Attempting to Demystify Revelation: Week 1

All my friends and family. I was going skydiving, and I was excited.

And then I drove to the airport and the adrenaline was pumping, and

I took the safety course and I got into my flight suit, and I

was excited. And then I walked to the little plane that was going to

take us up to the sky. And as I was walking, I waved

to my friends and family because I was excited. And then we took the

plane up into the sky and it climbed higher and higher and then leveled out,

and I looked out the door. You know, a sky diving plane

doesn't have a door, it's just an opening because you're not going to be

inside for very long. And I looked out and I could hear the rushing

wind, and I saw the ground far, far far below, and I

was not excited. I was a little bit scared, and I started to

have some second thoughts and started to doubt this decision. It sounded like a

good idea when I signed up, but now I was having second thoughts.

But then it was time to and I was doing what's called a tandem jump,

so I would be connected to the instructor the whole time. The same

harness. I didn't have any work to do. I was along for the

ride. My only job was to scream, and that's what I did.

We jumped out of the plane. What we really just fell out and I

screamed the whole time. We were falling through the sky. And then the

canopy opened and things slowed down a little more calm, and I could see

for miles and it was just it was pleasant and it was great. And

then we landed a few minutes later on the ground. I tell you that

story because today feels a little bit like skydiving. We're beginning this message series

in a book of the Bible called Revelation, and when we first decided to

do this series, I was excited. But now as I've done some study,

I'm having some second thoughts about this. I'm really just kidding. But

the title of this series is attempting to demystify Revelation, and we chose that

word attempting intentionally because this is an attempt and you might just be a little

more confused than you were before by the end of this. But our goal

in this series is to demystify some of the imagery of Revelation, to reveal

a picture of encouragement instead of an insolvable puzzle, because when you look at

some of the things in Revelations, it might seem insolvable or impossible, and

we want to demystify some of that so that you can see a picture of

encouragement. Now, when we read Revelation, people kind of fall into different

camps. You see. I have a friend who's in my small group who

loves skydiving. Like he travels to skydive, skydives as much as he can.

He will do it anytime there's an opportunity, he signs up to sky

dive. He can't get enough of skydiving. Now, me, on the

other hand, I don't need to do it again. One time was just

enough for me. I'm glad I did it. It was fun, but

once was enough. When it comes to reading Revelation, most people fall into

two categories. Some like my friend, just can't get enough a revelation.

They're excited about it, they're almost obsessed with it. It's exciting, it's

entertaining, it's fun. Let's do this. And then there are others in

a camp that might think, well, I know it's in the Bible,

I read it once, but that's enough for me. Glad I read it,

but I don't need it anymore. So why does Revelation matter to you

and me? What's the significance of this book for you and me right now

in our daily lives. The significance is Revelation gives us a hope for the

future so we can endure the present. Revelation gives us a hope that we

can hold on to so that we can endure the present. We read in

Revelation two, verse three, you have persevered and have endured hardship for my

name, and have not grown weary. Do you agree? This life is

full of hardships. This life is full of trouble, This life is full

of disappointment. There's pain, there's suffering. But you've got a hope that

you can hold on to in the midst of the present suffering. As Christians,

we're gonna go through the troubles of life. We're gonna suffer the evils

of this world, but we will not give up because we're holding on to

something greater than this world. Revelation reminds us that we have a hope for

the future. In Chapter six Revelation, we read about Christians who died for

their faith. They were martyrs, They were killed for their faith. And

in Revelation six, these martyrs cry out to God, how long until he

justifies their death? Revelation six, verse ten says they called out in a

loud voice, how long, Sovereign Lord, Holy and True, until you

judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood. Then each of them

was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little long.

See, there's one big question that Revelation asks and answers. There's one

big question that says, how much longer must we endure? And the answer

is just a little longer. Endure just a little longer. How much longer

do we have to put up with this life? Just a little longer.

How much longer do we have to endure disappointment and grief? Just a little

longer. You See, you have a hope for the future, so you

can endure the present. So when you get bad news, you've got a

hope. When you have a setback, when you're disappointed, you have a

hope. When you're grieving, when you're struggling, you have a hope.

When you're going through pain and suffering, you have a hope, and whatever

situation you walk into, you carry that hope. Whatever room you find yourself

in, you carry that hope. Whether you walk into a classroom or into

a waiting room, or into a hospital room or a boredom, or if

you walk into a courtroom, you're walking with the hope that we've got a

life beyond this. One revelation gives us a hope for the future, so

we can endure the present. How much longer do we have to endure?

