"God's Witnesses"

Well, good morning. It's good to see you all here.

You know, when I moved to Connecticut back in 2003,

one of the selling points of moving to Connecticut was,

I thought, there are no natural disasters here.

I moved from Ithaca, New York, where we had blizzards,

and I thought, we're moving to Connecticut, it's going to be great.

And then, since then, there's been a tornado, a blizzard, a couple hurricanes,

and anyway, so I was sold a bill of goods.

But having said that, I do remember distinctly when we had,

in the early 2011, 12, 13, we had a series of hurricanes that came close.

We didn't really get the full brunt of it,

but we certainly had days where the wind blew and the rain fell

and the power went out, and when you face a storm, what do you do?

You hunker down, right?

You put away your porch furniture.

You make sure the windows are all locked.

You clean your gutters.

You hunker down and try to get through the storm.

And when I moved to Connecticut, I thought, well, maybe I don't have to do that.

But I found out I did.

And so here we are.

As we continue in our series in the book of Revelation this morning,

I wonder if the church has a similar impulse to what we have when a storm comes.

In Revelation, we've been looking at stories,

and last week, Pastor Nick preached on Revelation 8 and 9

about the coming storm of God's judgment against evil in the world,

warning the world that this was coming.

And what is the church going to do in this storm?

Maybe some of you think, well, if I become a Christian,

if I become a part of God's church,

then God's going to protect me through the storm,

and I don't have to go through it.

Maybe I want to be like Noah,

and I want to just get locked up in the ark

and float through the storm and come out the other side

and to somehow just hunker down in my holy huddle

and get through it.

But as we come to chapters 10 and 11 of Revelation this morning,

I think we see a different picture,

a different picture, a different path

for God's people and God's church in the world.

And so that's what we're going to be looking at this morning.

If you want to turn to our text in the Pew Bibles,

it's page 970, Revelation.

We'll be reading it in sections

because we're looking at a big chunk of Scripture this morning.

But the big idea that I want you to see

is that God has called His church

to costly witness to the risen Christ.

This is what we're supposed to be doing

in the middle of the storm, so to speak,

of God's judgment.

This is our calling in this age.

And we're going to see how this all fits together

in these chapters.

We're going to look at three.

For those of you who are taking notes,

here's our outline for today.

God's going to call the witnessing church

to a prophetic role.

That's chapter 10.

God calls the witnessing church

to follow Christ's pattern.

That's going to be chapters 11, 1 through 14.

And then God calls the witnessing church

into reigning with the risen Christ.

And that's chapter 11, verses 15 through 19.

So that's what we're doing this morning.

And just so you can remember a little bit,

because Revelation is an apocalyptic book.

The structure is challenging.

It's a little hard.

So remember, what we're seeing

is this series of visions

about what God is doing now,

leading into the future, right?

And so we had in chapters 6 and 7,

we had seven seals that were broken,

that were symbolic of God's judging action,

leading towards His final judgment.

And in chapters 8 and 9,

we saw seven trumpets being blown.

But in fact, we only saw six of them, right?

And what we have in chapters 10 and 11

is an interlude,

kind of like chapter 7 was an interlude

between the six seals and then the last seal.

So we also have a second interlude

where John gets a different vision, right?

If chapters 8 and 9 is a vision

of the judgment of God on the earth,

that's happening now,

that's ongoing and building

towards a final judgment.

So then this interlude gives us a picture

of what is the church meant to do

during this time.

So that's where we're going.

That's where we are.

We're gonna begin by looking at chapter 10

and seeing that God calls the witnessing church

to a prophetic role.

So with that,

let me pray for God's help

because this is a big passage

and there's lots going on.

And then we're gonna dive in together.

Lord, thank you for this morning

and a chance to look at your word.

And Lord, we thank you

for the richness of your word

and how you express yourself

and your truth

and reveal yourself

through many different ways.

Thank you for the book of Revelation

and its visions

that help us to understand you

and your purposes

in this world more clearly.

Help us, Lord, to understand with our head,

to receive with our heart,

Lord, the truth of your word this morning.

And I pray for your help

that you would help me to speak as I ought.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right, Revelation chapter 10.

Revelation 10 · chapter mention

Here we go.

Then I saw another mighty angel

coming down from heaven

wrapped in a cloud

with a rainbow over his head

and his face was like the sun

and his legs like pillars of fire.

He had a little scroll open in his hand

and he set his right foot on the sea

and his left foot on the land

and called out with a loud voice

like a lion roaring.

