God’s Promised Judgment – part 1
Revelation 8:1-13 (1-2)
October 23, 2016

This morning we are returning to the chronological flow
Of the book of the Revelation.

(We’ve actually had a pause in the flow for the past 3 weeks so that we could listen as God answered a very important question that was posed at the end of chapter 6.)

IT ALL STARTED WITH
• A tremendous heavenly scene in which John saw the Lamb of God take the scroll from the One who was seated on the throne.

This scroll is the title deed to the earth, and as we are seeing, it contains the judgments by which the Lord will remove the usurper, destroy sinners, and redeem this earth back to Himself.

• There were 7 seals that were to be opened.
• The first brought 3 ½ years of false peace.
• The second brought world war
• The third brought terrible famine
• The fourth brought death (1/4 of the world’s population)
• The fifth brought motivation for judgment as we saw the martyrs
• The sixth brought a great earthquake

And that is where we paused.

God has just shaken the earth.
He shook the earth so hard that the sun went black, the moon turned to blood, the stars fell to the earth, the mountains and islands fled, the sky rolled up like a scroll and every creature on earth saw God on His throne in terrible anger.

Mankind accounted for the horror of this event by
Praying to the mountains to fall on them
And estimating that no one could stand before this terrible God.
It has been bad.

And yet: ONE SEAL REMAINS
And this final seal takes judgment to a whole new level.

For contained in this final seal are 7 trumpet judgments
And then 7 bowl judgments.
Things are about to get really bad.

And I want to remind you this morning that
All of these judgments are the process
By which God is judging the world for its iniquity.

AND AS I STUDIED THIS WEEK
I DECIDED THAT WE NEEDED TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON THIS.
I think this truth is a good truth for the church to hear.
Because I wonder if the church today really believes it or not.

Across Christianity today there are two false doctrines that are permeating and spreading throughout the church in a very rapid fashion.

Those two doctrines are HUMANISM & UNIVERSALISM

HUMANISM basically says that “the chief end of all things is the happiness of man.”

This entire story, this entire plan, all of creation, all of redemption, all of today, all of eternity…is really all for the benefit and happiness of man.
• The world was created for me
• Jesus was sent just because of me
• God’s intent is to bless me and make me happy
• Heaven is about my reward and enjoyment

The chief point of Christianity is about making Christians happy.
And all you have to do is look no further than 90% of
What is being published by Christian outlets to see that this is true.

We are bombarded today with the prosperity gospel
And promises of your best life now
And reminders that God has good plans for us,
(which is always interpreted to mean earthly happiness)
And that it’s really all about us.

The pinnacle statement probably comes when people explain the cross and say something like, “God loved you so much that He’d rather endure hell than to have to go to heaven without you.”

It’s all about you:
• Your worth
• Your joy
• Your happiness

That is the prevailing a theme.
Now, most people won’t own up to believing it, but if you watch their ministry and listen to their statements you’ll see that it’s true.

People increasingly believe today that
God would never do anything to a person
That would make them uncomfortable or unhappy.
God only wants good for you and we have taken it upon ourselves
To fill in the blank regarding what we think “good” is.

IT’S HUMANISM.

And incidentally it is because we have begun accepting humanism that we also are rapidly beginning to accept UNIVERSALISM

What is Universalism?
The theological view arguing that all persons will ultimately be saved. Some also teach that there is no such thing as a literal hell or eternal punishment.

Some even use the cross to defend this,
• Emphatically claiming that Jesus died for all and already paid the debt for all sinners. (If that is true then no one would go to hell)

Others just let their humanistic theology take the next step.
• If God really loves creation and longs for their happiness, then there is no way He’d ever send humans to hell for eternity.

Now again, you won’t find a lot of people who say they believe in universalism, but their ministry and actions prove it.

I can ask you today: DO YOU BELIEVE PEOPLE GO TO HELL?
Today, in here, probably everyone would say “yes”.

• What if I told you to name one person you know that you think is going to
hell.

• What if I asked you next if you have ever told that person about their
miserable condition and revealed to them the salvation of Jesus Christ?

That’s where the rubber meets the road.

There is so much talk today of God loving us and God being good
That people have run with it and I think quit believing
That God really does judge sinners.

Certainly our tolerance for sin proves that.
Certainly our lack of evangelism proves that.

Either we don’t really believe hell exists
Or we don’t really believe people will go there.

It is humanism and universalism and both are ENEMIES OF THE GOSPEL.

Because the gospel says that the chief end of all things is not the happiness of man, it is the glory of God. And that God will be glorified both by the salvation of sinners and the destruction of them.

The gospel also says that not all men are universally saved, but only those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus Christ for His applied righteousness will be saved. Everyone else will spend eternity in hell.

And I’m just not sure that the church today really believes
That God is angry at sinners, or that God will destroy them in hell for all eternity if they refuse to repent and trust Christ.

So BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION this morning
I just want to take a moment and remind you of WHO GOD IS.

I would begin with God’s own announcement of Himself.
Moses is in the process of receiving his second copy of the Ten Commandments and God reveals Himself to Moses.

Let me show you what God says about Himself.
Exodus 34:5-7 “The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

We certainly love the compassion and grace and patience and mercy and truth
And faithfulness and forgiveness of God.
We certainly do not want to minimize those wondrous qualities.

But it is as though the LORD anticipated that we as humans
Would be prone to focus on them to the exclusion of the rest of who He is,
So He also reminds Moses
“yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished”

That is to say, don’t let God’s propensity to be merciful lead you to believe that God won’t judge sinners. He most certainly will.

That is God’s own declaration of Himself.

Psalms 7:11-13 “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.”

Those who paint a picture of a God who is not angry at all
Clearly are not referring to the God of the Bible.

There is no condemnation for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS.
Those are not in Christ Jesus are at enmity with God,
And God “has indignation every day” toward them.

Wasn’t that the very message of John the Baptist?
Luke 3:7-9 “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John was preaching that very same doctrine.
God offers forgiveness to those who repent,
• But if you don’t repent (and that means genuine repentance) John says God will chop you down and throw you in the fire.

John was preaching about the God who revealed Himself in the Old Testament.
• Go to the Garden of Eden and see God evict those two for their sin.
• Go to the ark and see God destroy the entire world save 8.
• Go to Sodom and see God rain down fire and brimstone.
• Go to Jerusalem and see God destroy His own temple.

It is clear that God judges sinners.
He always has and most certainly will.

Now somewhere along the line someone came up with this notion that
The God of the O.T. and the God of the N.T. must be different.

Because they don’t think the God of the New Testament is that angry.
Certainly Jesus would never be so harsh.

I’m starting to hear it more and more today, this notion that Jesus only loved sinners. In fact, the only people Jesus ever got mad at were the religious people.

There is certainly some truth to that,
But the application and insinuation is horrible.

• Jesus loved sinners in the fact that instead of stoning them to death He offered them forgiveness for their sin if they would repent.
• He was angry at religious people because they didn’t think they needed repentance or forgiveness.

But if you are insinuating by that statement
That Jesus won’t send sinners to hell for eternity
Then you clearly have not listened to everything Jesus had to say.

Matthew 13:41-42 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:49-50 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Matthew 18:8-9 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”

Matthew 22:11-13 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Are you following me here?
The God of the Old Testament is also the God of the New Testament.
• He was holy then, He is holy now.
• He was merciful then, He is merciful now.
• He was angry then, He is angry now.

He doesn’t change.

Do not let your conviction regarding God’s mercy
Cause you to ignore that His judgment is absolutely certain.

Romans 2:4-6 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:”

God will glorify Himself either by the salvation of sinners
Or by the destruction of sinners.
Don’t buy into humanism and don’t buy into universalism.

Just because He is merciful and loving and kind and good
Does not mean He will not judge sinners.

TURN TO: 2 PETER 2:1-10
Peter starts by talking about the danger of false teachers (who are present today by the way) and who lead people into sensuality.
That means they tell people what their flesh wants to hear.

And then in verse 3 Peter says “their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Now why would Peter say that?
Because the fact that God isn’t instantly judging those false prophets
Makes people think that He won’t judge those prophets.

