I don’t know if you have the problem of not being able to read
your own handwriting after it gets cold. I do. I have terrible penmanship.
Should have been a doctor. I’ll jot down a quick note that makes perfect sense
at the time and then look at it later and have no idea what I wrote.
Last week I saw something in the Psalms I felt would speak
to us today. I wrote down the chapter and a couple of other thoughts. Later I
had someone come in and tell me about a mask that might help keep the Corona
virus away. I wrote that down and added a couple of other thoughts.
When I was studying for today’s message, I spent nearly an
hour reading Psalm 95 to find the section I saw earlier. I couldn’t find it. My
note had said N 95. I thought that meant find Psalm 95 in the NIV translation.
Then I saw the other note. I had written Psalm 97. N 95 was the type of mask.
It’s easy to get confused.
My son Cory from Las Vegas called and asked, “Dad, in the
end times, are things going to get confusing?” I shared insights from last
week’s message about the deception Satan would bring in and how confusing that
would be. He said this must be the End Times because his life has gotten
seriously confusing.
When it comes to End Times studies, that in itself is
confusing. There are too many opinions to settle on just one system into which everything
the Bible says about the End fits. Those who say their system does, usually has
had to bend Scripture to make it work. That’s why this study has been about
what we know, not what we can speculate about. And even what we know is more
than enough to keep us awake at night.
The End Times looks like rampant chaos. And, in many ways it
is, but if we’re not careful, we’ll assume God loses control. He doesn’t. The
Apostasy looks like He is losing Christians and Churches. He will but not true
Believers. The man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) is going to ravage the
world. He is, for a while. The Tribulation looks like it’s is going to destroy
the earth. It pretty much will. And it looks like God is being defeated and
Satan is winning the war. He isn’t.
That’s why God gave us The Revelation of John. Not to
tell the people back then about things over two thousand years down the road
that will not affect them in their lifetime, but to give them overall perspective.
John wrote during the tribulation that began with the destruction of the Temple
in Jerusalem. He saw the end of the Jewish sacrificial system. He witnessed the
spread of hatred for the Jews to include the hostility against Christians. He
experienced the abuse and misery brought upon the Church. He felt the helplessness
of the people and then God gave him a vision of the end so they could get
through their current, personal struggles. That though it looks dark now, hang
on. The Light is coming. They needed to know that in all things, God wins
the day!
John’s message: that after the destruction is over, the
Tribulation has ended, after the Antichrist is disposed of, the Beast, the
False Prophet, Satan and his empire of evil are thrown into the Lake of Fire, all
enemies of the goodness of God will be dismantled. And if He can do that then,
just think what He can do for you now. John writes:
Rev
21:1-5 Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the
throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will
dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among
them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no
longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;
the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne
said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write,
for these words are faithful and true."
John brought the entire story of the End back to one simple
truth: God is faithful and true. At no point during the entire saga would He
cease being faithful and true. Nowhere would He suddenly change His character
to become unfaithful and false. God would remain God, sitting on the throne,
fully in charge. That encouraged 1st Century Christians.
Some felt forgotten. Some doubted God’s goodness. Some
struggled to continue in the faith. To know God would remain faithful at all times,
encouraged them to trust Him.
It works the same for us. If we are going through our own tribulation
now or tomorrow or next week, or when the time comes for the Great Tribulation,
God will remain faithful. That’s what John wanted the people to hang onto. Because
the people who know God is faithful will not lack the confidence with which to
trust Him to get them through.
Moses first told us God is a faithful God: Deut 7:6-9 For you are a holy people to the
LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own
possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The
LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number
than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because
the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the
LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of
slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the
LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His
lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His
commandments;
What generates confidence in God? What urges us to trust
Him? What compels us to live what we believe? It’s God’s faithfulness, not our
own determination.
We don’t generate faith. We don’t work up faith? We don’t
force faith? We express faith. It’s never been about how strong we are to believe.
It’s how strong is the One in whom we be believe. I’ve heard preachers say, “If
you just had enough faith God would…” Or excuse a miracle not coming through
with, “They just didn’t have enough faith.” We have enough faith. Faith isn’t a
measured commodity. It is either yes or no, not a question of how much. All
faith is, is the ability to trust in the One who can do all things.
God doesn’t expect the impossible from us. He wants us to
expect the impossible from Him. – Dwight L. Moody
The lady of great faith was a lady with faith in a great
God.
So, John knew that if the people would keep their eyes on
Jesus, regardless of what’s going on around them, and continually entrust their
lives into the hands of their faithful God, they not only could make it
through, but would make it through. Even if their faith wavered, God
would remain faithful to them.
What if I die? Is death some sort of failure on God’s part?
What if I get hurt? Is pain some sort of failure on God’s part? What if I lose
everything? Is loss some sort of failure on God’s part? God’s faithfulness,
like His peace, is, at times, beyond our ability to comprehend. That’s where
trust comes in. Stepping into the unknown and expecting something solid to
stand on.
John had the rest of Scripture for backup. The whole Bible
is the story of God’s faithfulness. Nowhere does it ever say, “Look how great
God’s people are!” It always says, “Look how great God is!” or “Look how
blessed God’s people are to belong to Him.”
Ps
100:5 For
the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all
generations.