When he called out,

the seven thunders sounded.

And when the seven thunders had sounded,

I was about to write.

But I heard a voice from heaven saying,

seal up what the seven thunders have said

and do not write them down.

And the angel whom I saw

standing on the sea and on the land

raised his right hand to heaven

and swore by him who lives forever and ever,

who created heaven and earth,

who created heaven and what is in it,

the earth and what is in it,

and the sea and what is in it,

that there should, would be no more delay,

but that in the days of the trumpet call

to be sounded by the seventh angel,

the mystery of God would be fulfilled

just as he announced to his servants the prophets.

Then the voice that I heard from heaven

spoke to me again saying,

go, take the scroll that is open

in the hand of the angel

who is standing on the sea and on the land.

So I went to the angel

and told him to give me the little scroll.

And he said to me, take and eat it.

It will make your stomach bitter,

but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.

And I took the little scroll

from the hand of the angel and ate it.

It was sweet as honey in my mouth,

but when I had eaten it,

my stomach was made bitter.

And I was told,

you must again prophesy

about many peoples and nations

and languages and kings.

Okay.

So in the midst of all these visions

about God's judgment

and what God is doing on the earth,

suddenly it gets personal again.

John is the center.

He sees a vision of an angel

with a scroll

and he's speaking with a loud voice.

And all of the imagery around it,

the rainbow and the loud voice like thunder,

is reminiscent actually of what we've seen

in other places of images that refer to God.

And some have suggested

that this might be a manifestation of God,

but I think it's actually more

that this angel is speaking for God.

And so the imagery connected to him

gives him a kind of authority

that he's speaking on behalf of God

as he speaks these things.

He straddles the sea.

He is speaking with a worldwide authority.

And he speaks about the seven thunders.

And friends, I'm just going to tell you,

I'm punting on these.

Verses three through seven are not very clear.

And the commentators are all over the place

in terms of what does it mean

that he spoke something

and then he told John,

don't write it down

and don't let anyone know what it said.

I don't know why that is in there.

So you can come talk to me afterwards

if you have a better idea.

But what we do see near the end

is a little bit of clarity, right?

Because whatever those seven thunders were,

whatever they were speaking,

at the end, the angel says,

here's what I'm going to swear.

To heaven and to earth,

the mystery of God will be completed

and you must prophesy.

What God, the mystery,

not something that nobody could know

that you're trying to figure out,

but what had been unknown in the past,

but now is being revealed,

it is going to be fulfilled

on the last day.

God's plans for the world

will be accomplished.

And we know that that's the arc

or that's the end

of what this first section is about, right?

God told the prophets

what was going to happen.

It will come about.

And this is where we see

then the prophetic role

become really clear

because what the angel is announcing

is what the prophets have announced

and now what John is supposed

to then pick up.

Because in verses 8 through 11,

there's this scroll,

and again, there's lots of conversation.

Is this the same scroll as chapter 5?

I don't actually think so,

but lots of wise people do.

But it seems like it's still

about God's revealing

his plan for the world.

And John receives his scroll

and he's meant to eat it.

Now, if you're a Bible student,

if you've been reading the Bible

for a long time,

then you know that this is reminiscent

of Ezekiel 2 and 3.

For the rest of us

who haven't read Ezekiel recently,

let me remind you and commend to you.

Ezekiel 2 and 3

is about the calling

of the prophet Ezekiel

to proclaim God's word

to unrepentant

and hardened people of God

during his time.

He preached at the end of,

right before and during the exile,

and he knew,

and God told him,

you're going to preach my word

and people are not going to listen to you

and they're going to reject you

because they're rejecting me.

But Ezekiel similarly was told,

eat the scroll

and it will be sweet in your mouth

but bitter in your stomach

because the message is from God.

that's a good God

that has a redemptive purpose

and yet it will make you sick

to your stomach

because you will also know

that the people will reject it

and refuse it.

And John is,

in this image,

being brought into

a similar role

of being the prophet

prophet,

to speak God's words

to the nations,

right?

And it's important

to recognize too,

some of you may think

when we're talking about prophets,

what do prophets do?

Well, they say,

what's going to happen

in the future?

Okay, that's sort of true

to a certain extent

in some ways,

but what a prophet

actually does

is rather than foretell,

they foretell.

That is,

they speak clearly

and make known

God's words

and God's ideas.

And so this is what

John's role is.

He's continuing,

he is called,

like the prophets of old,

to be one who speaks forth

God's word

to the world.

So this is what we see

in chapter 10

is that John's role

is being reinforced.