Hang on just a little longer, Hang on, just a little longer.

Now, revelation is full of numbers. If you've read it at all,

you'll see a lot of different numbers. The twenty four Elders, the seven

churches, the seven Seals, the two witnesses, and so many other numbers.

So, in keeping with the numbers theme, let me tell you the

title of today's message. The title of today's message is five guidelines, four

views, three interpretations, two warnings, and one theme. So, just

like skydiving, let's buckle up and jump in. We're gonna start the very

beginning in chapter one, Chapter one, verse six. Take a look at

this the revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants

what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to

his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is the word

of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. So right here in the beginning

we learned that John wrote Revelation in the first century. John was a friend

of Jesus, a follower of Jesus, and the type of writing that John

uses in Revelation is an ancient writing style called apocalyptic literature. You may recognize

the word apocalyptic or apocalypse. When we hear the word apocalypse. What comes

to mind the end of the world, destruction, end times. Well,

the word apocalypse does not actually mean end times. The word apocalypse is from

a Greek word that means unveiling or revealing. It's only been in pop culture

and history that it's come to have this connotation of the end times, and

so apocalyptic writing is the type of ancient literature describing revealing what's happening in he

unveiling what's happening in the supernatural realm. Apocalyptic literature is a type of biblical

prophecy. If you keep reading in verse three, it says Blessed is the

one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who

hear it and take it to heart. So apocalyptic writing is a form of

prophecy, and biblical prophecy has two main categories, and that is foretelling and

forth telling. So you think a fore telling prophecy. Foretelling predicts a future

event that is to come. Think about the prophecies about Jesus in the Old

Testament, the Messianic prophecies foretelling future events, and then there is forth telling

prophecy and forth telling prophecy calls forth the message of God into a present situation.

So think about the prophets like Nathan who spoke to David, confronted King

David in his sin with a message from God. It was calling forth God's

message into a situation. We see both foretelling and forth telling in apocalyptic writing

in the Book of Revelation. So John wrote Revelation. He wrote it in

the first century. But before writing this book, John had traveled the known

world preaching about Jesus, starting churches, and John was harassed for his faith.

He was often arrested, he was often put in prison. History tells

us he was boiled alive and still did not die or renounce his faith.

And so then he lived out the rest of his days banished on the island

of Patmos in exile, and that's where he receives this vision of heaven.

Let's keep reading in chapter one, in verse nine, I John, your

brother and companion in suffering and kingdom and patient endurance. There's that word endurance.

How much longer must we endure? Just a little longer? Patient endurance?

That are ours? In Jesus was on the island of Patmost because of

the word of God and the testimony of Jesus on the Lord. I was

in the spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

which said, right on a scroll which you see, and send it

to the seven churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sartists,

Philadelphia, and Leo Decia. So in these verses were told that revelation

is a letter that John wrote to seven churches in the first century. And

these seven churches are located in a part of the world that we now call

Turkey. And these seven churches they were suffering, they were in trouble.

That's why John writes, I'm a companion in your suffering and your patient endurance.

These churches are asking how much longer, how much longer do we have

to put up with Rome? How much longer do we have to endure suffering?

How much longer is this gonna last? So yet, this time and

history, the Roman emperor was persecuting Christians. Some historians think it might have

been Nero, others say it might have been the time of Domitian. Either

way, both emperors were pretty mean to Christians. Nero burned half of the

city of Rome and he blamed the Christians on it, and then Domitian.

He was also brutal. He gave himself the title Lord and God, and

if you didn't call him Lord and God, you were punished. And so

Christians were often arrested, imprisoned, beheaded. Some were put into the wild

animals and the games. It was not good to be a Christian. So

the Christians are saying, how much longer must we endure? And John's writing

this encouragement hang on just a little longer. There's a future, hope,

so you can endure. When I went skydiving, my safety instructor was very

intentional to make sure that my safety harness was secure. He checked and double

checked all the straps and the buckles, making sure it was right. Because

if that safety harness failed, I would fall separated from my instructor and crash.

