven days of creation um so so we have this this fullness in the number seven the fullness of of God well three and a half is half that is the devil's mockery of God three and a half is the devil's mockery of God and until the completion of God's time we are in a period of the devil's mockery we're in a period of the devil the accuser wreaking havoc and accusing doing all he can to torment the the church so he chased after the woman the woman went into the wilderness and she was in verse 14 it says that she is nourished for a time and times and half a time so we are currently in the time and times and half a time but the woman remember at this point is the church she is the church let's go back to Revelation to read in verse 15 then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman to sweep her away with the flood but the earth came to the help of the woman it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth then the dragon was angry with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her children those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus so remember the dragon now is being referred to as the serpent where do we first see the serpent genocents in the Garden of Eden who deceive, eve and Adam right and is also told by God that he will be crushed that he will be crushed by Eve's offspring so now the dragon the serpent has been trying to devour this child can't cannot destroy the child he chases after the woman chases after the church continues to hound after the woman but the woman is cared for she is nourished she is nourished by creation she is provided for and we know that as the church we are under complete and the church being you know believers we are always under fire by the the serpent by the devil the dragon but we are nourished week after week with word and sacrament we are nourished day after day with word right and so we're always nourished and kept in in God's reign and rule by his mercy and by his grace so um yeah so God cares for the woman in the wilderness the serpent still causes a lot of pain a lot of anxiety and we see that he turns to then torment the rest of her seed. Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning and rumblings and peels of thunder and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches which are the seven spirits of God and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass like crystal around the throne and on each side of the throne are four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind the first living creature like a lion the second living creature like an ox the third living creature with a face like a human like a human face and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle and the four living creatures each of them with six wings are full of eyes all around and inside day and night without ceasing they sing holy holy holy the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne who lives forever and ever the 24 elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever they cast their crowns before the throne singing you are worthy our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created so this is where we are in the throne room this is where we're gonna step for a little bit so the purpose of the vision of God's heavenly court is to show us the the the coronation to show the church the coronation and enthronement enthronement of Jesus Christ the crucified and risen Lord so we're going to get to his enthronement after we talk about the throne room but but if we think about acts if you hold your hand here and then go back to the book of Acts chapter 1 books or the book of Acts chapter 1 so this is right after the gospel of John and this is this is the continuation Luke wrote the book of Acts and so when Luke's gospel and it picks up again then right here in the book of Acts so chapter 1 beginning in verse 6 of the book of Acts so when they had come together this is the the apostles they asked him Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom of Israel he replied it is not for you to know the times or periods that the father has set by his own authority but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem in Al Judeian Samaria and to the ends of the earth when he had said this as they were watching he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight while he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven suddenly two men in white robes stood by them and so then angels talked to him so this is that's the earthly perspective of the ascension of Christ to the father now we're going to go back to to Revelation because this is where we receive the heavenly perspective of Christ entering or returning to the father so so we have it's the same thing but here in Revelation we get heaven's perspective of when Christ when Christ is received by the father so John sees the throne of God he sees the throne of God he sees the one sitting on it the one is the object of all worship there's a lot of worship happening here he doesn't give us any specific facial or bodily characteristics so he doesn't describe the one on the throne but says that his appearance is like the precious stones of Jasper and some say Sardius and some this one says Carnelian and then there's a rainbow of emerald around it doesn't mean that God is a stone it does not mean that God is a stone but the appearance of God's glory think of when you hold a precious stone in the sunlight and the light reflects through and the rays shine through and is cast out like put out everywhere so the appearance of God's glory it reflects it reflects the brilliance of his presence as precious stones reflect rays of the sun so we can't look directly at the sun but we can catch a glimpse of the beauty of the sun through the reflection of those rays so so God is not a stone but his glory is brilliant his glory is brilliant Isaiah and Ezekiel also have scenes within the throne room we're not going to study those today but I thought as I was studying I thought oh that would be a really fun small group so not this coming year but look for it in the future because I think that would be a fun one so the stones Jasper Sardius emerald those are all part of the breastplate that the high priest was told to wear in Exodus when when they got all the the instructions those stones were on the breastplate of the high priest and the high priest represented Israel before the throne or before God offering sacrifice for a tonement so this is this is the setting that we're in we get to the 24 elders these 24 elders are sitting on thrones they are wearing crowns and they are they are wearing white robes they are sitting and they are wearing robes and crowns they are not angels they are not heavenly beings or heavenly creatures they are elevated saints they're elevated saints and the 24 elders are the church of the Old