We saw this in chapter 1,

he's coming back to it

in chapter 10

and this reminds us

that the book of Revelation

is cyclical,

not linear.

This doesn't happen,

I don't believe this vision

necessarily happened

after other things,

but could be contemporaneous

with the very beginning

of the book

in the sense that

this is another vision

affirming,

John, this is your role

in the world,

to prophesy,

to speak God's word

to the world.

So what does this mean

for us?

Before we go on

to chapter 11,

what does this mean

for us as God's people?

First thing I want to say

is we serve a God

who is revealing himself,

who is committed

to making himself known

in the world, right?

He spoke through the prophets

to the people

and to the world

throughout all of

the Old Testament history.

He spoke through Jesus

as Jesus came.

He spoke in Jesus

in a particular way

when he came to earth

to make himself known.

What an incredible joy it is

that we have a God

who wants us to know him

and that our knowledge

of him is not numinous.

It's not like the force

in Star Wars,

but it's particular.

It has content.

It actually has words.

You can just stop for a minute

and think,

why do we have language

and words?

Because God wanted

to be able

to communicate to us.

It's how he made us

so that we can know him.

And these words

of revelation, right,

through Moses and the law,

through the great prophets

from Elijah and Elisha

to Nathan to Isaiah,

Jeremiah, etc.

Our God is a speaking God.

And secondly,

we need to recognize

that the final revelation,

we see this in Hebrews

Hebrews 1:1

chapter 1, verse 1.

In the times past,

he spoke through various prophets,

but in the last days,

he spoke through his son,

Jesus,

who John called

the Word of God,

made flesh,

and we have beheld his glory

so that we might know God.

This is the pinnacle of God

wanting us to know him

is sending his son,

Jesus,

so that we could see

who he is.

And finally, friends,

we now have this

because the translation

of this speaking God

and revealing God

through the person of Jesus

is now this book,

which is God's words

to us recorded,

written down,

the account of the final

Word of God

in his life

and the implications

of it in the church

throughout the rest

of the New Testament.

So as we think about this,

let us recognize

that God is still speaking

through his Word,

in his Word,

to his people,

and through his people

to one another.

So friends,

let's treasure

the Word of God.

Let us rejoice

in the God

who has made himself known,

and let us be those

who not only receive

God's Word,

but then who turn

and share it with others

so that this would be

part of our understanding

of what God

wants us to do.

This then brings us

to chapter 11,

the first 13 verses

where we see

that God calls us

to be a witnessing church

in the pattern of Christ.

Let's look at

Revelation 11,

Revelation 11:1

verses 1 through,

actually we'll read

through 1 through 14,

so let's read this together.

Then I was given

a measuring rod

like a staff,

and I was told,

rise and measure

the temple of God

and the altar

and those who worship there.

But do not measure

the court outside the temple,

leave that out,

for it was given

over to the nations,

and they will trample

the holy city

for 42 months,

and I will grant authority

to my witnesses,

and they will prophesy

for 1,260 days

clothed in sackcloth.

These are the two olive trees

and the two lampstands

that stand before

the Lord of the earth,

and if anyone would harm them,

fire pours from their mouth

and consumes their foes.

If anyone would harm them,

this is how he is doomed

to be killed.

They have the power

to shut up the skies

so that no rain may fall

during the days

of their prophesying,

and they have power

over the waters

to turn them into blood

and to strike the earth

with every kind of plague

as often as they desire.

And when they have finished

their testimony,

the beast that rises

from the bottomless pit

will make war on them

and conquer them

and kill them,

and their dead bodies

will lie in the street

of the great city

that symbolically

is called Sodom and Egypt

where their Lord

was crucified.

For three and a half days,

some from the people

and tribes

and languages and nations

will gaze at their dead bodies

and refuse to let them

be placed in a tomb.

And those who dwell

on the earth

will rejoice over them

and make merry

and exchange presents

because these two prophets

had been a torment

to those who dwell

on the earth.

But after three and a half days,

a breath of life

entered,

a breath of life

from God

entered them,

and they stood up

on their feet,

and great fear

fell on those

who saw them.

Then they heard

a loud voice

from heaven

saying,

come up here.

And they went up

to heaven

in a cloud,

and their enemies

watched them.

And at that hour,

there was a great earthquake,

and a tenth of the city

fell,

seven thousand people

were killed

in the earthquake,

and the rest

were terrified

and gave glory

to the God of heaven.

And the second woe

had passed.

Behold,

the third woe

is soon to come.