Now, there are some guidelines that we need as a church to rea

Revelation to protect us from falling out of fellowship, separating from one another,

and crashing theologically. Let me share five guidelines for reading Revelation. First,

what you read may have more than one meaning. What you read in Revelation

may have multiple meanings. Because John is writing in this apocalyptic literature style,

he is describing something he's seeing is being revealed in heaven, in the supernatural,

but he's only got earthly language to describe what he sees. For example,

in Revelation chapter five, one of the heavenly beings tells John to look

for a lion of Judah. But when John turns to look, he sees

a lamb, not a lion. A lamb is not a lion. How

can this be? What's because he sees Jesus. Jesus is both the lion

of Judah and the lamb of God that died for our sins. What you

read may have more than one meaning. Let me describe it this way.

I'll tell you a story. Last summer, I traveled out of state and

I got to see one of the most impressive sights in North America. It

was tall, like a mountain rising into the sky. The sound was like

it was like a constant uninterrupted thunder. The smoke and the mist was like

clouds resting upon the water. The ground was slippery like ice, and it

was just beautiful. What am I talking about? What in the world am

I talking about? Talking about my visit to Niagara Falls? How many times

did I use the word like, slippery like glass, or mist like the

cloud. Descriptive language, the word like in the New Testament is used forty

five times. The Greek word for like is used forty five times in the

New Testament. Nearly half of those uses appear here in Revelation. If you

keep read. In chapter one, verse twelve says I turned around to see

the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw

seven golden lamp stands. And among the lamp stands was someone like a son

of man, dressed in a robe, reaching down to his feet and with

a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like

wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.

His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace. And his voice was like

the sound of rushing waters. And his right hand he held seven stars,

and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double edged sword. His

face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. How many times does

John use the word like? And what is he talking about? This person

with white hair and a golden sash and a sword. He sees Jesus.

This is Jesus. It says he's like a son of man. The title

son of man is repeated throughout the Bible and the Old Testament to describe Jesus

the Messiah. He is a son of man. See it's helpful in Revelation

to allow the Bible to interpret the Bible, so we can understand this is

Jesus. And so now this brings us to that. The second guideline,

Guideline number two, is that the Gospel is essential to reading revelation. The

Gospel is essential for reading revelation. The Gospel is all about Jesus. Right

here in Chapter one Jesus is the main character. Jesus is at the center

the gospel is the good news. That you and I are sinners, that

you and I deserve to go to hell and be punished for our sin.

But God, in his grace sent Jesus, a son of man who lived

a perfect life, and then he died on the cross as a sacrifice for

our sin so we can be forgiven. And he rose from the dead so

that we could have eternal life. This is the good news, and the

good news is essential to understanding revelation. This is what we celebrate because the

good news tells us. The Gospel tells us that Jesus has defeated death,

He's defeated evil, and he has defeated Satan. Another name for Satan in

the Bible is the name accuser. Have you ever heard the devil accuse you

with lies and whispers? Has they ever accused you with sin and temptation?

Accused you with shame? The Gospel tells us that Jesus has overcome the accuser.

Revelation twelve, verse ten says the accuser of our brothers and sisters has

been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night,

and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and because of the

word of their testimony. When I was a teenager, this scripture became a

mantra for the youth ministry in the church where I grew up. This verse

they overcame Him because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their

testimony. That became our motto. We sang songs about it. And every

week we saw students coming to faith in Jesus, students overcoming evil in their

lives. And each week teenagers were sharing their testimonies of faith, testimonies how

they have overcome addiction, overcome sin. Testimony is about overcoming depression and suicide

and eating disorders, declaring that God was greater in their life. And when

other teenagers heard these testimonies, they put their faith in Jesus. I remember

in one school year, we saw nearly one hundred students come to faith in

Jesus. Nearly half of those were baptized. That's the power of the Gospel

to overcome evil, to overcome the accuser. And so when you hear the

voice of the accuser, remind yourself that you have a savior who's overcome when

you hear those lies, those accusations that tell you you're not good enough,

you'll never recover, those lies that say you can't break that addiction, you

can't overcome that sin, those lies that say you've messed up too many times

and God will not give you another chance. Preach the Gospel to yourself.

The Gospel overcomes evil. The devil does not win. Jesus is victorious.

You see. The Gospel is what we stand on. The Gospel is what

unites us. That's why Godeline number three is that we are united on the

essentials. We're united on the essentials. When we read Revelation, there is

so much there to read and to understand. We're united on the essentials,

the essentials of the Gospel, the essentials that God has saved us by grace

through faith in Jesus, the essentials that one day we will be in heaven

with Jesus. And Revelation talks about moral issues and sin issues, and we're

united on those essentials, united in believing what the Bible says about repentance,

about obedience, about sexual sins about immorality, about idolatry other evil things.