Testament of Israel who believed in the New Testament we have the 12 tribes of Israel or the the 12 tribes from Jacob right those are represented for the Old Testament and we have the 12 apostles which are the saints of the New Church or of the church so we have the 24 right there together they're representing the totality of God's people they sit on thrones and they wear crowns because they are victorious in Christ they wear the crown of victory they have white robes because they have been cleansed through the blood of Christ they're in his presence they're in God's presence representing the church they're in God's presence because that by grace is exactly where they belong which is good news that is good news that the church belongs in the presence of God the other thing I want to talk about here is that glassy see that glassy see that is before before the throne there are a couple of things that are really interesting about this so so first of all there is there is that representation of a separation right and while we remain here on earth there is a separation between us and and God we're still separated from the eternal glory when he calls us to home to be in his presence then we will not be separated from his eternal glory but here on earth we are still separated from the eternal glory also think about how the sea is often portrayed or what it symbolizes in Scripture so often it's a raging steep sea it's chaotic it's tormenting and it's it's really representative of the evil and the wickedness and the chaos of our sinful lives and here the the sea is like crystal it's a glassy sea that is transparent it's like crystal it's still it's calm the turmoil of our sin which separates us from God before the throne of God it has been still it has been still it has been conquered and it is tranquil we don't have to fear the torment of the chaos we don't have to fear the the torment or the chaos of wrath of God's wrath and judgment because all is peaceful all is peaceful between God and his creation before the throne just calls for all of us to just take a deep breath and we know that all is at peace before the throne then we have these winged creatures that are flying to and fro Isaiah refers to them as Sarah Femme Ezekiel refers to them as Cherubem John doesn't give them either of those names he sees that that they are closer to God than any other creature and I like how one author says that they can be thought of as the choir masters leading the heavenly host in the song of praise and worship they sing praises of the Lord they initiate the worship the angels and the saints they join in as these flying creatures sing holy holy holy and that song that song continues throughout it comes up several times in revelation and there will be stanzas added to it we see this time in the throne or in the throne room it's a time of complete worship it is it is a time of singing and praising and honoring God God who is so brilliant that he can't be described this this is the scene in which we were seeing or that John John shows us so they're singing holy holy holy all the heavenly hosts are praising God the church on earth praises God and sings this song we sing this song even in suffering because we are still called to worship the Lord and we still can worship the Lord even in the midst of suffering so now we get to the really exciting part of the throne room we get to the lamb okay so we're going to go back to Revelation chapter 5 and we're going to just read the whole thing because it's so exciting it's so wonderful okay so so he's he's in the throne room he is seeing all of these heavenly hosts and the winged creatures singing and and and the majestic one the brilliant one on the throne and the church represented by the 24 elders and he says and then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back sealed okay so he sees the scroll in the right hand of God God's right hand works salvation for his people the contents of the scroll have ultimate good and glory of God's people the completeness of its contents is sealed but we know that there's a completeness of contents because it's written on the inside and on the back so it's fully fully written but it's sealed so the message is hidden the revelation is hidden it would remain closed and unknown until the worthy person came to claim it okay so let's keep going back in here so we're back to to a verse two and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals and no one no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it no one had earned the privilege or the ability to open this sealed scroll and John says I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it then one of the elders said to me do not weep see the lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and it's seven seals so no one was found to be worthy no one in all of God's creation no no no one not even that an angel was worthy to open this scroll and to stand before the presence of God and lay legal claim to this scroll and then an elder an elder one of the church tells this weeping John who is so saddened so saddened that no one is found to be worthy and he's weeping bitterly and an elder representing the church he says look look to the lamb look to the lamb and he calls him the lion of Judah the lion was a messianic symbol of royal rain and power and when you think of a lion you think of a lot of power I mean we most of us have heard of or read the Chronicles of Narnia and God is depicted as the lion aslan you know and it's this powerful powerful being and so so we have the elder saying seeing the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered so he can open the scroll and it seven seals and then verse six then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth this is an amazing picture that we have here we have the angel announcing who's worthy who's worthy John weeping bitterly because there's no one who is worthy to open this scroll and elder says no no no look check out it's the lion of Judah and so John turns expecting a lion of Judah and he sees Jesus he sees the lamb the lamb who was slain who shows the marks of the crucifixion the lion of Judah is a lamb standing in the midst of them all this is a beautiful witness of the crucifixion of Christ because he stands the lamb as one who has been slain but it also is a beautiful testimony of the resurrection because it is the lamb who stands he stands there in the midst of them all living forever so we have both the crucifixion and the victory of the resurrection right there in that verse it's amazing I had one cohort who said he pictured this scene like a boxing ring where you you know they say oh and in this corner and there's just this light that shines on and all of a sudden it's the slain lamb in the light and so this is where we have him he has ascended to the Father he is right there all