"Come Lord Jesus"

Well, good morning, church.

Summer is here.

I'm glad to see some of you waving the fans.

If you do get hot during the service,

the service is being streamed in our overflow rooms

and air conditioning, I believe.

Right, Corbin?

Yes, so there's an overflow room downstairs

in the new edition that's air conditioned.

You can watch the service down there.

The fellowship hall, we also have the speaker on down there.

You can go there.

Or here's an even better option.

If you've been coming to Trinity for four to six months,

you can volunteer with children's ministry,

which means that you can then enjoy the service

in air conditioning while you spend time with children,

which is probably one of the best things

you can do for your soul, is spend time with kids.

Because Jesus said,

that's who the kingdom of heaven belongs to.

So, with that being said,

why don't we turn to Revelation chapter 22.

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

We've come to the end of our series in Revelation today.

Today, we are going to be considering verses 6 through 21.

These verses form the epilogue,

the kind of final words of this majestic book of Revelation.

That's the last page in the Pew Bible.

If you'd like to turn there with me,

I will pray for us, and then I'll read,

and then we'll dive in.

Let's pray together.

Father, we have just sung about the wondrous mystery

of the incarnation of your Son,

the perfect life of your Son,

the atoning death of your Son,

the glorious resurrection,

and his mighty return.

Father, this is what we want to see more and more of,

Christ in all his glory and beauty.

Because we know that as we behold Christ,

we are not just changed into his likeness more and more,

but you receive more and more of the glory and praise

that you deserve,

that we were created to give you.

We find the very purpose for which we were made.

So help us in these few moments

as we turn to this final passage

of this great book of Revelation

to help us to see more and more of Christ

by the power of your Spirit.

Amen.

All right, Revelation 22, 6 through 21.

Remember, John, at this point in the book,

has just been shown by an angel

the glorious vision of the new heavens and the new earth,

the future that God has in store for his people

and for his creation.

And then we read this.

And he, that is the angel, said to me,

these words are trustworthy and true,

and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,

has sent his angel to show his servants

what must soon take place.

And now John hears the voice of Jesus himself saying,

and behold, I am coming soon.

Blessed is the one who keeps the words

of the prophecy of this book.

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things,

and when I heard and saw them,

I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel

who showed them to me.

But he said to me,

you must not do that.

I am a fellow servant with you

and your brothers, the prophets,

and with those who keep the words of this book.

Worship God.

And he said to me,

do not seal up the words of this prophecy,

of this book,

for the time is near.

Let the evildoer still do evil,

and the filthy still be filthy,

and the righteous still do right,

and the holy still be holy.

And again, John hears the voice of Jesus say,

behold, I am coming soon,

bringing my recompense with me

to repay each one for what he has done.

I am the alpha and the omega,

the first and the last,

the beginning and the end.

Blessed are those who wash their robes

so that they might have the right

to the tree of life,

and that they may enter the city by the gates.

Outside are the dogs and sorcerers,

and the sexually immoral,

and murderers and idolaters,

and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel

to testify to you about these things

for the churches.

I am the root and the descendant of David,

the bright morning star.

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 desires,

take the water of life without price.

I warn everyone who hears the words

of the prophecy of this book.

If anyone adds to them,

God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

And if anyone takes away from the words

of the book of this prophecy,

God will take away his share in the tree of life

and in the holy city,

which are described in this book.

He who testifies to these things says,

surely I am coming soon.

Amen.

Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus

be with all.

Amen.

Amen.

So, what is the final word

of this great and powerful book of Revelation?

What's the last thing that God wants

ringing in our ears

as the Bible comes to a close?

Well, three times

we hear the voice of Jesus say,

I am coming soon.

Verse 7,

verse 12,

and verse 20.

Behold,

surely

I am coming

soon.

The imminent return of Jesus,

that is the nearness

of his return,

that's the parting word.

That's the final chord struck

as the great symphony of Scripture

comes to a close.

And I want to ask

two simple questions then

as we draw our sermon series

to a close.

First,

what does it mean

that Jesus is coming soon?

And second,

how should we live now

in light of that?

What does it mean

that Jesus is coming soon?

And how do we live now

in light of that?

And as we answer

those two questions,

we'll see that this final passage

of Revelation

actually gathers together

many of the great themes

of this book

one more time.

So here we actually

have a great summary

of the application

of this book

as we draw our series

to a close.