Okay.

We just dove

into the deep end

of the apocalyptic pool.

This is a vision,

right?

And at the center

of the vision

is two witnesses.

And the main idea

of this passage

is that the church

represented by the two witnesses

is called

to bear witness

to Christ

in the pattern

of Christ,

which will include

suffering,

death,

and resurrection.

Okay?

That's the big picture

of this vision

and of this section.

And what we see

is there's a continuity

with the idea

of prophesy

because you see

in verse 3, 4

that they will prophesy.

Where is it?

I can't find it.

You can look for it

and read it again.

They will prophesy again

and recognize

that there are echoes

of these Old Testament prophets.

Again,

if you've read

your whole Old Testament

recently,

you might pick up

some of these.

Do you remember

the prophet

who called fire down

from heaven

and who spoke

and the sky

was shut up

with rain?

Elijah

in Kings.

So go read

the stories of Elijah

to be reminded of this.

And then remember

the plagues?

Do you remember

who the prophet was

during the plagues?

It was Moses.

Moses who led

the people of God,

who was God's representative

speaking God's words

to the world,

who through,

God brought

these plagues

on Egypt.

And God is saying,

these two witnesses

are going to continue

in the line

of these prophets

in the same role

that the Old Testament

prophets had

of speaking

God's words

to the world.

Right?

And God's words

are always going to be

a message of redemption,

that there is redemption

in Christ

and a calling to Him

and an exalting

of the character of God

which will always have

also the message

of judgment

because those

who reject Him

those who stand

against Him

in all of His goodness

will find themselves

under judgment

eventually.

So this is

the two witnesses.

And I believe

it's the church

partly because we see

in verse 4

that it's the two lamps,

it's two lampstands.

Remember back

in chapter 1,

the lampstands,

there were seven of them

that represented

the churches of God

or the church of God

as a whole.

Why two instead

of seven here?

Well, because

in the Old Testament

and Deuteronomy

and the law,

if you had to establish

something to be true,

you had to do so

with two witnesses

in a courtroom.

And so God calls

His church

as the two witnesses.

So our communal witness

to the person

and work of Christ

and the purposes

of God in the world

as the church

are establishing

the truth of it

for all who have ears

to hear.

So this is the big picture

of what God is doing.

Now what does this testimony

look like?

Well, for one thing,

it has a limited time.

You might have noticed

we got some funky numbers

in this passage, right?

Suddenly there were

42 months

and, oh no, 42,

yeah, 42 months

and then we had

1,260 days,

which is actually

the same length of time

if you're doing math.

42 times 30

is 1,260.

And then you had,

and then we'll see

as we keep going

that this is a number

that comes up

in the next couple

of chapters.

What does this mean?

Well,

the summary of it is

this number represents

three and a half years.

We see it here

in verse 2

and verse 3.

In chapter 12,

it will also,

verse 6,

it'll also talk about

1260 days.

In chapter 12,

verse 14,

it will use a phrase

time, times,

and half a time.

And you just think,

really?

But yeah,

time plus two times,

that's three

and then a half,

three and a half years.

It's the same

symbolic number

that we see.

And this is drawing

on Daniel

and I'm just gonna say

if you wanna go read

Daniel 7, 9, 12

and put it together,

you'll see there's some

resonances from there.

But the overall picture

in all of the ways

this is used

is that there will be

time of tribulation,

there will be times

of trial,

there will be times

where the church

is undergoing

persecution,

hardship,

suffering,

and at times

experiencing as well

God's provision

through this,

but not ultimate

vindication

or freedom from it.

And the reason

why I think God

uses the word

the three and a half

is because

three and a half

is half of seven.

And seven is the picture

of completeness

that we've seen.

The fullness,

the ultimate fulfillment

are always done

in sevens.

So three and a half

means this is truncated,

it's cut short,

it's limited

rather than expansive.

So,

that's how we read

these numbers.

We get this sense

as well in verse 7

of chapter 11.

You can look with me

there where it says

when the testimony

is finished.

Because here's the thing,

friends,

the testimony

of the church

to a world

that is in rebellion

against Him

and God calling people

to Himself,

that's not going

to last forever.

One day,

the witness

that the church

will have

will be transformed

from witnessing

to people

that don't know God

to simply

worshiping with God

with those

who do forever.

Right?

So we know

that there's a time

that it will come,

a time will come

when our witness

will end.

That might give us

a sense of urgency,

but it also gives us

a sense of hope

because we know

that this witness

will not merely happen

in easy times,

but in fact,

it will happen

through persecution,

through trial,

through opposition.