And so Peter says, don’t assume that just because God doesn’t instantly strike them down that He has changed His mind about judgment. He hasn’t.
He is angry at them now and He will judge them soon.

And then Peter gives his proof to this statement. “For…”
(that’s Peter’s way of saying, this is how I know this)

(READ 4) – That was those straying angels in Noah’s day that God imprisoned in the pit.
(READ 5) – That was the sinners of Noah’s day whom God destroyed by flood.
(READ 6) – That was the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah whom God destroyed by fire and brimstone.
(READ 7-8) – God also knows how to deliver the righteous

But if God judged the sinners of Noah’s day and Lot’s day…
“THEN…”
(READ 9-10)

That is Peter’s way of saying, trust me God knows how to judge sinners.
He always has done it and He most certainly will do it.

God is holding His wrath for a coming day.
He is holding His wrath for a day that Jesus said
Would be just like the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

Luke 17:26-30 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.”

People were just living it up, doing whatever their flesh desired,
And they (like us) didn’t really think judgment would come.
• Did the people Noah preached to for 100 years while he built the ark think God would really destroy the world?

• Did the people in Sodom who were warned by Lot really think judgment would come?

Well it did.
And our day is just like their day.

People today are consumed with the gratification of their flesh
And have no real fear that judgment will ever really come.

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

It is bad enough that a sinful world believes this,
But it is absolutely inexcusable
When the church begins to believe it too.

• When we think sin no longer offends God…
• When we think sinners are somehow still pleasing…
• When we think God won’t really send them to hell…
• When we also get caught up in worldly preoccupation (eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage)…

That is absolutely shameful when the church loses sight of this.
• We are to be the light in darkness.
• We are to be the pillar and support of the truth.
• We are to be the salt of the earth.

There is no way we can fall into their line of thinking.

GOD’S PRESENT PATIENCE SHOULD NEVER INSPIRE APATHY!

2 Peter 3:3-10 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

Do you hear Peter there church?
He knew people would begin to doubt judgment.
God’s patience has always caused men to doubt His judgment.
But Peter says the church better not do it!

We, of all people, had better get this truth through our head
• That there is a day coming in which all of your friends, all your family members,
all of your co-workers
• Who have not repented of their sins and placed their faith in Christ will be
judged and will go to hell.

Judgment is coming.
GOD PROMISED THAT IT IS

That brings us back to where we are here in our study of REVELATION
FOR HERE WE GET TO SEE WHAT THAT DAY LOOKS LIKE
We are looking at (in great detail) the promised judgment of God.

• We saw it in chapter 6 through the breaking of the first 6 seals.
• We see it in chapters 8,9, & 16 through the breaking of the 7th seal.

This is God’s judgment poured out on sinners.

Currently we are looking at chapters 8 & 9 which contain the opening of the 7th seal and the first 6 trumpet judgments which come out of it.

And these two chapters reveal 2 very important things.
1) A Description of God’s terrible judgment on sinners
2) A Declaration of man’s blasphemous refusal to repent

Despite all these judgments
Let me go ahead and show you how the earth will respond:

Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”

And that isn’t unique.
• After the 4th bowl men will blaspheme God again.
• After the 5th bowl men will blaspheme God again.
• After the 6th bowl men will gather together to go to war against God.

There are two very clear revelations here.
God will judge sinners and those sinners will deserve it.

Well let’s begin looking at it this morning.
(Don’t panic I know we used up a great deal of time on the introduction, but I do want to get started)

Chapter 8 can be broken into 5 easy points.
#1 THE ANTICIPATION OF JUDGMENT
Revelation 8:1

This doesn’t seem like much to us now, but I promise you in the day in which it comes I tend to think it will be almost unbearable.

“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

First of all, heaven has been anything but quiet up to this point.
• In 4:1 John heard a voice like a trumpet
• In 5:2 he heard a strong angel with a loud voice
• He also continually heard myriads of angels and unnumbered believers singing songs of praise
• In chapter 6 when the angels told the four horsemen to “come” their voice was like thunder
• In chapter 7 the saved of the tribulation cry out to God in a loud voice

Heaven has been anything but silent.

But Christ has just opened the 7th and final seal,
And heaven just received the first look at what it contains.
The magnitude of what is coming
Literally caused all of heaven to pause in reflection and anticipation.

• What do you say when you see what is about to happen to sinners?
• What do you say when you see the fury that is about to come forth?
THERE ARE NO WORDS.

I still remember September 11th.
Carrie and I had been at our first church (Shiloh Baptist in Crawford, TX) for 1 week. The church treasurer pulled up in the parking lot and said something happened a plane or something accidentally flew into one of the Twin Towers. Later for lunch I went home (Carrie and I were staying with John and Linda Heaton because we had not found a house yet) and they both sat before the TV with tears running down their faces in absolute silence.

And I promise you September 11th was nothing compared to this day.

But when that 7th seal was opened all of heaven paused.
It is the calm before the storm.

Zephaniah 1:7 “Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.”

Zechariah 2:13 “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for He is aroused from His holy habitation.”

However the silence of heaven will soon be broken,
For God’s judgment is not an idle threat.

His judgment is real and it will be poured out.
So after 30 minutes of anticipation it is time to begin.

The Anticipation of Judgment
#2 THE PREPARATION FOR JUDGMENT
Revelation 8:2
“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.”

Heaven is in a state of awe and pause and anticipation,
But God breaks the silence.

He has here “seven angels who stand before God”.
These are definitely a special class of angels.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on angels, but it is obvious that there are different classes and different ranks.
We know of Cherubim, Seraphim, Archangels, Principalities, and so on.

Scripture doesn’t give us a real unique look into how all this works
Except we know that they are ranked in some way.

Daniel 10:12-13 “Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”

Obviously Michael is stronger there being called “one of the chief princes”

We have Jesus make a statement in Matthew 18
Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

We know that Gabriel was an angel of higher rank
Luke 1:19 “The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.”

We also know that some angels have very specific purposes.

For example, when we get to the 6th trumpet we read:
Revelation 9:14-15 “one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.”

And I think that is the best way to view these 7
Who are currently standing before God.

These are 7 angels who have been
Specifically created and specifically placed before God
For the specific purpose of ushering in these specific judgments.

I tend to look at them sort of like a Special Forces unit.

THAT REINFORCES YET AGAIN THAT THIS JUDGMENT
HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PLAN AND IT HAS NEVER CHANGED

And now, while heaven anticipates, GOD STARTS THE PROCESS.

“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.”

WHY TRUMPETS?
Trumpets announce God’s intervention.

Sinai
Exodus 19:16-19 “So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.”

Jericho
Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.”

Or listen to the prophets:
Joel 2:1 “Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near,”

Zephaniah 1:14-16 “Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.”

Trumpets are a way of indicating that God is about to move.
God is about to intervene.

IN THIS CASE, GOD IS ABOUT TO JUDGE SINNERS.
Whereas the first 6 seals seemed general in scope,
Now the judgments get specific.

God is about to pour out judgments with the accuracy and detail of a commanding general who targets specific areas and specific targets.
God is going to war.

When we come back next week we’ll see how God’s fury gets kindled
And how His specific wrath begins to be poured out.

What I want to LEAVE YOU WITH this morning church
IS AN UNDENIABLE CONVICTION THAT GOD JUDGES SINNERS.
• It is not ok for us to treat sin like it is an insignificant thing.
• It is not ok for us to allow sinners to think God will not judge them.
• It is not ok for us to be more worried about how sinners view us than we are about how God views sinners
• It is not ok for us to know the way by which sinners can be forgiven and saved from that wrath and not tell them.

WE KNOW HOW THESE SINNERS CAN ESCAPE JUDGMENT
AND BE MADE TO STAND BEFORE GOD.

They can stand when they take their filthy garments
And wash them white in the blood of the Lamb.

THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE UNCOMPROMISING POSITION OF THE CHURCH.
This is the gospel.
This is absolutely a hill on which to die.
Absolute WOE to the church that compromises on this essential truth.

Church we know where sinners are headed
And we know how they can be saved
DO NOT DISTORT THOSE TRUTHS.