Were united in personal holiness those are the essentials, and it's okay the whole

different interpretation on non essentials. Man, there are so many interpretations about non

essential things. The imagery of revelation. Some interpret it as literal things,

some interpret it more figuratively. Some read revelation as future events that will happen

in history. Others see it as more symbolic. There are so many different

views, and it's okay for us to have different interpretations on non essential things.

But it's not okay to fight about non essentials. We're not gonna fight

about these non essentials. What makes us the Church of God is that so

many of us are from so many different backgrounds. And it's possible that you

were raised or came to faith with a slightly different interpretation than what I grew

up with. That's okay, that's beautiful. Here, we're gonna love one

another. We're gonna embrace one another. We're not gonna fight, we're not

gonna argue, we're not gonna condemn about these non essential things. We can

hold different opinions. Saint Augustine once said in the Essentials, unity in the

non essentials, liberty in all things, love, And I'll tell you a

story about my son Shepherd. But first I want to say that Pastor James

often teases me that one of the main reasons that Laurna and I had a

baby this year is that I needed some new sermon stories. And I believe

one of the primary reasons that Pastor James goes hunting is so that he has

new sermon stories. So if you stick around through this series, you're gonna

hear some baby stories and some deer hunting stories, and somehow we're gonna work

those into revelations. So I've gotten a lot of parenting advice. I've gotten

a lot of views from parents about sleep training. Some say you need to

swaddle the babies. Some views say don't swaddle the baby. Some views say

that you need to start sleep training it and let the baby cry themselves to

sleep. Another view says keep the baby in the parents room. Another view

says start training early, another view says wait later. There's all these views

about sleep training. So I've decided on my own cry it out method.

No one sleeps and we all cry. There's all these views. When we

look at revelation theologically, there are four primary views that scholars take in approaching

this book. The first view, there's the historicist view. Now, the

historicist view believes that Revelation describes historical events that have already been fulfilled, starting

with the first century up through Church history to about the sixteenth century around the

Protestant Reformation. So, for example, this view would say that the seven

seals in Revelations six and seven happened when Rome was invaded in four hundred and

seventy six. Now, the challenge with this view is that no two scholars

agree one hundred percent on which his historical events line up with the events of

Revelation. A second view is the preaderist view. Now, the preyderist view

assumes that everything in Revelation already occurred in the first century during the early Church,

and so for us it's all history, it's all reading after the fact.

And so this view would say that everything in Revelation culminated with the destruction

of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in seventy a d. Now, this makes

sense for a first century audience. This makes sense for the original audience of

this letter. However, the challenge is that Revelation ends with a new Heaven

and a new Earth, and evil is vanquished. And I don't know about

you, but I don't think evil's been vanquished in seventy a d Which brings

us to the futurist view. Now, the futurist view is a popular view

that believes everything in Revelation is very literal and it is a chronological sequence of

events that will happen in the future as a sign of the end times that

will build toward the end of the age the end times. And so according

to this view, this view might take the four horsemen described in Revelation six

and seven and assign a literal, historical or future event to each one.

That the first one will represent a totalitarian global leader, and then a future

world war, and then there will be a global economic collapse, and then

plague, and then famine and then death. Now, this view can place

a higher emphasis on current events than on scripture, and sometimes this view will

interpret the Bible through news headlines instead of allowing the Bible to interpret the Bible.

And then the fourth view is the idealist view, and the idealist view

approaches revelation as a symbolic message of spiritual truth, that the things in Revelation

are primarily a majority symbolic of the struggle between good and evil that's happening in

the supernatural realm. The idealist view sees that some of these things may play

out in historical events. There may be some future events, but it's mostly

a symbolism of eternal truth, of the message of Jesus, how Jesus wins.

And the idealist view sees that the catastrophes describing Revelation can be cyclical throughout

generations and throughout history. Wars come and go, famine and plague come and

go, disease comes and goes throughout the years. Now, these are the

four views, and I will tell you which view I hold if you take

me to lunch. No, Honestly, James and I want to be clear

that we both hold the idealist view, but we hold that humbly. We're

open to learning. We don't want to sound arrogant and say that this is

the only way that you have to read Revelation. We're just trying to humbly

teach what we see in the Bible and allow the Bible to interpret the Bible.