And in fact,

the word witness,

many of you

probably know this,

but in Greek,

the original language

that this was written,

it's the word martyr.

Right?

And martyr

originally meant witnesses,

but it's taken up

this role

because of the

biblical witness,

this meaning of

someone who dies

for their profession

of faith.

And this is exactly

what we see,

that God has called

his church

to bear witness

even unto death

to the work

of Jesus.

Right?

A beast will rise.

We'll get to the beast

next week.

But a beast will rise

from the depths of hell

and attack

and seemingly

to kill the church.

And it will happen

in a city of darkness

like Sodom

or like Egypt

or like Jerusalem

that's rejected Jesus

and was the place

where he was killed.

And they will have

a party.

Friends,

it's Super Bowl Sunday.

Somebody,

either in San Francisco

or in Kansas City,

is going to throw

a huge party next week

to celebrate a victory.

This is what the world

will do

when they see

the defeat of,

what the seeming

defeat of the church.

When they see

it eradicated,

when it feels like

it's completely

overcome

and disappears,

there will be

a rejoicing

in the church

because

the church's witness,

as it says

in 2 Corinthians 2,

is an aroma

to the whole world.

It is a scent.

But to some,

it is the aroma

of life

to those who receive it

and respond to it

and take it in

and become followers

of Christ

and know the life

that's in him.

But to some,

it is the aroma

of death

because in our

stubborn human hearts

when we reject Jesus

and when we refuse

to submit to God,

we find ourselves

facing his judgment

on our sin

on our own.

And so we recognize

that the world

will hate,

this is why it says

that they were tormented

by the preaching

of the gospel

because it pricked

their conscience

and they hated it.

And this is the world

that we live in.

And friends,

we need to be careful

that the things

that people hate

about the church

is the gospel

and not other things.

But let us recognize

that we will never

be accepted

in the world at large.

We will never be praised

as the great things

that we want to be

in the world.

We will be hated

and persecuted

because this is

what happened to Jesus.

If they persecuted me,

they will persecute you also.

And this is the pattern

of our witness then,

that we witness

in the face of a world

that ultimately

will want to kill us.

And not all of us

are going to die

for our faith,

though some are

today in this world.

So what do you think

about this, friends?

Church,

are you ready

to live your life

as a martyr?

Are you ready

to see how great

the redeeming work

of Christ is

and to identify yourself

with it publicly,

even if it costs you?

It might cost you

the acceptance

of your friends

in high school

who want you

to live a life

that's contrary

to God's plans.

And you say,

no, I want to live

for Christ.

That means I'm going

to do it differently.

Maybe it's going to mean

talking about your faith

in Christ

on the playground

with the other parents

on a Saturday morning.

Maybe in your workplace.

Recognizing there's

appropriate wisdom

in how you do it,

but to recognize

people should know

in your workplace

that you follow Christ.

How can you share

that with them?

How can you create,

how can you pray

and look for God

to give you opportunities?

And look,

I understand it's hard.

We're in a world today

where the word Christian

is confused

with national

and political

and social movements

and ideologies

that don't have to do

with the gospel.

And we need to somehow

clear the wood

and get through all that

so that people can see

that what we really want

people to know

is that Jesus loved

the world such

that he came

and died for their sins

so that whoever believes

in him

would not perish

but have everlasting life.

This is the message

of the gospel.

Not be more like us

or do the right thing

but repent.

Repent and believe

in the good news

that in Christ alone

there is forgiveness

for our sin

and true living

spiritual life.

This is what God

has called us to.

And friends,

if you're wondering,

I don't know how to do that,

go read Pastor Nick's

little blurb

in our weekly email.

It was really good.

I'm actually going to read

part of it to you.

Ready?

Here we go.

What sorts of things

do we naturally share

with our friends and colleagues?

The things we love,

the things that bring us joy,

whether it's a favorite

new recipe,

engaging in an engaging podcast,

we easily talk about

and share the things

that we love.

And it's the same

with the gospel.

Evangelism,

rightly considered,

is a form of praise.

Praise because we have found

Christ to be so unbelievably good.

When we experience

the gospel in our own hearts

and as good news,

we'll naturally want

to share it with others.

Friends, if you're struggling

with sharing this with others,

the first step may be

go deeper into the gospel.

Recognize what great things

God has done for you.

Let that captivate your heart.

And when you do that,

then you will see

God will open doors

because you will want

to talk about the things

that are changing your life.