Acts 2:37-40 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

The Flying Scroll and the Filthy Basket – part 1
Zechariah 5:1-11
October 16, 2016

Last time we looked at that famous fourth chapter here in Zechariah
Where we were reminded that it’s
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit” says the Lord.

But beyond that I would remind you of exactly what Zechariah saw.
• If you’ll remember he saw a sort of gravity fed candelabra which was tapped in directly to the olive trees that supplied the oil.

Now certainly we learned about how God works through His people
And accomplishes His purposes even when they seem impossible.

But it is also important that you remember
That it was a lampstand that Zechariah saw.

We are reminded by this that there is a purpose in all of what God is doing through His people and that is that they are a light to the world.
DON’T MISS THAT POINT.

God was rebuilding His temple
And promising to once again dwell in their midst
Namely so that they would be a light that shines in the darkness.

It is important that you grasp this to understand these next two visions.
Because these visions also address the issue of
Making God’s people a light to the world.

TO SORT OF SET THE STAGE let’s examine the Sermon on the Mount
Where He addressed this issue with the Jews to whom He was preaching.

Matthew 5:14-17 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

I know these verse are almost always quoted
In reference to the church being a light in darkness.
While it is true that believers do now shine as lights in the world,
That was not the whole point of what Jesus was saying there.

JESUS WAS ADDRESSING ISRAEL
AND MORE SPECIFICALLY HER LACK OF TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.

That is in reality the theme of the sermon.
That Israel is not righteous and that she must be in order to please God.
It was a set up sermon meant to drive them to Him.

And in this process Jesus makes the statement about light in darkness.

You must understand that He is speaking with a certain SARCASM here.
He says, “You are the light of the world.”
The problem with that is that their light is hidden or not shining.

Which is why He immediately goes into rebuke mode.
“A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket.”

That was the problem.
Israel claimed to be the light of the world, but they weren’t shining.

The reason they weren’t shining according to the Sermon on the Mount, was a lack of righteousness.

Their light wasn’t really light and therefore could not shine.

See Jesus reference it again later in the sermon:
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

That time referencing their carnal lust for the things of the world.
Jesus was reiterating that they had no light at all, but rather darkness
And thus were not fulfilling their purpose.

Their lack of righteousness kept their light from shining.

Paul reiterated this as well in Romans 2
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”

There again you hear Paul reference the Jewish belief
That they were “a light to those who are in darkness”

And yet Paul says that they are anything but a light
Because of their unrighteous living.

They actually commit the sins they so openly condemn
And instead of bringing glory to God
They actually are guilty of blaspheming Him.

So we are understanding the problems we are facing.
• According to Zechariah’s last message we would say that we have no light to
shine without the indwelling Holy Spirit and that would be true.

BUT WE MUST ALSO LEARN THAT
We have no light to shine apart from a righteous life.

Obviously the two run hand in hand since it is the Holy Spirit
That accomplishes that sanctifying work in our lives.

And that is what makes these next two visions so fitting to the flow.
God will address Israel’s lack of light
And it is directly linked to their unrighteous lives.

Now we are going to try and cover these next two visions together
Because I really think they work together,
But there is no way we can get through them both in one sermon.

So let me give you sort of AN OVERVIEW
Which we can come back and flesh out a little more.

You have here two more visions (numbers 6 & 7 on the night)
• The first is the vision of THE FLYING SCROLL
• The second is the vision of THE FILTHY BASKET

(that’s what an “ephah” was, it was a basket used to hold grain or other valuables and thus became synonymous with commerce or treasure or valuable things)

I also want you to understand that the first vision
Is given in response to the second.
Now that seems backward, for we would think that the second vision would be given in response to the first, but that is not the case here.

Let me show you.
• In the vision of “The Flying Scroll” we have a scroll which is the word of God which is a penetrating force that is coming to purify Israel.

And of this scroll God says in verse 4,
“I will make it go forth, declares the LORD of hosts…”

So God is going to intervene according to His sovereign power
And cause His word to go forth throughout the land.

The reason is because something else is currently
Going forth throughout the land which should not be.

In verse 5 we read, “Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”

That is to say, there is something that is going forth in the world.

In verse 6, “I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.”

Then later in verse 8 we find out that “This is wickedness!”

SO FOLLOW ME HERE.

• We currently have something that is going forth throughout the land and
it is wickedness.

• In response to that reality God will cause His word to go forth in order to
purify the people.

That is why I say that the first vision
Is actually given in response to the second.

God is correcting a terrible reality in the nation of Israel.
They are a people who love wickedness
Which will obviously prevent their light from shining,
And God is therefore going to purify them with His word.

He is going to turn them into a light in the midst of darkness
By means of the sanctification of His word.

And incidentally, this fits perfectly with the theme of this book.
We have said all along that the main point of the message is
“The Lord Remembers”
And we found out last week that this refers to His faithfulness.

He always remembers to accomplish the purposes which He has promised.
He never forgets, He always remembers.

Here we are reminded that God’s purpose
Also includes the purity and sanctification of His people.

Can I remind you of the conversation God had with Israel at Sinai?
Exodus 19:3-6 “Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

• God chose Israel as the people of His own possession from all the other nations of the earth.
• And continually God revealed Laws to this nation that was for the purpose of setting them apart.
That has always been His intention.
The times when God became the angriest was when His people started to blend and assimilate into the world around them.
• When they adopted their customs…
• When they adopted their worship practices…
• When they adopted their gods…
• When they adopted their morality…

God was angry, because His people were supposed to be different,
They were supposed to be holy.

And it is clear that God is also REMEMBERING THAT PURPOSE.

Let’s look at it together.
#1 THE FLYING SCROLL
Zechariah 5:1-4

Both of these visions can seem a little difficult at first, but I assure you the point will become very clear to you by the time we are done.
(1) “Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.”

The scroll is obviously the word of God
And the fact that it is flying speaks to the swiftness of its travel.

It is not different from what Ezekiel experienced.
Ezekiel 2:8-10 “Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.”

God’s word has arrived.
God’s word is present.

(2) “And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”

The significant thing is that it is the exact size of the Holy of Holies.
• It is holy
• It is consecrated
• It is set apart

There is also a link here to the glory of God which fills the Holy of Holies
And the word of God.
You don’t get one without the other.
You don’t get God’s presence without God’s word.

It harkens back to Jesus telling Peter in the upper room, that if I don’t wash you then you have no part with Me.
You don’t get Me without the word.

And those are just some basic and yet obvious observations.
God’s word is coming and coming swiftly.

We would ask: TO WHAT PURPOSE?
(3) “Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.”

And now we’re getting somewhere.

God’s word is not referred to here as a blessing, but rather as a curse.
(You probably noticed it was referred to the same way to Ezekiel)

God’s word is bringing with it a CURSE, bad news that is.
God’s word is bringing with it JUDGMENT.
And it is coming “over the face of the whole land”

This is not some “feel good” message of affirmation and encouragement,
This is a message of judgment.

This word is coming to expose and convict and condemn and to curse.

WHO?
“surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.”

Two people this scroll is after.
The one who “steals” and the one who “swears”

You’ll see in a minute that swearing has to do with swearing falsely by God’s name.

So we are dealing with people who love the world
As proven by their stealing
And with people who have
Made a false profession of allegiance to God.

Let’s talk about the first.
God is going to use this word of judgment to “purge away” everyone who “who steals”

At this point I would remind you of the Ten Commandments.
• You are aware that the first 4 commandments relate to how man views God.
• The last 6 related to how man views man.

Each of these commandments do as well.
Here we are dealing with sin against humanity, it is the one “who steals”

That is to say that their lives are morally bankrupt.
• There is no love of their fellow man.
• There is no practical righteousness or evident morality in their lives.
• They are very simply sinful people.

They just do wicked things.
Certainly stealing is one of them, but I don’t think it’s limited to that.

We are simply talking here about people who
Claim to be God’s people and yet are living immoral lives.

And I must tell you that this is absolutely unacceptable.
THE ONE WHO FOLLOWS GOD MUST LIVE A HOLY LIFE.

1 Peter 1:13-16 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Paul said:
Ephesians 4:17-24 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

The one who claims to follow God must not live in immorality.
In fact we are told that those who do must be disciplined.