Because I often hear from Christians. Are these end times? We live

in the last days? Is this the final judgment coming. Are we seeing

signs? The eclipse that happened last month, is this a sign? And

from the idealist view, here's what I would say. Every generation has experienced

something that feels like the end times. If you go back in time and

you spoke to a European in thirteen forty seven, she might tell you that

she was living in the end times as the plague sweeps across Europe, killing

more than fifty percent of the population fifty million people. Or if you spoke

to an Irish farmer in eighteen fifty, he would tell you he's living in

the last days as the potato famine lasted seven years, resulting in more than

a quarter of Ireland's population either dying or fleeing the nation. And then if

you speak to somebody like a Jew living in Poland in nineteen thirty nine,

they would tell you that their days were the Judgment days, as the Holocaust

killed six million Jews. And if you interviewed me as a ten year old

boy in two thousand and one, I might tell you the events of nine

to eleven seemed like a sign out of revelation. And I can only imagine

that if you spoke to a student who graduated high school in twenty twenty,

they might have some thoughts about the COVID pandemic sounding like the end times.

See from the idealist view, we see that these destructive things, these negative

things, they repeat throughout history, throughout generation. But there is a timeless

truth and eternal truth about God's goodness in God's victory that we apply and address

to our present time. Now. Some ask, how does the idealist view

interpret verse one? The very first verse? Verse one says the revelation from

Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take

place? How does the idealist view understand soon? In my favorite TV show,

The Office, Pam is setting up the new copy machine and it's taking

some time and people are getting frustrated, especially Kevin. And Kevin keeps asking

when will it be ready? When can we make copies? And Pam says

it will be ready soon, and Kevin says, what does that mean?

Soon could mean three hours, Soon could mean three weeks, And Pam says,

is that what soon means to you? Kevin? And Kevin says maybe,

and Pam says, come back soon, Kevin. So, an idealist

view is okay, not knowing what soon means. James and I hold this

view because we see biblical evidence for it. But if you hold a different

view, that's okay, that's okay. In fact, most reputable scholars hold

beliefs from all four of these views. Now, remember the title list message

is five guidelines, four views, three interpretations, two warnings, and one

theme. So let's talk about interpretation. It's possible that you've heard a word

eschatology when coming to read Revelation. The word eschatology combines two Greek words,

the word for end or last, and then the word for word or knowledge.

Eschatology is the study of the end times, and eschatology has a lot

of interpretations, especially when we read in Revelation twenty where John describes a one

thousand year period of time that is full of peace and prosperity. And there

are basically three interpretations for eschatology for this one thousand year period. There's the

pre millennial interpretation, which says that Jesus will return one day, and when

he returns, he will commence a one thousand year period of peace and prosperity

before the final judgment. Now, this view really emerged in the nineteenth century,

as American Protestants believed some of the events of the American Revolution related to

Revelation. And then there's the post millennial interpretation, which says that Jesus will

return after a one thousand year period of Christian prosperity and peace. You see,

according to this view, the Church is responsible to advance Christianity and Christian

values across the world, and some believe that Jesus may delay his return until

the Christian faith has been sustained for a thousand years across the world. And

then there's the awe millennial interpretation, and the all millennial interpretation says that the

one thousand year period in Revelation twenty is a symbolic number. It's a symbolic

period describing the current age of the Church that began when Jesus rose from the

dead and ascended and sent his spirit into the church. And it has been

happening all through Church history. Even now we are living in these days in

the age of the reign of Jesus. Because when Jesus rose from the dead,

he defeated Satan, he conquered evil. He is reigning in heaven now.

And even though there is evil present in our world. The victory of

Jesus is. That's the all millennial interpretation. This is the view that I

hold, in the view that James holds, and it's also the traditional interpretation

of the Church of God. Now we hold this view humbly, recognizing that

we do not know all there is to know about the Bible or about God's

will. But one reason that we do hold this is because of what we

read in Second Peter chapter three, which says the present heavens and earth are

reserved for fire, being kept from for the day of judgment and destruction of

the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends, with

the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years

are like a day. So this a millennial view I believe upholds the integrity

of God's word, and it allows the Bible to interpret the Bible. And

I also said that I want to give some warnings. Whenever I travel out

West, I love to visit color and the rocky mountains, and I drive

on I seventy through the mountains, and it's a beautiful drive and breathtaking mountain

landscapes. But it's also a little bit dangerous because it's winding and there's steep

elevation gains, and there are steep cliffs, and every few miles you see

a sign on the road that says warning, falling rock, because rocks can

come off of the mountains, and it's a reminder. It's a warning to

be aware of where you are and where you're driving. And thankfully I haven't

seen a rock come off the mountain, but I have seen some just there

on the road, so it's a warning. Let me provide two warnings for

reading Revelation. First, avoid people who make money off of revelation. And

you know who I'm talking about, and it's not just money, but those

who profit off of revelation, those who are trying to build a career or

they try to build a reputation or build a platform. That those who are

using revelation to sell books, to build a YouTube channel or a podcast show.