“God is not being faithful to me” based on what? Usually,
whenever we accuse God of unfaithfulness, it’s because He isn’t doing what we
want, the way we want it done, when we want to see it. Our wants have nothing
to do with God’s intentions. Sometimes we’re wanting God to do something He
never promised He would do. And then we blame Him for not coming through. We
accuse Him of unfaithfulness. All we’re doing is demonstrating our
unfaithfulness to Him by not trusting Him to do what’s best. We forget:
Ps
97:9 For
You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all
gods.
Most High by what distinction? One day Jesus had spoken hard
words – the kind of words that force you to decide what you’ll do with what you’ve
heard: John 6:66-69 As a result of this many of His disciples
withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the
twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" Simon Peter
answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal
life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of
God."
Peter was saying, “You are Most High. There are no words
higher than Your words. There are no ways higher than Your ways. There are no
thoughts higher than Your thoughts. Who else could we turn to?”
When God gave the 10 Commandments, the first one basically
settled the rest of them. Get this one right and everything else falls into
place: Ex 20:3 You shall have no other
gods before Me.
What is a god? Anything we trust in that takes the place of
God Most High.
Jer
10:3-6 For
the customs of the peoples are delusion; because it is wood cut from the
forest, the
work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate it with silver and
with gold; they
fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not totter. Like a
scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot walk! Do not
fear them, for
they can do no harm, nor can they do any good." There is none like You, O LORD; You
are great, and great is Your name in might.
The prophets ridiculed the people for having images
representing something they had given themselves to. Images that have no life
nor ability, yet the people had elevated these images above God Most High. It
was the ministry of the Prophet to point that out, show them what God is really
like and then call them to: Deut 6:5 …love the LORD your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. That
leaves no room for any other god.
·
Only He is worthy of our love.
·
Only He is worthy of our devotion.
·
Only He is worthy of our surrender.
·
Only He is worthy of our praise.
·
Only He is worthy of our worship.
·
Only He will get us through to the End.
Though John’s Revelation is full of distressful
images, the message he wants the people to come away with is: God is faithful
no matter how things look.
Lam
3:21-25 This
I recall to my mind, and I have hope. The LORD's lovingkindnesses
indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your
faithfulness. The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore
I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
We seek what we expect to find. “Hey, come in here and help
me look. What are we looking for? It doesn’t matter, just help me look.” No, we
look for what we expect to find.
Some, in doubt, will look and not find Him, because they
don’t expect to find Him. But Jeremiah wrote: the goodness of God awaits those
who look for Him.
Zephaniah gave us a word picture of what we’ll find: Zeph 3:16-17 In that day it will be
said to Jerusalem [now a
reference to all of God’s people]: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall
limp. The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He
will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice
over you with shouts of joy.
The God Most High takes delight in me. He is present in my
life. He will fight for me, exult over me, love me and rejoice with shouts of
joy over me. Why would He do that? I’m His child. That’s what He does for His
children. He is our warrior. John gives us that image of Jesus.
Rev 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…And on His robe and
on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS." We won’t see Him that way unless we know to
expect Him that way.
Elisha was surrounded by the forces of the King of Aram. His
servant was freaking out. Elisha said: 2Kings
6:16-17 “Do
not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then
Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may
see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the
mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Why could Elisha see the faithfulness of God surrounding Him
and his servant couldn’t? Elisha knew who His God was and expected Him as such
in his life. He prayed so his servant could see what he saw.
John is praying the same thing throughout The Revelation:
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and
those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written
in it; for the time is near.
Open their eyes, Lord. Let them see your salvation and
deliverance. Let those who read this book understand how blessed they are to
belong to God Most High, who is a victorious warrior fighting in their behalf,
whose love is sufficient, who is faithful to His promises. Who has given them
everything they need for whatever they face.
Does it matter what’s going on in our world? Of course. Does
it matter how deceptive Satan and his forces are to steal, kill and destroy?
Certainly. Does it matter how easy it is to believe the lie and doubt the
goodness of God? Absolutely. Then, what are we to do?
Prov 3:5-7 Trust in the LORD with
all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own
eyes; fear the
LORD and turn away from evil.
“Okay, I will trust. But what am I to trust in?” Not what
but who. The God who said: Jer
29:11-13 For I
know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and
not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon
Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and
find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
God is saying: My job is to take care of you. Your job is to
trust Me to do so, not see if you can work up enough faith to make me perform a
certain way. Take Me at My word and trust that what I say is enough will
be enough.
When John is wrapping up The Revelation: Rev 22:6-7 And he said to me,
"These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the
spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things
which must soon take place. And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he
who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."
He’s not talking about heeding the words about the seals,
the plagues, the trumpets, the lake of fire. We have nothing to do with that.
He’s talking about the message. That in all of these things, or whatever goes
on in our lives in the meantime, we can trust our faithful God.
We don’t have within ourselves what it takes to get through
to the End. I don’t have what it takes to get through this coming week, but what
I need, what we need, God supplies. We cannot prepare for the End Times.
We can only trust in the God who has plans for us that will get us through
whatever we face.
TAKEAWAYS:
- To trust God, we have to know Him.
- To know Him, we have to belong to Him.
- To belong to Him, we have to give ourselves to Him.
- To give ourselves to Him, we have to receive Him into our lives.
- If we have received Him, we are Children of God.
- If we are Children of God, all Heaven works in our behalf now and forever.
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