So first,

consider with me,

what does it mean

that Jesus is coming soon?

Now perhaps,

before we consider

the soonness

of Jesus' return,

maybe we need to pause

on the mere fact

of his return.

You see,

nearly all the New Testament

writers,

and as a result,

all of the historical creeds

and confessions

of Christianity

through the ages

have affirmed

that Jesus will return.

And not just spiritually

or symbolically,

but he will return bodily.

Now of course,

the idea of the bodily

return of Christ

can at first feel

a little strange, right?

How exactly are we supposed

to imagine this kind of

bodily return of Jesus

from heaven?

And yet,

this is indeed

what the New Testament teaches.

As the angels said

to the disciples,

do you remember

on the day of Jesus' ascension?

The angels turned

to the disciples

and said,

this Jesus who was taken

up from you into heaven

will come in the same way

as you saw him go

into heaven.

So it may sound

strange at first,

but it is undoubtedly true.

It stretches our imagination,

but the stretching

of our imagination

is not a bad thing.

After all,

we need our finite imaginations

stretched a little bit,

don't we,

so that we can begin

to wrap our minds

around the wonder of God

and God's ways.

Now you'll remember

Revelation has given us

multiple images

of Christ's bodily return,

hasn't it?

Jesus will be like a groom

coming for his bride.

Jesus will be like

a warrior king

returning to bring peace

and freedom to his country.

Jesus will be like a judge

coming to finally put things right

and issue lasting justice.

But if you struggle

with the fact of Jesus' bodily return,

I wonder if you realize

what good news it is.

After all,

the bodily return of Jesus,

it tells us something staggering,

doesn't it?

If Jesus is indeed

to return in a body,

does not that mean

that our loving Savior

who united himself

to our humanity

in his incarnation,

if he's going to return

in that same body,

don't you see what that tells us?

It tells us

that Christ has not let us go.

He has not let our humanity go.

God the Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

will become

and has become

one with us forever.

I mean,

what greater token of love

could there be?

Even in his glorious return,

Jesus will remain

our incarnate Lord

and our divine lover

who took the form of a servant,

humbled himself to death

on a cross,

who rose on the third day

in love,

Jesus took our flesh

and even in glory,

he's not let it go.

It's kind of like

the soldiers

on the front lines of war,

you know,

who kind of carry

in their innermost pocket

of their vest

a picture of their loved ones

or their family

who they cherish.

They take with them

what matters most

into battle

and home again.

It's like that.

Jesus has assumed our flesh.

He's kept it close

and he's going to carry it

for eternity.

To put it simply,

do you wonder

if God loves you?

Then consider Christ

will return in a body

marked with scars

because he loves you.

But if you're still

kind of wrestling

with this fact

of Jesus' bodily return,

consider not just

what it tells us

about God's love for us,

but also what it tells us

about this material creation,

this bodily existence

that we inhabit.

You know,

many religions of the world

see as their goal

the kind of escape

of the material world,

right?

In their view,

this material world

is full of change

and suffering

and the body

is finite and frail,

so the goal then

is to escape the body,

to escape the material world.

But that's not Christianity.

Christianity,

while acknowledging

the brokenness

and fallenness

of the world,

affirms the material world's goodness,

affirms bodies

and bodily existence.

How does it do that?

Well, friend,

if the Lord of the universe

chose to come

and to live

and to die

and to rise

and even return

in a material body,

then these bodies of ours

must be

of incalculable worth.

You won't find

a worldview

or a religion

that is as embracing

of material creation

and bodily existence

than the faith

that centers

around Jesus Christ.

And this is why

Christians care so much

about work

and art

and culture,

because these material

means are part

of the worship

of the incarnate

and returning Lord.

and this is why

Christians care so much

about what we do

with our bodies,

right,

and what happens

to our fellow humans' bodies,

right?

We care about these bodies

that God has given us,

whether it's an unborn child

or an international refugee

or an elderly neighbor.

Christians affirm

the dignity

of every human body,

regardless

of how politically

or culturally fashionable

or unfashionable

that affirmation may be.

Because our ethics,

friends,

they're tethered.

What are our ethics

tethered to as believers?

Not to the passing whim

of our kind of

social sensibilities,

but what we believe

is right and good

and the fullness of life.

What's it tethered to?

It's tethered to

the body of Jesus,

a body that's broken for us,

a body that's been risen for us,

and a body that's

returning in glory.

So the fact

of the bodily return

of Christ

is good news.