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”

A person who claims to be a follower of God
And yet who lives in blatant immorality is a major problem;

WHY?
BECAUSE THEY BLASPHEME GOD.

It’s one thing for a sinful pagan to live a sinful life, you don’t expect anything else.
But when one who claims to follow God does the same,
It is an absolute offense to the reputation of God.
And God will not have it.
1 Peter 1:17-20 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you”

Those who claim Christ and yet live immoral lives
Actually do harm to the reputation of God.

It was as the old German philosopher said, “Show me your redeemed life and then maybe I’ll consider your Redeemer.”

How many times have we heard the old adage, “There ain’t nothing but a bunch of hypocrites at that church.”?

Why do you suppose they say that?
Because they reject Christ and yet people in the church confess Him
And those who are lost can’t tell the difference between the two.

It is absolutely disgraceful the way sin has become tolerated in the body.
It’s no wonder the light doesn’t shine.

Our light is hidden under our basket
By means of our immoral living and iniquity.

The world is desperately looking for
A true expression of a sanctified church
And all the while the church is doing everything they can
To blend in with the world.

Well I can tell you who won’t stand for it, and that is God.
One of the reasons that He sends His word
Is to purge out of his body the sinful man.

His word will either drive him to repentance or drive him away,
But it will refuse to allow him to remain here in his sinful state.

But that isn’t all.
“and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.”

• This doesn’t mean that God is going after people who say, “I swear”.
• Nor does it mean He is opposed to people who use bad language and quote “swear” all the time.

The point explained in verse 4 where God says, “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name.”
What does He mean by that?
It is the danger of the false confession, the false oath, the false commitment.

Do you understand the nature of a covenant?
• We enter into a binding agreement.
• We take an oath.
• We swear.

Israel certainly did this with God didn’t they?
Exodus 19:7-8 “So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.”

These were people who entered into a covenant agreement with God.
They swore that they would do what God said.

Now, there was more to it even than that.
At that point at Sinai Moses then
Reiterated to the people the commands of God.
This was Exodus 20-23

Then we get to chapter 24.
Exodus 24:3-8 “Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!” Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ” All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Two more times they agreed to enter the covenant and totally obey God.
And then Moses actually sprinkled the people with blood
As a means of ratifying the covenant.

It was a sign of judgment for a failure to uphold your end of the bargain.
• Incidentally in the book of Deuteronomy these judgments for failing to comply are explicitly spelled out. They are called “curses” which if you will remember is precisely what is written on this scroll we are looking at here in Zechariah.

Hebrews 9:19-20 “For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.”

So these people entered a covenant
Whereby they promised to follow God under pain of judgment
If their oath turned out to be a false one.

Well, their oath did prove false.
They had sworn allegiance to God by means of their obedience and they broke that oath.

Isaiah 48:1-2 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came forth from the loins of Judah, Who swear by the name of the LORD And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in righteousness. “For they call themselves after the holy city And lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name.”

Jeremiah 5:1-3 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her. “And although they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.” O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.”

Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

And that is really just the tip of the iceberg there.
Israel told God they would follow, but they lied to Him.

As a result they were a blasphemous testimony to the world around them.
• They weren’t lights in the midst of darkness, they were just like the darkness.
• They were a light hid under a basket.
• They were a flashlight without batteries.

They claimed it, but they weren’t it.
It was a false confession.

God’s word was coming to remove all such blasphemous problems.

And let me tell you this is just as serious today.
Do you understand that when you confessed Christ you also entered into a covenant with Him?
• Maybe you meant it…
• Maybe you didn’t…
• But it doesn’t change the fact that you said it.

And breaking that agreement is no small thing.

In fact, listen to this passage:
1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”

Did you catch that?
• Peter is referring to the elect, the chosen.
• Those who have been sanctified by the Spirit to obey Jesus
• “and be sprinkled with His blood”

Peter is referencing that event that took place under Moses at Sinai.
When the people said they would follow
And the covenant was ratified by the sprinkling of the blood.

Peter says that when we submitted our lives to Christ we entered the same type of oath.
• This is not a confession that can be taken lightly.
• This is an oath
• This is to swear allegiance

And those who make such an oath and then fail to keep it
Are in great danger of punishment before the Lord.

For sure they are subject to the discipline of the church,
But they are also subject to being exposed as false by Christ
And even eternally judged.

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

These are false converts.
These are false believers.
These are those who lied about their commitment to Christ.

And in case you are sitting there thinking that this is no big deal,
Can I take you back to the church in Jerusalem to a story about a man and a woman named Ananias and Sapphira?

Remember they promised money to the Lord
Which they then held back and the Lord killed them right there in church.

What was the lesson?
You don’t go to church and lie to God!
You don’t make false claims or swear falsely to Him.

There are ramifications for making a false oath.
WHY?

Because those people blaspheme God!

And we spend a great deal of time today
Worrying about the feelings of sinful believers
And very little time worrying about the reputation of the God
They are dragging through the mud.

It is absolutely detestable!

I saw a Facebook video clip featuring R.C. Sproul this week.
He sat on a Q&A panel where the question was asked

The question: “Since God is slow to anger and patient then why, when man first sinned, was His wrath and punishment so severe and long lasting?

R.C. answered “Time out, didn’t we just have that question a second ago…That God’s punishment for Adam was so severe? This creature from the dirt defied the everlasting Holy God, after that God had said “The day that you shall eat of it, you shall surely die.” And instead of dying (Thanatos) that day, he lived another day, and was clothed in his nakedness, by pure grace, and had the consequences of a curse applied for quite some time, but the worst curse would come upon the one who seduced him, whose head would be crushed by the seed of the woman. And the punishment was too severe? What’s wrong with you people!?! I’m serious, I mean this is what’s wrong with the Christian church today. We don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are. The question is, “Why wasn’t it infinitely more severe?” If we have any understanding of our sin and any understanding of who God is, that’s the question isn’t it?

(To watch the video: click here)

The implication there is that we have forgotten that
We are nothing but dirt formed out of the ground
And how dare we defy the living God.

• How dare we think that our feelings are more important than His glory?
• How dare we make ourselves equal with the Creator?
• How dare we make this all about man instead of about God?

See here we have people
• Who profess God’s name and then live immoral lives and drag God’s name through the mud.
• They blaspheme Him before the world by reason of their immorality and their false confession
• And we somehow end up taking the side of the sinner.

And we wonder why our light is not shining
And bringing glory to God
What light?

That is the problem with Israel.
• God intends to make them a light to the world, but He must first get rid of all the baskets that are concealing it.
• So God sends His word to purge from among His people all who are immoral and all who are false brethren.

And according to verse 4 God is going to make it happen.

(4) “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”

God will send His word and use it to purify this people;
To sanctify this people,
So that they are a finally a light in the midst of the darkness.

We’ll stop for now and pick back up here next time.

The Tribulation Believers
Revelation 7:9-17
October 16, 2016

As you know we are currently in the middle of
A parenthetical section here in the book of the Revelation.

That is to say that we have taken a break from the natural chronological flow of the book
In order to answer a very important question.

As the wrath of the Lamb was unleashed on humanity at the breaking of the 6th seal, humanity fell into a very hopeless condition.

Revelation 6:15-17 “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

And the question that is asked is the reason for this parenthetical chapter.
God is answering the question, “Who is able to stand?”

We’ve been talking about this for a couple of weeks now.
Trying to figure who is able to stand before God
Is a very important question to answer.

• If there is a supreme authoritative deity who reigns supreme over all this world (and creation testifies that there is).
• Then it is imperative that all created beings seek to know what it takes to please Him since He has the power and authority to do with us whatever He desires.

So asking “Who is able to stand?” is a very important question.
And it is a question that God pauses to answer in Revelation 7.

And we’ve already given that answer.
Those who are able to stand are those whom God causes to stand
Through the work of Christ and the preaching of the gospel.

We made that point a couple of weeks ago.
Now we are seeing that fleshed out through the study of chapter 7.

We saw the first 8 verses last week.
#1 THE SEALING OF SLAVES
Revelation 7:1-8

Here we saw God sovereignly seal 144,000 Jews.
• God, by His sovereign will, chose to make these Jews off limits to the destruction and judgments of the great tribulation.