the heavenly hosts see him and we continue yes we continue so so he went this is verse 7 he went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne when he had taken the scroll the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell before the lamb each holding a harp and golden bowls of full of incense which are the prayers of the saints in that beautiful the church the heavenly beings they bring the prayers of the saints that's us that's us brought to the right hand of the Lord the lamb who has the right and legal claim to the scroll who has the right the legal claim to all of human history they sing a new song you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God and they will reign on earth then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands singing with full voice worthy is the lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and glory and honor and blessing then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them singing to the one seated on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever this is not a mass Exodus of the of the Sunday school I'm just saying they are going to sing with the saints and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshipped so the action of receiving the scroll is very very important because the lamb not only reveals human humanity's destiny but it shows that he also has control he has control no one anywhere can dominate over the contents of the scroll so what is in the scroll no one can dominate over it no one else has the power or authority over it they can't even receive the scroll only the chosen lamb only Christ himself can receive that he alone determines the outcome of human history he rules on behalf of his father and for the benefit of his church so that the church will be protected in faith and will be protected in hope and we'll be able to carry out the mission that it has been given so receiving the scroll that's the coronation of Jesus Christ he is the king of kings the Lord of Lords this is the beginning of the everlasting reign of Jesus Christ of God's righteousness through the exalted sun it's a reign that is consummated at the end at the resurrection that you and I will be a part of and in that new heaven and earth which we are going to talk about the new heaven and earth next week we're going to stay here this week remember in all of these cycles how I said that there were interludes so there are interludes that happen in here and I don't think it's a mistake that interludes happen because you read any of these plagues, scenes of the end and it's a lot you know and John receiving this vision there's no way that he's not filled with fear he's seeing all of this happen and so there is that is that is scary so we're going to turn to Revelation chapter 7 we're going to talk about the church triumphant and the church militant so the 144,000 beginning in Revelation chapter 7 verse 1 so we're going to start here and this is after the horses or the horsemen have come so after this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or see against any tree I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun having the seal of the living God and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea saying do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads and I heard the number of those who were sealed 144,000 sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel and then it goes through and it's 12,000 from any names all the tribes so the 144,000 that represents God's people on earth there are at least one cult of Christianity that claims that only 144,000 people will be in heaven we're going to see that that's wrong but this is representative of the church on earth of God's people who are in perfect order there is perfection in that order and they are ready to march it is the church militant poised and ready to carry out the mission that it has been given so we today are part of the church militant we are this side of heaven we have a mission given by the Lord to go to all nations making disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded we read right before the ascension in the book of Acts he said you will be my witnesses to go so we are the church militant with that mission so then we go down to chapter 9 of chapter 7 where it says after this I looked and there was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the Lamb robed in white with palm branches in their hands they cried out in a loud voice saying salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb and all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God and it continues well actually know we are going to continue because it is too beautiful not to and all the angels worship God singing amen blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever amen then one of the elders addressed me saying who are these robed in white and where have they come from I said to him sir you are the one that knows then he said to me these are they who have come out of the great ordeal they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb for this reason they are before the throne of God and worship him day and night within his temple and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them they will hunger no more and thirst no more the sun will not strike them nor any scorching heat for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of the water of life and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes it's just incredible absolutely incredible John in this vision sees a multitude of people before God's heavenly throne from every nation every tribe the number is so great that it cannot be counted this is the church triumphant John is allowed to see God's people he's allowed to see that God's people on earth are ready to carry out their mission as the church militant they are ready to enter into the valley of the shadow of death and then before they are taken he sees them sealed the ceiling that they receive means that no matter what no matter how much he John and God's people no matter how much suffering we endure this side of heaven the mission will be fulfilled the mission will be fulfilled and God will protect us in faith God will protect the church militant in the faith there will be faith suffering there will be death we all die we all have our soul separate from our bodies we all do die but we won't lose faith the church does not lose faith and God will defend the faith in the end the church then becomes the church militant then becomes the church triumphant because we are all brought into the presence of God the church is sealed and kept in faith and elevated to glorify Christ and to live in his glory when John sees this great church triumphant he's filled with joy he's filled with joy because he knows they are coming out of tribulation they are coming out of suffering but