It's good news

that God loves us,

and it's good news

that this material world,

this bodily existence

that we inhabit

is good.

But what about

the nearness

of Jesus' return?

Behold,

I'm coming soon,

Jesus says.

Now,

we have to be honest,

right?

Living nearly

2,000 years

after Jesus' ascension,

it doesn't exactly feel

like Jesus' return

is soon,

right?

But we have to remember

that the nearness

of Jesus' return

isn't necessarily

a chronological statement.

It's a redemptive

historical statement.

Here's what I mean.

That Jesus' coming soon

isn't about measuring

hours and days

and months and years,

right?

That's chronology.

That's clock time.

That's kind of ordinary time.

That's not the sort of

nearness we're talking about.

Rather,

what we're talking about

is what part of the story

we're in.

In the story of redemption

that began in Genesis 3,

when God promised

to send one

who would crush

the head of the serpent,

when redemptive history

began from that moment,

what chapter are we in?

Are we in the first chapter

with many to go?

Are we in the second,

the third?

No, friends,

we exist

in the last chapter

of God's redemptive history.

This is it.

The Messiah has come.

The decisive victory

has been won

over sin and death

in His death

and resurrection.

He has ascended

to His throne.

His message

of forgiveness

and freedom

is resounding forth

to the nations

through the proclamation

of the gospel of grace.

the movement of Jesus.

The kingdom of God

has advanced

around the world.

This is the last chapter

that we're living.

Or as the New Testament writers

say over and over again,

these are the last days.

And what is it we're waiting for

in these last days?

Well, there's one last part

to the story.

The return of the King.

At any moment,

the trumpet could sound,

the clouds could part,

and the Lord Jesus

will descend in glory.

You see,

from the perspective

of redemptive history,

from the perspective

of the story

we find ourselves in,

Jesus is coming soon.

Soon,

the heavenly groom

will come for His bride,

and we will feast

with Him in love.

Soon,

the divine champion

will come

to defeat His enemies

and liberate creation

from oppression.

Soon,

the perfect judge

will come

to put all things right

and justice will flow

like rivers and streams.

Soon,

the sun and moon

will be outshone

by the glory of God

and the Lamb

dwelling in the midst

of the new city

where people

from every tribe

and tongue and nation

will gather

to worship Him

and to reign with Him.

Soon,

there will be

no more death,

no more decay,

no more tears,

and no more sin.

On that day,

what a great day,

it will be impossible

for us

to sin.

There will be no going back

to the old ways.

God will be all in all.

There will be no ocean

of chaos

or destruction

or death,

only an ocean

of triune love,

the bottom of which

we will never reach

world without end

soon.

And that's why we pray

with verse 20.

Come,

Lord Jesus.

Jesus.

The church eagerly

longs for the return

of Christ.

As the Apostle Paul

says in 2 Timothy 4,

8,

we love His appearing.

Do you love His appearing,

brothers and sisters?

Are you eager

for His day to come?

Do you pray,

come,

Lord Jesus?

That's one of the most

ancient prayers

of the church.

We see it reflected

in verse 17.

The spirit and the bride

say,

come.

Let the one who hears

say,

come.

And then there's a twist.

Let the one who is thirsty

come.

As we pray this prayer

for Jesus to come,

it's also an invitation

to the thirsty.

For the soul

that's thirsty

for hope,

come.

Let the one who desires

take the water of life

without price.

this drink

will satisfy you.

This drink

will give you a hope

like no other.

Jesus has paid the price

so you can drink deeply

of His grace

now,

of His life

now,

and when He returns,

you will drink

the fullness

of unending joy.

We long

for His coming

like thirsty people

longing for a drink.

Of course,

there will be some

who scoff at this idea.

The Apostle Peter

speaks to this very thing

in the reading

that we heard earlier

in the service.

Where is the promise

of His coming,

some were saying,

even in Peter's day.

But you remember

how the Apostle

responded to that?

He said,

don't overlook this fact,

beloved,

that with the Lord

one day is as a thousand years,

and a thousand years

is one day.

The Lord is not slow

to fulfill His promise

as some count slowness,

but is patient toward you,

not wishing that any

should perish,

but that all should

reach repentance.

You see,

if,

from our finite perspective,

the Lord seems to be

delaying His return,

it's not because

His promise is untrue,

but because His patience

is so great.

You see,

the truth about us

is that we've lived

our lives

in our own steam.