And we know that because in Revelation 14
When the Lord returns and is standing on Mt. Zion
All 144,000 are present and accounted for standing with Him.

Now ONE OF THE POINTS that we had to make,
And I want to state again so as to make sure you didn’t miss it is this.

• The seal they received here was a seal of divine protection from the current
judgments on earth.

• They were not affected by the judgments of God and they could not be
touched by the persecutions of the enemy.

But it is important for you to understand that this type of protection
WAS NOT UNIVERSAL TO ALL BELIEVERS.

There are many believers who do in fact die during the tribulation.
That is made clear even in this passage today.

There will be many believers die either as a result of the world wars, or famines, or sicknesses, or wild beasts, or earthquakes, or meteor showers, or just because of the persecution of the antichrist.

Many believers will die as a result of these things, but not the 144,000.

THE QUESTION WE HAD TO ANSWER WAS WHY?
Why would God make them off limits but allow other believers to die?

These 144,000 were SEALED FOR A PURPOSE,
And that purpose was to maintain a gospel presence
Throughout the great tribulation.

That is not to say that those believers who were martyred did not share the gospel,
I am confident that they did, and thus this is why they were killed.

But it is to point out the sovereign prerogative of God
To MAINTAIN A GOSPEL WITNESS that is untouchable by the enemy.

The sealing of the 144,000 DOES NOT THEN INDICATE
That God had some love for them which was greater than
The love He had for the rest of the believers.
The sealing of the 144,000 indicates God’s commitment to the gospel.

They were not sealed because God valued their comfort,
But because God values His gospel.

And we then made the obvious analogy of remembering why we are here.

The church remains for the purpose of spreading the gospel.
• We certainly aren’t left here for comfort
• We certainly aren’t left here for riches
• We certainly aren’t left here for pleasure
(if that is the goal then take me to heaven right now)
We are also sealed for a purpose, we remain to proclaim the truth.
God is maintaining a gospel presence on the earth.

And before we move on I want to illustrate that a little more.
TURN TO: JOHN 17

You know this as Jesus’ High Priestly prayer for believers.
This is really “The Lord’s Prayer”

Without working through this in detail
There are some things I want you to grasp regarding what He prayed.

The prayer begins with Jesus requesting a return to His state of glory.
That is unmistakably clear (READ VS 1-5)

Jesus wants to be glorified.
Make sure you catch that
Because THIS PRAYER IS GOING TO END THE SAME WAY.

Look down at verse 24 where Jesus prays that those who are His would be with Him “so that they may see My glory which You have given Me”

He wants to return to glory and He wants His people to see it.
This motivation has much to do with what He prays for.

Then He identifies His own. (READ 6-10)
And we see who are His.
• Those who are chosen of the Father (6)
• Those who were given to Christ by the Father (6)
• Those who have been entrusted with the word of God (8)
• Those who have been given for the glory of Christ (10)

That says a mouthful about who we are, and why we are here.

But Jesus is leaving and so He has a PRAYER REQUEST. (READ 11-19)

Jesus is praying that the Father “keep them”
And not let them “perish” like Judas did.

Incidentally “perish” does not mean die for Judas was not yet dead.
Perish would be to face eternal damnation which Judas did face.

The issue is not to make them off limits from pain and death,
But to not let them fall away from their commitment to Christ
Regardless of the difficulty.

In fact Jesus is adamant that
• We not be taken out of the world,
• But that while in the world we be protected from the evil one.
• That is not a protection from hardship but a protection from apostasy.
• His simply wants His own to be sanctified in the truth in this world
So things are becoming clear.
I’m leaving My own in the world but it is important Father
That You keep them in the truth even though they are being left there.

WHY?
Because their proclamation of truth is what will bring in My other children.
(READ 20-24)

Do you see the purpose there?
• Keep My own in the truth, keep them proclaiming the truth, because this is how
all of My other children will be drawn in.

And the total effect will be that one day all who are mine,
After having been drawn in through the preaching of the truth,
Will one day be with Me and will see My glory.

Does that help you understand your purpose a little better?

We are here for a purpose just like the 144,000 were.
Now, we may not be preserved from death like they were.
(And as we said, they had to be or Satan would have most certainly killed them)

We may not be preserved from death, but we are here for a purpose.
That is why your life continues.

Paul said it like this:
Philippians 1:21-26 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.”

He understood what was favorable,
But he also understood why he was still here.

He was chosen and saved and sealed for a purpose
And that purpose was the proclamation of the gospel.

Colossians 1:24-29 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

YOU GET THE PURPOSE.
Here in Revelation 7 we learned that
• God specifically sealed 144,000 with a special seal
• He made them immune to the attacks of the enemy
• So that they might proclaim the gospel during the great tribulation.

To the end that all those who are Christ’s might be with Him
Where He is, seeing His glory and worshiping Him accordingly.
Just like Jesus prayed in His High Priestly prayer.

So it underscores for us how important the gospel is.

That was the sealing of slaves.
This morning we begin to see THE OUTCOME of their ministry.

#2 THE SALVATION OF SINNERS
Revelation 7:9-17

Verses 9-17 are the effect of the ministry of the 144,000.
And that point is explicitly made to John by one of the elders.

It begins just with a tremendous heavenly scene.
(READ 9-12)

Here we have “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues”

That is pretty remarkable.
Every nation, every people group, every language, every remote tribe, every indigenous people…every single one of them is represented here before the throne.

And it is so important that you recognize what they are doing.
They are “Standing before the throne and before the Lamb”

Wasn’t that the question of chapter 6?
“Who is able to stand?”

This is hope interjected into a hopeless situation.
Those sinners in chapter 6 who were begging for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from God evidenced a hopeless situation.

If you think your best option is to have a mountain fall on you,
You have reached the utter pit of hopelessness.

They ask “who is able to stand?” not because they want to know the answer, but because they think there is no answer.

They don’t think anyone could pull this off.
It was a type of rhetorical question
Where they thought the answer was obviously “no one”.

And so God answers and says that is not true.
Look here!
There are people standing before God.
It is possible!

Well let’s examine these people a little
For surely these must be exceptional people.

Scripture says they were “clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;”

These two descriptors speak to their purity and their victory.
Garments always represent character in the Bible.
• Filthy garments represent sinful character, white garments represent holy character.

Their “white robes” indicate their purity.
“palm branches” indicate victory or triumph.

On one hand you could link it back to the Feast of Booths
• Every Jewish male was required on the 15th of the 7th month (after harvest)
• To appear before Jerusalem, cut branches, build a booth or tabernacle
• And live in it for a week.

This was a remembrance of when God delivered from Egypt
And had the children of Israel live in booths.

It was also a prophetic feast looking to the day
When all then nations would flock to the Lord in Israel and do the same.

Zechariah 14:16-18 “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.”

So you can see a remembrance here, and I think that fits,
BUT IT IS EVEN MORE THAN THAT.

Do you remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem just before His crucifixion?
John 12:12-13 “On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.”

Now the timing here was Passover, not the Feast of Booths, so what where they doing here?

This was a tradition that began during the intertestamental period
(time frame between the Old and New Testaments)
When Simon the Maccabee recaptured Jerusalem from the Syrians,
They “entered it with praise and palm branches” (1 Macc. 13:51)
(sited in: MacArthur, John, [MacArthur New Testament Commentary, John 12-21; Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, 2008] pg. 16)

The palm branch was a symbol of victory.
• Certainly as Jesus entered Jerusalem this was the picture in mind.
• They were waiving palm branches and shouting Hosanna!
• As Jesus came in appearing to be the conquering hero.

These in heaven are doing the same.
They are “clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands” thus indicating their triumph and their purity.

And if that is all we had, ONE MIGHT ASSUME that
These people are standing before God
Because they are clearly “a cut above”

These are just more capable people, who are stronger, tougher, more focused, more pure, etc.
And by reason of their own efforts and will
They have triumphed and made themselves able to stand before God.

If that were the assumption, it would be a false one.