they have been protected and brought to glory in Christ in Revelation in verse three of chapter seven it says that they've been sealed so God knows exactly who belongs to him and he seals them so the Christian and I had to write this exactly how it was written because it's so beautiful and it's such a comforting word that the Christian can be absolutely certain and sure of his salvation and faith because it rests on the truth of God's word and God's seal within that word the Lord knows who's who are his it's through his word that God seals his people assures them by his spirit that they belong to him and that he will protect them in faith Paul says Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit given to the Christian as God's pledge or guarantee of the inheritance that God has promised it's the pledge of God's promise that seals the Christian in his heart the seal then assures the believer that he belongs to God and is known by God the Holy Spirit does this through the word of God's promise which has been brought to fulfillment by Jesus Christ the throne room the lamb that sits upon the throne the church militant continuing to march we are a part of that but we have the assurance of God's protection we have the assurance of his promise we have the assurance that we have been sealed what do we do every single baptize or every single baptism we seal that person in the name of the Father the Holy Spirit that they are sealed sealed in the spirit of God they are claimed the Lord knows who are his and we are promised and we should find great comfort that regardless of the suffering that we have this side of heaven that we are promised that we will be part of the multitude that is countless that we'll be singing the praises and worshiping the Father in that glorious throne room Lord, we thank you for your grace, we thank you for your word, we thank you that your word is indeed truth and you lead us by your spirit into all things that are true. I haven't and I'm going to say please don't fear, fear is not a way to motivate someone to believe fear is a way to motivate someone into being scared trying to earn something or trying to cover all bases you've heard of fire insurance right and Tetzel would go through in order to get money and he would sell indulgences but he would he would set himself like his hand on fire and he would he would say have you ever burned yourself on a on a hot pan or on a hot coal and and people you know of course have have that image they know what it feels like to burn and and he'd say think of your loved one right now who's burning think of them don't you want to pay to help them get out money money money money and he'd have people pay and kept earning and earning and earning money for the church through fear through these false promises and the more Luther saw these abuses the more it really just was wrong he knew it was wrong and he is studying God's word he is a doctor of theology and continues to dive in to God's word and go through it piece by piece by piece and I don't have my Bible right here where is I'm going to grab the Bible really quick open up to Romans chapter one and I think you have to sing it when you open it Romans chapter one okay um Romans chapter one verse 17 it's on page 133 if you have a pure edition of the Bible for in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith as it is written the one who is righteous will live by faith now Martin Luther had always read that as law that we are righteous we have to be righteous in order to be in faith and as he is seeing corruption in the church and as he is you know diving deeper and deeper and deeper in he realizes that the righteousness is not our righteousness earned it's the righteousness given to us earned by Christ and Christ alone and we have that righteousness by faith in Christ that is the salvation the salvation is faith in Christ by grace in Christ and Christ alone and so he sees these abuses of the church he sees these church leaders gaining for themselves property gaining for themselves power gaining for themselves money and he says this is this is not right this is wrong and so he goes to the castle at Vittenburg and he posts on the door the 95 theses we're gonna study those next week but understand it wasn't a grand gesture it wasn't like getting a parade together and saying all right everyone we're taking a stand and they marched around and they nailed this big thing to the wall it wasn't that it was like posting something to Facebook or to a community calendar like hey guys community fellow brothers and sisters we need to talk about this some things are being done in the name of the Pope some things are being named done in the name of the church and I don't think this is good so we should really talk about as a people we're gonna talk about those next week okay so Adam just shared that there's some irony the bishop that pronounced judgment over Janhus Janhus his body is buried under the place where Luther was ordained and Janhus or Janhus I'm just gonna say Janhus but we all know it's different he was the goof and he spoke of the swan that would come and reform the church and the bishop then was under Martin Luther the swan to brought about the the reformation so that's a really fun fact there you go bring it up at parties okay well we will continue on we're gonna dive into the 95 theses we aren't gonna go through every single one but we are gonna go through some important ones and I will look forward to that next week God bless you Hello and welcome to our fourth session in this class entitled, Trees in which we take a biblical examination of some of the trees that we see in Holy Scripture. So Jesus sent Peter and John saying go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it they asked him where do you want us to make preparations for it listen he said to them when you have entered the city a man carrying a jar of water will meet you follow him into the house he enters here's very specific instruction about this man so prophecy can really deal with small matters it can also deal with great events for example the prophecy with regard to flood the prophecy with regard to the destruction of Jerusalem both times Jesus's death and resurrection the end of the world so prophecy can deal with small and also great here's something else to keep in mind prophecy can cover either a short or long period for example some prophecies are fulfilled the very same day in Holy Scripture and other prophecies other prophecies take thousands of years the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in his first coming or his second coming is an example of that or we hear it put this way in second Peter the third chapter a good way to find second Peter is to go to the book of Revelation and start to work your way back toward Matthew you're going to cross over the Johns and then you