You know,

you and I,

you've been your own master,

your own king,

your own savior.

You've dug your own wells.

We all have.

But they can't hold any water.

You see,

in running our lives

our own way,

the prophet Jeremiah says,

we've rejected the fount

of living water,

and we've dug our own wells

that can't even hold any.

But what is repentance?

Repentance is admitting

that you've been running

your life your own way,

and it's turning

to surrender your life

to the one who lived

and died for you,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Repentance means

admitting you're not God

and taking Jesus as Lord.

Repentance means

admitting that you can't

please God

by your own good works

and resting completely

in Jesus' record

instead of your own.

See,

at its heart,

repentance,

it's a transfer

of trust,

you see.

In our natural

fallen state,

we trust in ourselves,

we trust in created things.

That's actually

what the Bible

defines as sin.

trusting in ourselves

and in created things.

But repentance means

to transfer our trust

from those things

to the risen Jesus.

And here's the truly

amazing thing.

Consider what Scripture

says is true

for all who make

that transfer of trust

the Bible calls repentance.

We come bankrupt

to Jesus,

and we are given

the riches of His grace.

We come spiritually dead

and we're made

spiritually alive.

We come dirty

and full of shame

and we're clothed

in glory and honor.

We come as rebels

and we're embraced

as sons and daughters.

We come as moral failures

and we're credited

with perfect righteousness.

We come with empty hands

and we're given

a full measure,

shifted and shaken down

and overflowing,

put right into our lap.

We come without hope,

with no future

to look forward to,

and we're given

eternity.

An ever-satisfying

eternity

that causes us to pray,

come, Lord Jesus.

So this is what it means

that Jesus is coming soon.

That's the first question

we've been asking

of this final section

of Revelation.

Behold, I'm coming soon.

It means that we live

in the last act

of the drama of redemption

and Jesus could return

in glory at any moment

to judge and to save.

So we long for that moment

and we prepare for that moment

with genuine repentance.

But now we need to ask,

how do we live now

in light of His coming soon?

How do we live

knowing that Jesus

is coming soon?

Well, with the little bit

of time we have left,

let me mention just four things

we see in our passage.

As we eagerly long

for Jesus' return,

as we pray,

come, Lord Jesus,

with our hearts aflame

with love and expectation,

this passage presents

four practical ways to live

and each of these

actually harkens back

to a major application

of the whole book

of Revelation.

So what do we see first?

First, we're told

to worship God alone.

In verse 8,

John falls down in worship

before the angelic messenger

who showed him

all these things,

but the angel says,

don't do that.

I'm a servant just like you,

like all who hear this book.

Worship God.

And friends,

hasn't that been

the great theme

of this book?

God.

He alone

is worthy

of worship.

Reread chapters 4

and 5,

the great throne room

scene in heaven.

Let this book

remind you

that all the imitations

of this world,

the dragon

and his beasts

of power

and prosperity,

none of that

should capture our hearts.

Only God.

fear God

and you have

nothing to fear.

But this book

has also showed us

who God is.

God is not

some distant deity.

He's not some

philosophical construct,

some unmoved mover.

No,

the one true God

has made himself

known

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

Sitting on the throne,

worthy of worship,

is whom?

The Lamb.

Worship God,

the angel says,

and all of heaven

and earth

worships

the Lamb.

And this is

no contradiction

because Jesus

is one

with God the Father.

As he says here

in verse 13,

Jesus says,

I'm the alpha

and the omega,

the first and the last,

the beginning and the end.

Do you remember

where we heard

those words earlier

in this book?

All the way back

in chapter 1,

verse 8,

those very words

are spoken

by the Lord God,

God the Father.

Here is Jesus

saying the same

exact thing

because the Father

and the Son

are one.

So we long

for Jesus' return

and we don't give

our hearts

allegiance

to any lesser God

than the Lamb

who sits on the throne.

You know,

it's interesting

that John here

was tempted

to worship

the one who brought

him this message.

And can't that

sometimes be

our temptation too?

To revere

kind of a great

Christian leader

or to sort of

revere a great

Christian movement.

We sort of place

them on a pedestal

but when we find

that they have

feet of clay,

what happens?

Suddenly our faith

is shaken.

No, friends,

we must worship

God,

not the messenger.

We can thank God

for those who have

mentored us

and discipled us.

These are great gifts.

It's good to have

heroes of the faith

to emulate.