That is made clear once we hear what they have to say.
(10) “And they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

They aren’t waiving those palm branches because they had the strength to triumph, they are waiving those branches on behalf of someone else.
They didn’t win the victory, someone saved them.

WHO?
• God saved them.
• The one “who sits on the throne” saved them.
• And “the Lamb” saved them.

They didn’t earn the right to stand, the right to stand was GIVEN to them.

It is as we said from the beginning.
Those who stand before God
Are those whom God makes to stand before Him.

When they stand before God they are giving God all the credit.
They are giving the Lamb all the praise.
They are not there by their own doing.

And HEAVEN AFFIRMS this to be true
Because after their declaration heaven joins them in their worship
And affirms their declaration.

(11-12) “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Those standing before the throne proclaim that the only reason they are there is because they were saved by God and the Lamb
And all of heaven gives hearty agreement.

“Amen” they say. You’re right!
All “blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might” belong to “our God forever and ever.”

ONLY GOD GETS THE GLORY FOR SALVATION.

One of the things we talk about with our youth,
And will do again during the upcoming Disciple Now is this.

Why do you suppose that God determined salvation to be the way it is?
That is to say,
• Why is salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone?
• Why did God make salvation apart from any human effort or ability?
• Why did God save sinners purely by grace apart from any works that they may
do?

BECAUSE IN THAT WAY, GOD ALONE GETS THE GLORY.
There is not a person in heaven who will be able
To take one ounce of credit for their being there.

AND WE SEE THAT HERE.
• It is a great heavenly scene.
• A multitude of people in heaven only because God saved them.
• They are able to stand because God made them able to stand.

BUT THE CHAPTER DOESN’T END THERE:
(There is another very important piece of information that John must understand)

(13) “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?”

We know they are saved.
We know they are saved from every nation on earth.
But it is apparently also important that we know WHEN they were saved.
(14) “I said to him, “My lord, you know.”

The elder wasn’t asking John because John knew,
The elder brought it up because he wanted John to know.

(14) “And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Where did these come from?
They came from the great tribulation.

Think about it.
• We just saw people in the great tribulation (ch. 6)
• Feeling the weight of God’s fury
• And assuming that under such circumstances no one could stand.

And yet God reveals that this isn’t true at all.
• There is a multitude which no one can count from every corner of the earth who is able to stand
• And they are coming from the exact same circumstances that those sinners in chapter 6 were in.

WELL HOW THEN DID THEY DO IT?
How were they able to stand?

“they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

In short, they found forgiveness and imputed righteousness
In the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

They trusted in Jesus.
(obviously someone preached the gospel to them)

• Jesus Christ lived a righteous life
• And then died a shameful death on the cross.
• In this death the sin of God’s children was imputed to Him and He paid that debt in full.
• The flip side was that His righteousness was then imputed to all those who are His.

To say “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” is another way to say they trusted Christ for His saving work

And Christ saved them.
Christ bore their sin and imputed His righteousness to Him.
He in effect made their garments white.

And this alone is why they are standing.
(15) “For this reason, they are before the throne of God;”
That is to say, that this is the only reason
That they are able to stand before God.

It wasn’t that they were stronger people or better people or more self-disciplined people, it was that they were forgiven people.
They are people whom God made to stand through the work of Christ.

And if you will notice they are doing more than just standing.

THEY ARE ALSO SERVING
“and they serve Him day and night in His temple”
• This speaks of their gratitude.
• They have also (like the 144,000) become slaves of Christ.
• They serve Him because He is the only reason they are there.

THEY ARE ALSO SATISFIED
“and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.”

This means God accepts them under His provision.

Remember when Ruth went to Boaz to see if he would accept her?
Ruth 3:9 “He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.”

That is what God is doing here, and the ramifications of that acceptance
Is PURE ETERNAL SATISFACTION.

“They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;”

That is to say their days of pain and hardship are over.
The curse is finished for them.

“for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

You’ve heard that before haven’t you?
Psalms 23 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

That is the reality here.

NOW LET’S DO A LITTLE WORK OF COMPARISON AND CONTRAST.
Let’s look at those great men and kings and sinners of chapter 6
And let’s look at these here in chapter 7.

What do they have in common?
• Well they are both in the great tribulation.
• They both began with filthy garments.
• They both felt the fury of God’s wrath.

How are they different?
• Those in chapter 6 are begging to be hidden from God choosing to live in a cave,
• These in chapter 7 are drawing near to God enjoying His full favor and provision.

One came to the Lamb for the cleansing of his sin,
The other chose to hold their sin and merely hide from the Lamb.

Do you remember what Jesus told Nicodemus?
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

There is the same difference isn’t it?
• One ran to the light, the other hid from the light.
• One turned from sin, the other turned from Christ.

SO LET’S CLOSE THE CHAPTER NOW AND GET THE POINT
• We heard a terrified sinner ask “who is able to stand?”
• God began the answer by sealing those 144,000.
• And we saw that they were sealed for the gospel.
• Those who were saved out of the great tribulation believed the gospel,
• Those who were judged rejected it.

That is why when we ask “Who is able to stand?” We say:
Those who God causes to stand through the work of Christ
And the preaching of the gospel.

Even during the darkest time the world has ever known
There was only one message that was able to genuinely save sinners
And that message is the gospel.

• That God sent His Son, born of a virgin, into this sinful world.
• He was in fact God made flesh, and He lived a perfectly sinless life, fulfilling the Law and the prophets.
• He then submitted Himself to death on a cross where He bore in full the sin of all God’s elect and suffered the full punishment for that sin before God.
• He bore the sin of God’s children that they might bear His righteousness and stand redeemed before God.
• The success of this transaction was proven when 3 days later Jesus rose from the dead validating His atoning work on the cross,
• So that all those who by grace through faith in Him might find forgiveness, righteousness, and the ability to stand before God.

This is the message of the gospel and this is the only reason
Sinners are ever able to stand before God.

This is also the truth we celebrate today.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”

This morning we lift high the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
• We confess our need
• We confess His ability
• We relish in the fact that we can now stand before God solely because of what Christ accomplished on the cross and to Him goes all the glory.

That is also why this is a sacred time.
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

We don’t view the work of Christ as a trivial thing.
We don’t despise it, we honor it.
We partake through the honest examination of our lives.

We are not worthy to be here on our own,
But we certainly partake in a worthy manner,
Which is to take serious what He did and what He expects.

Failure to do this brings discipline from the Lord
In the form of weakness, sickness, and even death.

God intends for His church to honor the work of Jesus Christ.
So this morning we have a time of preparation.
A time for you to examine your heart (with the help of God’s Holy Spirit)
And to recommit your heart to the glory of Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus, The Divider

John 7:40-53

Last Sunday night, we studied a very important text
In regards to the theology of Jesus.

It was the last day of the feast, and the people would soon be departing, and therefore Jesus stood and cried out the sermon that He came to preach.

John 7:37-38 “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”

With the Feast of Booths as a backdrop, Jesus says:
If you want God’s Spirit, if you are looking for God’s Messiah.
LOOK NO FURTHER

“Come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rives of living water.’”

What we see this morning is the aftermath of Jesus teaching.

And while in our text this morning we find no words of Jesus,
We do learn a great deal about Him, and the results that followed Him.

This morning I am going to show you three results
That occurred because of Jesus.

#1 DIVISION
John 7:40-43
It is interesting what takes place.

Right off the bat we see that some people wanted to ACKNOWLEDGE Jesus.
“This certainly is the Prophet.”

In other words, they heard His teaching on God’s Spirit,
His teaching obviously pierced their hearts,
They were willingly ready to proclaim that Jesus was indeed from God, and speaking the words of God.

Still a second group wanted to ANNOINT Jesus.
“Others were saying, “This is the Christ.”

There was a second group that saw far more than just a prophet.
They saw Him as the One the prophets spoke of.

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

It was evident that He was the One on whom God had put His Spirit.
He was the One who would “bring forth justice to the nations.”

But there was still a third group who only wanted to ANALYZE Jesus.
“Still others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and form Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

Just a couple of days earlier, they were claiming that no one knew where the Messiah was to come from, but here they are quite certain.
This time their theology is correct, but their research is not.