bump into the Peters very quick second Peter chapter 3 we'll pick up in verse 3 first of all you must understand this that in the last days scoffers will come scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming for ever since our ancestors died all things continue as they were from the very beginning of creation they deliberately ignore this fact that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished but by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the Godless but do not ignore this one fact be loving that which the Lord one day that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day the Lord's not slow about his promise is some think of slowness but is patient with you not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance so what we see is it can be either covering a short period of time or a long period of time here's another descriptor with regard to prophecy it can be conditional or unconditional unconditional prophecy is God promises something and it's simply going to be Christ birth death resurrection his return perfect examples of unconditional prophecy but then you have conditional prophecies in other words they are fulfilled only if the people who received them met certain conditions so for example when when Jonah foretold the destruction of Nineveh that immediate fulfillment that immediate fulfillment was laid aside when the people repented or another example is in Jeremiah chapter 18 let's turn there please in the Old Testament Jeremiah chapter 18 and we'll pick up in verse 7 Jeremiah 18 verse 7 at one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it but if that nation concerning which I have spoken turns from its evil I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it and that another moment I made to declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and planted but if it does evil in my sight not listening to my voice then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it so you can have prophecies then that are unconditional you can have prophecies that are conditional here's the next some prophecies were delivered by dreams or night visions so for example you've got Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the image that was interpreted by Daniel or Jacob's dream of the latter or Joseph's dreams about his family you can also have visions examples of of that is Paul and Acts 22 or John in the book of Revelation here's another descriptor of prophecies some prophecy is received by direct encounter with God Genesis 18 is an example of that Abraham received a promise of a son that was a direct encounter with God or sometimes the angels will come and deliver the prophecy we read in scripture about the angel coming and delivering the prophecy with regard to the birth of John the Baptist or the angel coming and delivering the prophecy with regard to the birth of our Lord so here's some then principles or descriptors of prophecy just to review they can deal with matters smaller great they can cover a short or long period they can be conditional or unconditional some were delivered as dreams or night visions some were received by a direct encounter with God okay let's go on let's gain that greater understanding around this whole issue of prophecy some can be given in plain literal language and other prophecies can be given in symbolic language what we can deal with are what are called types and types is an old testament event that looks forward to the new testament and the ultimate fulfillment so a type a type can be for example a person we see in scripture Melchizedek was a type a type of Christ the true priest or a type can be an event the freeing of Israel from Egypt is a type that points forward to the redemption that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ or it can be a thing the Passover lamb in the old testament is a type that points forward to the lamb of God Jesus Christ prophecies can be acted out symbolically for example let's go to Jeremiah chapter 27 verse 1 Jeremiah 27 verse 1 and here we have a prophecy that's with symbolic actions as it's communicated so verse 1 chapter 27 in the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord thus the Lord said to me make yourself a yoke of straps and bars and put them on your neck send word of the king of Edom the king of Moab the king of the Ammonites the king of Tyra and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to kings at a kaya of Judah give them this charge for their masters thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel this is what you shall say to your masters it is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth with the people and animals that are on the earth and I give it to whomever I please now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon my servant and I have given him even the wild animals of the field to serve him all the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave but if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and put his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon then I will punish that nation with the sword with famine and with pestilence says the Lord until I've completed its destruction by his hand you therefore must not listen to your prophets your diviners your dreamers your soothsayers or your sorcerers who are saying to you you shall not serve the king of Babylon for they are prophesying a lie to you with the result that you will be removed far from your land I will drive you out and you will perish but any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him I will leave on its own land says the Lord to till it and live there see there we see the prophecy symbolically lived out by Jeremiah there can be symbolic language you see that in Ezekiel Daniel Zechariah also with John for example the candlesticks in Revelation they stand for congregation the beasts in Daniel stand for the kingdom so prophecy can be communicated symbolically here's a very important point I'd like you to remember truths which are taught in symbolic language in scripture are also taught elsewhere in plain literal language let me say that again truths which are taught in symbolic language in scripture are also taught elsewhere in plain literal language so one looks then for the plain literal language and then uses that in the interpretation of the symbolic so always when one sees symbolism look for the plain literal interpretation if one doesn't that's where that launch into imagination can simply come into being where sometimes people will interpret prophecy and you say where are you getting that because you see it doesn't bear the correct biblical principles of interpretation so why is it important to study prophecy we've laid principles with regard to prophecy why is it important to study prophecy first prophecy shows the glory of the true God that he's in control