But we must not

worship them.

Our worship belongs

to Christ alone.

So that's the first

practical way

we live now

in light of Jesus'

coming soon.

We worship God alone.

Second,

we persevere.

In holiness.

In verses 10 through 14,

we hear the angel

tell John,

don't seal up the book.

Now it's interesting,

that's the exact opposite

of what the prophet

Daniel was told

all the way back

in Daniel 12.

For Daniel,

the events that he saw

were a long way off

so the angel said,

seal up the book.

But for John,

these events

were underway.

So he's told,

don't seal it up.

Let its message go.

And then in verse 11,

we have this

strange message.

Let the evildoers

still do evil,

and the filthy

still be filthy,

and the righteous

still do right,

and the holy

still be holy.

That's a strange verse,

isn't it?

At first,

it kind of sounds

a bit fatalistic,

right?

A bit resigned.

Well,

if evil people

are going to do evil,

we might as well

let them,

right?

But I don't think

that's the point

that is being made.

Rather,

the meaning

seems to be this.

Even if

evildoers

go on doing evil,

even if the shameful

go on doing

shameful things,

and they will,

you must be different.

Let the righteous

still do right,

and the holy

still be holy.

Persevere

in Christ's likeness,

even if the world

around you

is not.

And again,

hasn't this been

a great theme

of Revelation?

The theme

to overcome,

to be conquerors.

Conquerors,

not in a worldly sense,

but in the Christian sense,

that is to remain

faithful to the Lord Jesus,

even though the world

may despise you for it.

And what is the incentive

for doing so?

Verse 12,

Behold,

I'm coming soon,

Jesus says,

bringing my recompense

with me

to repay each one

for what he has done.

A perfect reckoning

is coming,

and soon.

For those who persist

in rejecting God's grace

in this life,

their works will be found

wanting.

Those who seem to be

on the inside

in this life,

verse 15 says,

they will be forever

on the outside

of the eternal city,

never to enter.

But for those

who have been washed

in the saving blood

of Christ,

those who have received

a righteousness

not their own,

those who have

humbled themselves

before the throne

of God

to be saved

by his grace

and not their works,

we're told

something wonderful

will be true

and almost too hard,

almost hard to believe.

We're told

that the good works

Christians have done

in this life,

though they will not

be what saves us

or justifies us

or earns God favor,

even so,

those humble,

imperfect,

good works of ours

will be rewarded

in the new heavens

and new earth.

It will be grace

upon grace.

We will be saved

by grace alone,

and yet,

even our imperfect deeds

done in faith

in this life

will receive a reward

from Christ.

What a gracious king.

He will give us

a reward

holy by grace,

holy as an act

of loving kindness.

You see,

every act

of persevering faith,

every good work

done in secret,

every sacrifice,

every kind word,

every act

of forgiveness,

Christ will acknowledge

them all

and they will receive

their reward.

of course,

the greatest reward,

though,

won't be what God

chooses to give

for our imperfect

good works.

The greatest reward

we will receive

will be the presence

of Christ himself.

We will have the right

to the tree of life,

the right to enter

the city by the gates,

and who is in the midst

of that city?

Who is the tree of life?

It's Christ.

Christ.

Now,

as we long

for Christ's return,

as we long

for this eternity

with him

in the new heavens

and new earth,

we can't help

but want to be like him

in this life.

You know,

isn't that true

of the sort of

earthly heroes

or people you

kind of admire?

You study them,

you see them,

and you start

to emulate them,

right?

You start to imitate them.

It's the same

in our relationship

with Christ.

He should be the one

we ultimately worship

and we ultimately emulate,

and as we long

for his appearing,

for his return,

as we long

to be with him,

we live more

and more like him.

Nearly every New Testament

writer draws

this connection.

The Apostle Peter says,

what sort of people

ought you to be

but those who live lives

of holiness

and godliness,

waiting for and hastening

the coming of the day

of God?

The Apostle Paul says,

keep the commandment

unstained and free

from approach

until the appearing

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

which he will display

at the proper time.

He who is the only

blessed and only sovereign,

the King of kings

and Lord of lords.

And the Apostle John

probably says it

the most clear.

He says,

beloved,

we are God's children now

and what we will be

has not yet appeared,

but we know

that when he appears,

we shall be like him

because we shall see him

as he is.

And then he says,

and everyone who thus

hopes in him

purifies himself

even as he is pure.