As Jesus preaches His message,
Several different responses are occurring.

The problem isn’t the seed, it is the soil.
Some hearts take the seed of the word of God differently.

BUT THE MAIN POINT
VS. 43, “So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him.”

The thing John wanted you to know is that
When Jesus went to Jerusalem and claimed to be the Messiah,
It did not result in a unanimous following of rejoicing Jews.

The news of Jesus was accepted with mixed results.

He did not unite everyone that was divided.
He divided everyone that was united.

Many times in our lives we can’t fathom anything
That divides people as being from God.

All of these people where here for a common purpose.
They were here to celebrate the FEAST OF BOOTHS,
And to focus on all the things God had done for them.
They were united together with one purpose.

But as soon as Jesus gets through with His sermon,
They are all divided against each other.

The reason of course is because Jesus brings division.

Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.”

Luke 12:51-53 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

Many today only want a Jesus that brings peace to the crowds,
But He never brought peace to the crowd.

He had a peaceful crowd in His hometown, until He preached about a prophet being without honor in His hometown, and this crowd tried to throw Him off a cliff.

He had a peaceful crowd after feeding the 5,000, until He started claiming to be the bread from heaven, and this peaceful crowd left angry.

He had a peaceful crowd in Jerusalem, until He started turning over tables, and made a whip and drove people out of the temple, and this peaceful crowed began to conspire against Him.

He had a peaceful crowd at a Pharisees house, until He started calling them a brood of vipers, and they began to look for ways to kill Him.

He had a peaceful crowd during His triumphal entry, until this peaceful crowd began to yell “Crucify”.

Jesus never brought peace to a crowd.
He didn’t give peace as the world gives peace.

JESUS CAME TO BRING DIVISION.
“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;”

Jesus came to separate the darkness from the light.
John 12:46 “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”

Jesus came to separate the sheep from the goats.
Matthew 25:32-33 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”
Jesus came to separate wheat from tares.
Matthew 13:40-43 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus came to separate bad fish from good ones.
Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The point is that Jesus did not come to bring unity in the world, He came to bring division.

This crowd was divided over Him.
We can begin to see the tares and the wheat immerge.

The result of Jesus is division.
And I’m sure many of you have seen it in your life.

He draws His sword and He separates, even if it means separating, “father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

And He will bring division in your life.
Many times God’s word is wrongly condemned for being too divisive.
God’s word, is often downplayed or sugar-coated because of it’s divisive nature,
But the simple truth is, if the truth is not dividing the righteous from the wicked,
Then it is not the truth.

When the truth of Jesus is preached, before it every unifies, it divides.
The result of Jesus is division, and we see it in this crowd.

#2 DERISION
John 7:44-49

There were some who wanted to seize Jesus. We know who they are.

John 7:32 “The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.”

The Pharisees had sent the temple officers to arrest Jesus,
But their plan was not carried out.
So the Pharisees said, “Why did you not bring Him?” “The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”

The officers came back confused. They went out to arrest Jesus, but when they got close to Him, even they knew they were dealing with no ordinary man, and so they decided against following the order.

So here we see that some wanted to ARREST Jesus,
But others had grown to ADMIRE Him.

And then we see the response of the Pharisees.
Vs. 47, “The Pharisees answered them, “You have not also been led astray have you? No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.”

The Pharisees make fun of them.

They don’t question their ability to arrest a person,
They question their intelligence.
They deride them for being simple minded, naïve, and ignorant.

They readily point out that NONE OF THE educated, super spiritual, wise, or discerning people have followed Jesus.

In short, anyone who is following Jesus
Is obviously too stupid to know better.

The point is Jesus brings derision.
Derision is the natural step after division.

Once you are divided from someone because of Jesus,
That division always brings with it a scorn
From the one you were divided from.

1 Peter 4:3-4 “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”
When you are divided from the wickedness of this world,
They will malign you for it.

Certainly this is no shock to a follower of Jesus.
After all, Jesus said they would.

Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”
John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

We know that following Jesus brings derision.
Darkness hates light
Wickedness hates Righteousness

And when we read the Scriptures, we know why.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

THE NAME OF JESUS
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

THE GOSPEL
2 Timothy 2:8-9 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.”

JESUS BRINGS DERISION
He was lied about, convicted, beaten, spit upon, mocked,
crucified, betrayed, and denied.

We must remember that in our lives of comfort and ease.
We think if we ever do anything that makes someone else not like us, then we must not be acting like Jesus.

If everyone loves you, then you had better rethink your lifestyle, Because everyone sure didn’t love Jesus.

Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Jesus brought Division, Jesus brought Division.
#3 DILAPIDATION
John 7:50-53
Dis = “apart”
Lapidare = “throw stones at”

Literally – “To crush with stones, to break apart”
This is exactly what Jesus does.
Luke 20:17-18 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone’? “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

When we follow Jesus it brings division and derision,
But I don’t want you to think that is the end result.

Jesus also promises to break down, all of those who oppose us.

You can see that taking place here.
After the Pharisees call this crowd accursed,
Nicodemus steps up to the defense of Jesus.

“Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?”

Of course the rest of the group answer in disgust.
“You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”

You can see their disgust, and even their error.
They blatantly lie, for Jonah was from Galilee. (2 Kings 14:25)

But what is really interesting is what takes place next.
Vs. 53, “Everyone went to his home.”

They had gathered with a conspiracy to kill Jesus.
They had agreed to arrest him, they were in this thing together.

But at the last minute, Jesus breaks their allegiance.
Everything they wanted to do fell through. Their plans had dilapidated.
Jesus broke it apart.

This is illustrated in the passage we will study tonight.
John 8:1-11 tells the story of the scheme to stone a woman caught in adultery, but of course Jesus broke that plan apart as well.

Our life starts with division and derision,
But it ends in great victory.

John 16:20-22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”

THERE WILL BE NO MORE DERISION FOR JESUS
Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

The first time He entered through a manger,
Next time, “heaven opened”
The first time He was followed by 12 fisherman,
Next time, “armies which are in heaven”
The first time He walked the shore of Galilee,
Next time, “He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God.”
The first time He rode a donkey to Jerusalem,
Next time, “a white horse”
The first time He had compassion in His eyes,
Next time, “His eyes are a flame of fire”
The first time He spoke compassionate words,
Next time, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword”
The first time He wore a crown of thorns,
Next time, “many diadems”
The first time He submitted to murderers,
Next time, “He will rule them with a rod of iron”
The first time His name was Jesus,
Next time, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS”

And the result of Jesus will be
The destruction of all those who oppose Him.

Revelation 19:17-21 “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

Jesus life doesn’t end in division and derision, it ends in victory.

I want you to know it is the same for the followers of Jesus.
We may experience difficulty here, but it is only temporary.
TURN TO REVELATION 21:22 – 22:7

I love how John first describes heaven.
Instead of telling us about all the wonderful things that are there,
He starts by telling us what isn’t.

I want you to know if you give your life to Jesus,
It will cause division for you, it will cause derision for you.

This was always the response to Jesus.
BUT SO WHAT!
Some day Jesus will break apart all those who oppose Him.

I’m reminded of a man who had recently been saved.
He had only been a Christian for a couple of days. He was speaking with a theologian at a seminary and the topic of the Revelation came up.

The theologian said, “The book is so full of signs and symbols, and cryptic language. Coupled with the various views of eschatology. In short very few people understand the book of the Revelation, Indeed, I can’t say that I understand it.”

The new Christian looked at this theologian and said, “I understand it.” Then he held his finger in the air and said, “We win!”

Pray

Jesus, The Source of the Spirit

John 7:37-39

Jesus has been preaching at the Feast of Booths.
However, the end of the feast was approaching.

Verse 37, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out…”

I want you to understand the setting.
This feast took place during the seventh month. (October)

On the first of the month, they celebrated The Feast of Trumpets.
Throughout the Old Testament trumpets were symbolic of God’s presence, or the fact that God was about to do something big.

(i.e. trumpets at Sinai before the Lord, trumpets before Jericho)

Numbers 10:9-10 “When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and be saved from your enemies. “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”

Then on the 10th day of the month came The Day of Atonement.
Of course we know the purpose of this sacrifice.
It was done for the sins committed in ignorance and was a day of extreme humility. In fact, if you would not humble yourself on this day, you were to be cut off from your people.