that we can count on him that we can count on his word let's go to Isaiah chapter 46 right before Jeremiah Isaiah 46 we'll pick up in verse 8 Isaiah 46 verse 8 remember this and consider recall it to mind you transgressors remember the former things of old for I am God and there is no other I am God and there is no one like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done saying my purpose shall stand and I will fulfill my intentions prophecy shows as we see the fulfillment of prophecy prophecy shows that we can rely on God that his word is trustworthy here's a second reason why it's important to study prophecy prophecy directs us to Christ let's go to Luke chapter 24 Matthew Mark and then Luke Luke chapter 24 verse 44 then he said to them these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled Jesus of course is the one speaking here then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures see Jesus showed how the very scripture points to himself here's a third reason prophecy prepares us for the events that are still coming let's go to Matthew chapter 24 verse 32 Matthew chapter 24 verse 32 Jesus said from the fig tree learn its lesson as soon as its branches become tender and puts forth its leaves you know that summer is near so also when you see all these things you know that he is near at the very gates here's another reason prophecy influences are conduct in the present let's go to second Peter chapter 3 and we're a good way to find second Peter's just go to revelation and then slowly work your way backwards second Peter chapter 3 verse 14 therefor beloved while you are waiting for these things strive to be found by him at peace without spot or blemish another reason why we study prophecy is it makes up a great part of the word of God there are some 8,300 verses in holy scripture that have elements of prophecy in them so you consider 8,300 verses in scripture that contain elements of prophecy within the 31,000 verses in holy scripture so a major portion of scripture is dealing with prophecy we study prophecy also so that we may be a people that can recognize where there's a bad interpretation of prophecy and then we can address that bad prophecy those false views so in the weeks ahead let's study about the prophecies fulfilled at Christ's first coming the prophecies fulfilled being fulfilled today the prophecies to be filled be fulfilled at Christ's return and next week we'll take a look at prophecies fulfilled during the old testament God bless Well, today I want to talk with you about the subject of forgiving family members, forgiving family members. Does that sound kind of familiar to you right whatever communion is done you got the words of institution is based on Matthew chapter 26 Luther maintained and I think correctly so that the verb is means is that scripture doesn't say it represents it doesn't say it symbolizes that when Jesus birthed holy communion there just before the cross he says this is my body this is my blood let's go over to 1 Corinthians the 10th chapter 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 16 the cup of blessing that we bless is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ the bread that we break is it not a sharing in the body of Christ so the question that us Lutherans say is how can you participate in the in the body and blood of Jesus Christ if he is not present there in the cup and in the bread you can't say as scripture says here that we are participating in the very body and blood of Christ so you've got an historicism then 5th century swingley comes along he's got the same problem with the with the natures of Christ that plays out in communion and there you see this this birthing of the understanding of the memorial understanding of communion so let me let me hear the the three understandings of communion and we'll see if we can guess which one is the correct one here okay so you've got we've got three three understandings one one understanding is that there is no bread in communion there's no wine in communion what you have is you have the body and blood of Jesus and the key word is changed into so this is the belief that in in communion you don't have the the bread and the and the wine you have the body and blood of the Lord Jesus that that indeed he is he is present and the key is changed into can anyone guess what denomination this is yep there you go we got some former Catholics here that that recognize this true or Piscopelian I would say for you Marcy or Catholic too okay okay yeah this is this is the view of what's called a transubstantiation that's the Catholic view that when you when you look at the at the elements in communion they may look like bread and wine but they have lost the property of bread and wine they only have the appearance of that that's that that's the Catholic view the Lutheran understanding the little phrase maybe back to your confirmation days if you've grown up a Lutheran that Jesus Christ is truly present in the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins that's a small catechism and the little phrase that Christ is present in with and under the the bread and wine that's just that's just a little phrase that that is going right after transubstantiation to to refute transubstantiation because Luther said no in scripture Jesus highlights that there's bread and there's a cup and he says body and a blood so Luther said that the Holy Communion is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ given with bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins okay now here's the here's the second one bread and communion you've got bread and wine you have the body and blood of Jesus Christ and the key word is is okay who's that that's us right that's us and and that's scripture what the scripture says that indeed you've got bread and wine body and blood the key word is is okay there's another understanding in communion you've got bread and wine no body and blood yeah key word is represents and symbol yeah yeah that's yeah Baptist right it's that's Baptist it's great you say here you go there you go yeah so you got you've got three different understand you got transubstantiation you've got bread and wine here and the key word of is and then you've got represents and the symbol okay let me let me approach it this way here which one of these is correct the two becomes four the two remain two or the two become two and what is meant here is bread and wine so which one is the is the is the correct understanding here the two becomes four the two remain two or the two become two yeah it's number one right what is holy communion holy communion is the body and blood of Jesus Christ given with bread and wine for the forgiveness of sin which one is this yeah that's Baptist theology memorial understanding and which one is this it's Catholic understanding right right yeah yeah