So friends,

God has called us

to be a witnessing church

in the pattern of Christ.

It may cost us great things

to be witnesses for Christ.

And yet it's exactly

what He's called us to

because we know

that the end is not the death,

the end is not the trampling,

the bodies lying

in Sodom and Egypt,

but that God came

in this vision

and breathed new life

like a recreation,

like Genesis 2 all over again.

God breathes new life in them

and they are raised,

not just raised back to life,

but then raised up

into the throne room of God

to be with heaven forever,

to rule over this world.

And this is what

the end of this,

this is what

the seventh trumpet shows us.

This is the picture

that we see

at the end of our passage

in Revelation 11,

15 through 19,

is that the witnessing church

that's called to be a,

have a prophetic role

in the world,

the witnessing church

that's meant to follow

in the pattern of Christ

through suffering and death

to resurrection

is the same witnessing church

that God calls to reign with him,

Christ the risen King.

This is the final trumpet.

Let's read this last section together

as we close,

as we,

we're almost done,

I promise.

The seventh trumpet,

Revelation 15,

or 11, verse 15.

Then the seventh angel

blew his trumpet

and there were loud voices

in heaven saying,

the kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom

of our Lord

and his Christ

and he shall reign

forever and ever.

And the 24 elders

who sit on their thrones

before God

fell on their faces

and worshiped God

saying,

we give thanks to you,

Lord God Almighty,

who was and is,

who is and who was,

for you have taken

your great power

and begun your,

begun to reign.

The nations raged,

but your wrath came.

And the time

for the dead

to be judged

and for rewarding

your servants,

the prophets and saints

and those who fear

your name,

both great,

small and great,

and for destroying

the destroyers

of the earth.

And then God's temple

in heaven was opened

and the ark of his covenant

was seen within his temple.

There were flashes

of lightning,

rumblings,

peals of thunder

and earthquake

and heavy hail.

friends,

this is the end

of the witnessing church

is that Christ will come

and he will judge the world

and he will destroy

the destroyers

and the nations

who rise up against God

will be no more

and the believers,

both great and small,

will get their reward.

The prophets

and the saints

will receive

because they will be

seated with him

and the kingdoms

of this world

will become

the kingdoms

of our Lord

and of his Christ.

And friends,

the temple

will be opened.

The imagery here

would be a whole other sermon

but the temple

will be opened.

We'll see to the very

inner place,

the holy of holies

where the presence

of God dwelt,

where the ark was.

We can walk

right into there

because of Jesus

and have this

unfettered,

uncomplicated

fellowship

with the risen

and reigning God

forever

and we will be

a part of his kingdom.

The final sacrifice

for Christ

has opened the door now

to the temple

and when Christ returns

and defeats

all of his enemies

and we will see

this building,

this vision

of that victory

through the rest

of Revelation,

right,

we will reign

with him forever.

Friends,

can you imagine

what good news

this was

to the church

in Rome

in the first century

suffering persecution?

that those who suffered

under Diocletian

and Domitian

will reign

with Christ.

That those

who suffered

in France

under the Huguenot

persecution

during the

Protestant Reformation,

they will be there.

That believers

who died

at the hands

of Chairman Mao's

Red Guard

because they claimed

the name of Christ

and witnessed to him.

They will be there.

And those today

who are dying

for the name of Christ,

whether it be

in Central Asia

or Myanmar

or Saudi Arabia

or Sudan,

friends,

they will be reigning

with Christ

forever and eternity.

and they will have

the joy.

And this is why

God calls us

to be the witnessing

church now

unto death

because Christ

is worth it

and because God

is still at work

calling people

out of darkness

into light.

God is still

calling us

not to hunker down

and just try

to get through

to heaven

but to stand up

and to go out

and to proclaim

that Christ

has come

to save the world

and to testify

and bear witness

to his work

so that we might

together sing

for the Lord

God

omnipotent

reigneth.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

The kingdoms

of this world

is become

the kingdom

of our Lord

and of his Christ

and I'm about

to break out

into song

because you know this

shall reign

forever

and ever

King of kings

and Lord

of lords

forever

and ever.

Hallelujah.

Let's pray.

Lord,

thank you

for this

great vision

and this

great call

and Lord

we ask

for your forgiveness

for we so often

love comfort

and the love

and praise

of our fellow man

more than we love

to bear witness

to how great you are.

Oh Lord,

may you be our joy

so that we might

overflow

with the good news

of the gospel.

Help us, Lord,

to be this kind

of church

we pray

in Jesus' name.

Amen.