Then on the 15th day of the month came The Feast of Booths.
Leviticus 23:39-44 “On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. ‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. ‘You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ‘You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.'” So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the LORD.”

The harvest was in, the day of atonement recently completed, And a time to celebrate.

But I want you to know this feast
Came with great Messianic promises as well.
Zechariah 8:20-23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”‘”

Zechariah 14:16-19 “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.”

He saw it as a day when Israel’s king would rule the world
And the world would be drawn to Him.

Ezekiel also prophesied about this feast.
Not only this one, but all three feasts in this month.

Ezekiel 36:24-28 “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”

1) A future feast of trumpets
“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.”

2) A future Day of Atonement
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and a put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

3) A future Feast of Booths
“You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”

These feasts had a past celebration, a present celebration,
But also a future celebration.
PAST REMEMBERANCE
Trumpets – God’s deliverance
Atonement – God’s mercy
Booths – God’s provision

PRESENT CELEBRATION
Trumpets – God’s deliverance
Atonement – God’s forgiveness
Booths – God’s provision (harvest in)

FUTURE HOPE
Trumpets – God’s deliverance (in gathering)
Atonement – God’s complete forgiveness
Booths – God’s king on the earth

During this feast you had all three reasons to celebrate.
It is during this backdrop,
And on the last and greatest day
That Jesus delivers His main sermon.

It is also beneficial to see the point of the sermon.

After Jesus finished preaching.
John adds in verse 39, “But this He spoke of the Spirit”

I want you to know what the Old Testament says about God’s Spirit

FIRST – There would be One who would provide the Spirit.
Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

Of course Matthew 12:17-21 showed where Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.

God promised He would send One who HAD the Spirit.
“I have put My Spirit upon Him”

SECOND – There would be those who would receive the Spirit
Ezekiel 36:27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

TURN TO EZEKIEL 37:1-14

Now in that, you see the future promise of The Feast of Booths.
The day when God’s Spirit would fill His people,
And He would place them on their own land.
Isaiah also prophesied about this wonderful day.
Isaiah 44:1-3 “But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;”

Joel saw this day.
Joel 2:28-29 “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

All these prophets saw a day when God’s Spirit would be poured out and Israel would be delivered and all the earth would be gathered to them during this future Feast of Booths.
THE FEAST OF BOOTHS CERTAINLY REMINDED OF THOSE PROMISES

As the people celebrate a feast that looks to the outpouring of God’s Spirit, Jesus stands to deliver a sermon on the Spirit.

3 POINTS
#1 THE SOURCE OF THE SPIRIT
John 7:37

You and I know why Jesus waited until the last and greatest day.
It was the climax, it was the main point,
It was literally the invitation to the feast.

And Jesus “stood and cried out”

Ordinarily a Rabbi sat down to teach, but you can see here the passion in Jesus as He stands to His feet to make sure everyone hears what He has to say.

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink”

Now there is a statement of great depth.
And it is not the first time Jesus has used such an analogy.

To the woman at the well, that desperately wanted a drink of water, Jesus said,
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

To the selfish crowd who just wanted their stomachs full in John 6, Jesus said,
John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
And to this crowd who also had a definite thirst.
A thirst for the fulfillment of this feast.
A thirst for the day when God’s Spirit truly would be poured out on the dry ground.
A day when God’s deliverance was experienced.
A day when Israel could truly celebrate this feast.

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink”

He is the source of the Spirit of God,
And three things were required if they wanted Him.

1) “If anyone is thirsty”

There had to be a thirst for something better.
A complacent attitude is not one that is ready to come to Jesus.

Remember the man at the Bethesda pool?
John 5:5-6 “A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”

Many people remain in a parched land
Because they choose to remain in a parched land.

James 4:2b “…You do not have because you do not ask.”

It is the same invitation that John would later use in the book of the Revelation.

Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

Isaiah 55:1-3 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.”

1/3 of the problem with lost people
Is that they do not even thirst for something better.
They are so content in their sin that they do not even thirst.
Many in Israel didn’t even want freedom
John 19:15 “So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

How many today willfully remain slaves to this world.
They are slaves of the enemy, and are completely content there.

Paul told us to pray for people like that.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

They are people who literally need to come to their senses.
They need to discover their thirst for freedom.

You must first thirst for it.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

But of course that is only an inner motivation, and there is more that must be done.

2) “let him come to Me”

You can be like the explorer and search for the fountain of youth, but there is only One who has the fountain, because there is only One who already has the Spirit.

That is why Jesus could make such claims.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Those are bold claims, but He had the authority to make them. You must thirst, and you must come to Jesus.

But there is more than that.
3) “and drink”

Now this seemed to be the tough one.

We remember the crowd in John 6 who finally turned away from Jesus at the thought of eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

They came to Him, but they wouldn’t identify with Him. They wouldn’t believe. They wouldn’t allow Jesus to get inside of them.

We remember the Rich Young Ruler who indeed thirsted for eternal life, and even came to Jesus to find it, but who missed out because He would not drink.

You see, you must come to Jesus and fully surrender to Jesus.
He is the source of the Spirit of God that you have been looking for.

Jesus moves on to show us why we should come to Him.

#2 THE SATISFACTION OF THE SPIRIT
John 7:38

Jesus shows us the wonderful satisfaction of the Spirit which you get from Him.

“From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”

So shouldn’t it say, “From My innermost being will flow rivers of living water to you”?

You see, Jesus is offering something much bigger than just provision. He is offering the presence. Instead of just receiving the benefits of the Spirit, He is offering to us to be vendors of Him.

Is that not what we see taking place in Acts 1:8?
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

It is being filled with the Spirit so that we can carry it to others.

That is a huge concept.
John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

Colossians 1:26-27 “that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

That is amazing in itself, but look at what else Jesus says.
“will flow rivers of living water”

Now think about that.
A river was called living water because it flowed. To say “rivers of living water” is redundant

But not only that, He should have only said, “river of living water”

But you can see that Jesus is talking about a filling that will flat out consume you and flow from you in enormous fashion.
“rivers of living water”

We are talking about the headwaters,
We’re talking about getting the source in us.

That goes far beyond not being thirsty anymore.

If someone were to ask me the main difference between my religious life from 8 to 19 and from my new life from 19 til now. There is no doubt I would say the Spirit of God.

He made all the difference in my life.
His fruit, His changing power, His passions, His glory, His power…
Not only was I satisfied, but it was far greater than that.

I didn’t just get a river from God.
God put “rivers of living water” in me.

But you do need to see the first part of that verse.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said”

Not believes in Me like you want to.
There is a way in which God tells us to have faith in Jesus. We do it His way.

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

But if we do, we get the greatest satisfaction our soul could ever know.

So we see the source of the Spirit
The satisfaction of the Spirit
#3 THE SENDER OF THE SPIRIT
John 7:39

Now notice what John said.
John said that those who believe in Jesus where to receive the Spirit.

“for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”

Now, please don’t misunderstand.

The Spirit of God was on the earth.
David spoke of the Spirit.
Jeremiah had Him.
John the Baptist Had Him.
John’s dad was spoke in the Spirit.
Indeed all the prophets of the Old Testament spoke by Him.

But none had Him in the way Jesus was talking about.
They couldn’t.

“because Jesus was not yet glorified”

They could not fully experience the satisfying power of the Holy Spirit because their sin debt had never been paid.

But once Jesus died upon that cross, and rose from the dead, And then ascended to the Father,
Now we experience the fullness of God’s Spirit.

That is why Jesus said:
John 14:25-26 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

IF YOU WANT THE SPIRIT OF GOD
There is only One way to get Him.

And so Jesus invitation to them also becomes Jesus invitation to you.

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me, and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”

That means tonight, if you have no satisfaction in your soul, the answer is clear. Come to Jesus and drink, and believe in Him as the Scripture says.

Tonight if you have received God’s Spirit,

THEN REMEMBER He was meant to flow from you, not just to you. Go be a fountain to the world.

John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”