So as we long

for Christ's coming soon,

we persevere

in Christ's likeness,

wanting to become

like this one

we are longing to see.

So how do we act now

in light of Jesus' coming?

We worship God alone.

We persevere in holiness.

And third,

we hold fast

to the whole word.

We hold fast

to the whole word.

In verses 19,

in verses 18 and 19,

there's a warning.

There's a warning

against those

who might add

or take away

from what's written

in the book of Revelation.

And this is an echo

from the book of Deuteronomy.

As Moses is sort of

beginning the final book

of the law

on the brink

of the promised land,

God tells Israel

through Moses,

you shall not add

to the word

that I command you,

nor take from it

that you may keep

the commandments

of the Lord your God

that I command you.

It's a similar thing

John is saying here

at the end of Revelation.

Here, as this book

comes to an end,

we find a similar warning.

Don't add

and don't take away.

You see,

there's always

the temptation

when reading God's word

to add

or to take away.

So often,

we want to add things

that we think

ought to be there.

Or we want to take away

things that we think

shouldn't be there.

And John says,

when it comes

to this book

of Revelation,

don't add anything,

don't take anything away.

Now, if Revelation

is about anything,

what is it about?

Well, I hope we've seen

that it's about

the gospel itself,

that God is the creator

of all things,

that humans have tragically

rebelled against

their creator

and deserve eternal death

for their sin.

But God,

in his unimaginable grace,

did the unthinkable

instead of condemning

humanity justly,

he became a human being

and was condemned.

He was willing

to become himself

the substitute

for the very creatures

who offended him.

And in so doing,

he satisfied

both his justice

and his mercy.

In justice,

the penalty of death

against sinful humans

was paid.

In mercy,

there's forgiveness

for all who trust

in the substitute

who is the Lamb,

the Lord Jesus.

Jesus.

Now, too often

when we think about

that message,

too often we want

to add to it,

right?

We don't believe

that God would save

through grace alone,

by faith alone,

so we add to it.

We add something to it.

We add certain rules,

we add certain

cultural practices,

we add certain

religious rituals

or rites.

And it's funny

that the tradition

of the church,

if you look through

the history of the church,

it's sort of this

constant battle

with being tempted

to add something

to the message

of salvation

by grace

through faith.

But in adding

to the words

of Scripture,

John says something

pretty scary.

We're actually adding

judgment upon ourselves.

He says,

the plagues

described in this book

will be added

to those who add.

And that makes sense,

actually,

when you think about it.

Because if we think

that we can't be saved

by just grace alone,

if we think that we can

contribute to our salvation,

and if we twist the Bible

so that others start

to think the same thing,

then what's happening?

The more and more

we do that,

the farther and farther

we're separating ourselves

from Christ,

the only hope of salvation.

Paul says something

very similar in Galatians

when he's talking

about people who think

that you need to be circumcised

in order to be saved.

He says,

look,

if you pursue that path,

you're actually cutting yourselves

off from Christ.

Because you're trusting

in your circumcision,

not in Jesus.

If we had,

we're separating ourselves

from Christ.

But the opposite tendency

is also true.

We're also tempted

to take away,

aren't we?

The book of Revelation

has shown us

the reality of God's judgment,

hasn't it?

The awesomeness

of His holiness.

The incompatibility

of a lifestyle of sin

with a profession

with a profession of Christ.

So we're tempted

to take those things away.

Take away God's wrath

against sin.

Take away God's call

to holiness in the church.

But when we take away

God's holiness

and God's wrath,

we take away

the very heart

of the gospel itself.

for the gospel says

that God does

and will judge sin.

Friends,

you and I are sinners

who deserve wrath.

Without that,

the gospel makes no sense.

Think about it.

Why in the world

would Jesus

have to die

on a cross

if our sins

weren't more terrible

than we could imagine?

Why would Jesus cry out,

my God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me

if there were no wrath

against sin?

If you take away

God's wrath,

you simultaneously

take away God's love

because then the cross

is just a tragedy.

It's just a mistake.

It's just an accident

of history.

But what is the cross,

really?

The cross

is the greatest demonstration

of the love of God.

That from eternity,

God set his saving love

on lost sinners

and planned to redeem them

through an infinite cost

to himself.

That he would bear

the cost

of the just wrath

against our sin

in love for us.

And as Revelation

has told us

more than once,

the Lamb's book of life

was written

before the foundation

of the world.