yeah there's there's nothing that affects a sacrament by what a Lutheran pastor does in fact that was a a big deal when the denomination we were formally a part of was merging in for altering pulpit fellowship with the Episcopals Episcopals believe that at one's ordination the priest is given special power by the fact that they are ordained to make the sacrament than a sacrament in the Lutheran Church we say is absolutely nothing about us that that makes the sacrament the sacrament know what makes the sacrament the sacrament is can you guess the word right it it's just the it's just a word that's what makes the sacrament the sacrament and so there were a bunch of us that when that was that was coming about we we said this is an absolute denial of our of our Lutheran doctrine here and and of course the response that we that we got was you you you don't have to believe it you just have to do it I kid you not that was a response that came out of the bishops office on that and and really in the agreement it was it was waiting for months our our term that we put on ourselves months like myself that were not ordained in historic succession which the Episcopals say you have to be ordained in in order to get this special power they said we'll enter into this agreement until people like Ible die off you see and then everybody's going to be in historic succession so that the Episcopal understanding of communion then is what what dominates I mean that was that was just the early seeds of a denomination leaving the authority of the word of God abandoning abandoning a doctor on that yeah right that was that was the plan that that was the plan because we lost we lost the vote on that and and the understanding of of communion then was was was changed yeah in terms of of how communion is made efficacious in in the in the Lutheran understanding sometimes you will hear this word uh banard about with with the Catholic understanding you've got transubstantiation and sometimes you'll hear people say the the Lutheran understanding is con substantiation that's actually not not true because con substantiation means that that a a whole new substance is is formed so so con substantiation is is not a correct terminology to put on on Lutheranism um sometimes you'll you'll hear what's called impanation i m p a n a t i o o n which means that the that the body of Christ is is localized inside the bread as if you kind of tunnel in you could you could get to it that's not phrase is in with and under the the bread and wine so that as we receive the bread and wine we receive the body and blood of Christ that Christ is truly present um in that bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins and how is that possible if Christ at this very moment is exalted in heaven itself and he is there divine and human it's possible because you've got the communion of the properties you've got the communion of the two natures that you don't have two we yeah because because you're getting right at the heart of the of the sacrament that indeed Christ has established a stack sacrament for the purpose of the delivery of the assurance of our forgiveness through Christ and so when we come to the table if communion is simply that which is a mental exercise for us to remember back to the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ that offers no comfort because you're throwing someone back upon themselves to their own mental approach which interestingly ties into the whole synergistic understanding of I'll pick on our Baptist brothers and sisters here again the whole synergistic understanding of cooperation in their salvation which in the end throws you back on yourself and the decision you make as opposed to the decision that God has made for you um if you if you deny the real presence of Christ then you also don't have any comfort for someone when they receive the the sacrament which is that concrete way of God saying your sins are forgiven swallow it you know it is for you yeah so it's the denial of the sacramental nature that makes this a really important issue in the life of the church I've got like two more minutes I'll let me just wrap this up and can I get you later on Bruce okay when we receive holy communion the sacramental action only pertains to when we are are eating and drinking so in other words if if we went into the words of institution in holy communion and then we said never mind we wouldn't have the sacrament there because the sacrament only occurs when you are consuming it that's why at the end of the of the service you you don't have the the bread and the body and blood of Christ taken off and and going to the sacristy and as it is on the plate there you still have the body and blood of Christ know what do you have you've got remains of the bread right you've got the remains of the wine that's very various practices that that churches do some will say out of respect for how it is how it is used we'll spread it on the ground other churches will we'll just consume the rest of the of the bread because why why let it go to waste or take the remaining wine and and pour it into the reserve to be used next time but it's not as if you have the the bread and the wine or the body and blood Christ still remaining that's why just as a little aside we don't have an acolyte coming along side in case any crumbs are spilled at the at the at the communion rail right because it it only occurs in the in the actual eating of the sacramental action that you've got the the sacrament so when you go all the way back to the storyus that had implications on swingley that then has implications for how communion is understood because swingley was basing off of the storyus in the understanding of the lack of communion of the two natures and conceived of the two natures as a board stuck together um I'd encourage you to to read the Athanasian creed it's an incredible creed gets at the whole understanding of the Trinity gets at the one god three persons one essence well we're going to continue next week and we're going to say who were the Utakeans who are the Utakeans what were they all about and what the world did they believe we'll continue next week Well, we continue on looking at heresies of old and responses for today. They're encouraging because we're promised that Jesus will return and they're encouraging because we know that though Jesus will come like a thief in the night he will be here when we least expect it or don't know that it's coming that he's coming we have nothing to fear because we are not children of the darkness we are no longer children of sin captive and bonded with in the slavery of sin but instead we are children of light think about when Jesus appeared first to his disciples after his resurrection they were hiding there was chaos there was fear they were trembling and Jesus did not knock waiting for them to answer waiting for them to invite him in they had to be really scared when all of a sudden he was just standing there he didn't ask he just entered much like his disciples his first disciples where he just entered he did not wait for them to invite him in and Jesus is not knocking at the door of your life waiting until you can clean up and waiting until you will graciously open the door for him to come in the beauty and the wonderment of our Lord Jesus Christ is that the messy the chaos it doesn't frighten him he is not obliged and does not feel obliged to wait outside until we can get our house in order our houses in order messy doesn't frighten Jesus not even hoarding messy hoarding messy doesn't frighten Jesus it doesn't scare him off you look at his ministry he healed a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years he physically touched the leper he would speak to the adulterous and the prostitute he wasn't frightened off by the man possessed by legion the many demons he walked with tax collectors he called for Lazarus who had been dead for days to be brought out of the tomb messy didn't scare Jesus in his ministry and messy certainly does not scare Jesus as our resurrected Lord Jesus went throughout his ministry not fearing those whose lives were messy not fearing those who were in a chaotic state whether they were possessed by demons or diseased with leprosy he continued to go forth facing the very messy crucifixion that was looming ahead of him he knew fully well what his messy death would mean in Isaiah the prophet wrote see my servant shall prosper he shall be exalted and lifted up and shall be very high just as there were many who were astonished at him so marred was his appearance beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of mortals his body would be abused and tortured so badly that he would be completely disfigured and unrecognizable he hung there tortured with my sin he was disfigured with your sin he was made unrecognizable by the sin of all creation in the series that we've had over the past couple of months resolution gods resolutions we went through several ways in the resolutions that God had made and how he would act toward his people toward his chosen disciples of whom we can be counted he was resolved to forget sin he was resolved to lift the burden of the law he was resolved to give us a new heart and a new spirit to never leave us to have plans for our future he was resolved to instruct us he was resolved that he would be with us so that we would not be overwhelmed or consumed by the problems of this world that he would be the God of the Exodus of the past present and future making us new and throughout this series we have seen with each of these resolutions how indeed he did come through our resolution the final resolution we are talking about today is the resolution that he will come again God is resolved to come again he has promised to come again if you look at Revelation chapter 22 verse 20 the one who testifies to these things says surely I am coming soon Jesus promised that he would come again and not only come again but to come soon what is soon what is soon no one knows we don't have the date we don't have the time we don't know how much time there is to clean up we don't know how much time there is to tell people that Jesus is coming and coming soon but we can look around us we can look at the world around us and we see that it is full of war and rumors of war the earth groans under the weight of men we disregard others come Lord Jesus come and this side of heaven as we await the coming of Christ as we look for him to come this side of heaven is not easy this side of heaven though we are saints we still struggle with the old Adam or the old evil a Eve sorry the nature of the flesh that is hemorrhaging in sin the lepros disease of greed and selfishness the adulterous bride of God who is unfaithful to Christ her bride groom the nature in which we are dead in sin if we continue in our reading the final words of God holy and living word for the saints is the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints amen the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints the grace the free freely given freeing love and mercy of Jesus Christ be with you as long as we remain on this side of heaven those who have been called into faith by the Holy Spirit will continue to need the constant grace and continued grace of God and we are promised that he will continue to pour out his grace upon us to pour out his mercy, his love, his forgiveness upon us and we will be carried in his grace the messy of the sin did not scare or frightened Christ the messy of our sin is exactly the messy that he experienced upon the cross the messy of our sin is exactly what he exchanged with us so that we could be given his unblemished holy and completely clean righteousness and we are carried through constantly turning over again and again the sins which are so messy in our lives and again and again we are promised the grace of Jesus Christ is with us we are promised to be carried in his righteousness and given his righteousness so when we think of this world when we consider the world around us it makes sense to cry out in that leak come come come Lord Jesus because we know that he is coming indeed and we know that we are assured that we are children of light because we have been forgiven our sin has been forgiven our messy has been taken from us and we have been cleansed completely through the blood of Jesus Christ so we can cry out come with all insurance but then we look around or we think of people who we know who those words come Lord Jesus strikes fear into their heart because they don't know Jesus and they don't know the offer that Jesus has for them they only know it if it is told to them my brothers and sisters you are the saints the disciples of today the disciples who are to carry his word his promise of love mercy and forgiveness to the ends of the earth the commission that he has given to all his disciples so that there would be more disciples for him together when he comes again who do you know who do you know who is not ready for Christ to pop in who do you know that is looking at the house in the chaos and mess and disarray and fears the truth of Christ go to them call them speak to them share with them the cleansing word of Jesus Christ who does not fear the messy but cleanses the messy disgusting torture of sin and takes it from them and cleans them with his blood with his forgiveness because he loves them go to them share that word with them Jesus promised that he would come again Jesus is resolved to come again and we know that indeed he will come again he said surely I am coming soon and so we too with the Apostle John proclaim Amen come Lord Jesus Let's open our Bibles, please.

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