This had been God's plan

all along.

So we must not

take it away.

So we must remain

faithful in our message.

Neither add

nor take away.

And friends,

we won't always

get it right.

Sometimes our interpretation

of things

will not be right.

You know,

when we all get to heaven

one day,

I'm sure the Lord

is going to say,

you know those things

that Nick taught you

about the book of Revelation?

You know,

some of those things

were a little off.

I don't think he got

all those symbols right.

Right?

You know,

we won't always

get the interpretation right.

But that's different

than adding and taking away.

We have to always

come back to Scripture.

We have to always

come back to these words

that God breathed out

for our teaching,

our reproof,

our correction,

our training

in righteousness.

You see, friends,

it's through the canon

of Scripture

that the King

leads His church.

So we cherish

every word

and we hold it up

knowing that this book

is good news,

that the gospel

it proclaims

is the power of God

for salvation

to all who believe.

So as we eagerly long

for Jesus to return,

we hold fast

to the whole word.

Every word is precious.

You know,

if you found a box

of letters

in your attic

from a late grandparent,

you say,

I mean,

wouldn't you prize them

if you discovered them?

You know,

what if you discovered

that they were all

actually addressed to you?

What if you discovered

a whole trove of letters

full of wisdom,

full of stories

about your family history,

full of expressions

of love for who you are

and who you'll become,

full of stories

about how

that great grandparent

sacrificed for you?

If you found

something like that,

you would prize

every word.

And friends,

that's exactly

what we have

in Scripture.

The King of creation

has given us

these writings

so that we might know

who we are

and whose we are

and all that He's done

and will do

to bring His promises

to fulfillment.

I mean,

how could we ever imagine

adding or taking away

from such a precious gift?

No,

even when the words

of Scripture

are hard to understand,

even when we wrestle

to interpret,

we hold fast

to the whole Word,

knowing that one day soon

we will meet the author

face to face.

So what's last then?

As we live now

in light of Jesus' coming soon,

we worship God alone,

we persevere

in Christ's likeness,

we hold fast

to the whole Word.

Finally,

we end with grace.

We end with grace.

The grace

of our Lord Jesus

be with all.

Amen.

Church,

may we keep

His grace

ever in our sights.

You know,

in the midst of all

the rich symbols

of this book

that are so powerful,

dragons and beasts,

seals and trumpets,

the message

at the end of the day

is a message of grace.

There's nothing

we have done

to earn His love.

And if you're in Christ,

there's nothing

you can do to lose it.

We've been forgiven much,

so we persevere

and we forgive in return.

He's laid down

His life for us,

so we willingly

lay down our lives

for Him,

knowing that to lose

our lives

is to find it.

It's all grace.

The grace of the Lamb

who was slain

and who will return soon

to redeem His beloved

and renew creation.

And by His grace,

church,

we will overcome.

Through external pressures

and persecution,

through internal conflicts

and compromise,

His grace will be with us.

But there's an even greater

future grace in store.

We long for the Lord's return.

We pray,

come, Lord Jesus,

because of grace to come.

Do you think

these last two chapters

of Revelation

that we've been studying

these last few weeks,

do you think that they

exhaustively contain

everything God has

in store for His people?

Streets of gold,

waters of life,

trees of life.

Do you think that's it?

How could they?

How could they possibly

be it?

The infinite God

has yet more grace

in store for His people.

What no eye has seen

nor ear heard

nor the heart of man imagined.

That's what God has prepared

for those who love Him.

So we pray,

come.

The Spirit and the Bride

say, come.

Let the one who hears

say, come.

And if you're thirsty,

come.

Let the one who desires

take the water of life

without price.

There's grace here for all.

Come.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

we pray

for You to come.

Come in Your perfect timing.

Glorify Your name

and bring all Your promises

to fulfillment.

And Lord,

in Your sovereignty

as You tarry,

we pray that Your patience

would not be despised

by us.

That as we look forward

to Your return eagerly,

we would be marked

by lives

of turning,

of repentance.

And Lord,

as You tarry,

we pray that You would

pour out Your Spirit afresh

on those who do not know You.

Cause their eyes

to be opened.

Cause their hearts

to come alive

to see

that You are King,

that You are

the one true Savior,

and that the fullness

of life is found in You.

Would they come

to the water and drink,

placing their trust in You?

And would they join

with the church

and with the Spirit

and say, come.

We pray this,

Father,

in Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.