So I mean, it's fun, it's exciting, it's interesting, it's

imaginative, but I don't think it's helpful in our mission to become like Jesus.

Theologian Rlo Null wrote this, self styled preachers still exploit natural disasters,

wars, famines, and violence to try and gain credibility as profits of the

end time. Do not believe it, Jesus said, for false missiles and

false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens to lead astray if possible,

even the elect just avoid people who make money off revelation. And just

so you know, a false teacher will not admit to being a false teacher.

Recently, my son, Shepherd has been outgrowing his car seat. Yes,

it's another baby story. I warned you there'd be some baby stories.

So Shepherd has gotten too big for his car seat. I mean, he's

only four months old, but he's got the thighs of an aspiring sumo wrestler.

And I've been struggling to get his feet into the seat belt straps of

the car seat. I literally have to squeeze his knees up to his chest

to get the loops to go around his legs and get his feet through the

loops of the seat belt. And so I'm thinking, there's gotta be something

else we can do, a seat belt extender. There's gotta be some slack

in this, something we can do, And so I asked my dad for

help, and my dad looked at the car seat, and my dad said,

oh, you're buckling him wrong. You see, I was putting his

legs through the strap loops. The straps go over his legs and then buckle.

Now, just to be clear, Shepherd's always been safely buckled, but

now he is a lot more comfortable. I was doing it wrong. The

second warning is that I can be wrong. You might be wrong, and

it's okay to change your mind. It's okay to change your mind. See

Shepherd was safe, even oh I was buckling him wrong. This place,

stretch of the crossing, is a safe place to be wrong or to change

your mind on non essential things in revelation, Remember, were united on the

essentials, were united on the Gospel, were united on our faith? Were

you united on the moral things? United on repentance and personal holiness? Those

are the essentials. But it's okay if we're wrong about the non essentials.

I might be wrong about the one thousand year period. You might learn something

that you hadn't learned before, and you might change your mind. One scholar

said that he believed something for twenty years and then changed his mind. As

we embark on this journey in this series, let me encourage you to follow

the instructions of Ephesians. Chapter four, Verse two says, be completely humble

and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. It's okay

to be wrong. It's okay to change your mind about the non essentials.

We must read this text with humility. We must love one another. We

must be patient to understand even if we don't agree on the non essentials.

But there is one thing that does not change. There is one thing that

is permanent. There is one hope that is eternal. There is one truth

that will not change. There is one theme that is eternal. The one

theme is that in the end, Jesus wins. This is what we celebrate.

In the end, Jesus wins. We are united in knowing that Jesus

has conquered the devil when he rose from the dead, that Jesus has defeated

sin, that he has broken evil, that he will judge every evil and

right every wrong. Now we don't know how we're gonna get there. We

don't know what his return will look like. But we know that in the

end, Jesus wins, and one day you and I will gather together with

countless others to celebrate. One day, every every tongue, every nation,

every ethnicity, every language will come together to celebrate. And one day you

will join your voices with thousands and countless others. Who sing worthy is the

Lamb who is slain worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength,

and honor and glory and praised to him who sits on the throne. And

to the Lamb be praised and honor and glory and power forever and ever Jesus

wins. That's what we celebrate. And so my final encouragement today is to

make Jesus the lord of your life, because one day, every knee will

bow before him, every tongue will confess that He's lord. It's my encouragement

today is have you confessed your sin to Jesus and asked for his forgiveness?

Have you trusted the Lamb who was slain for your sin to save you.

That's why I think it's fitting that today we receive communion together, because communion

celebrates the Lamb of God who was slain for us. But you go ahead

and hold your communion elements, and if you need an extra one, just

raise your hand and an usher can help you with that. When Jesus established

communion, he told us that this bread is his body that is broken for

us, and the juice is his blood that was shed for us, the

blood of the lamb, the innocent, perfect blood. You see, the

difference between the blood of Jesus and my blood and your blood is that Jesus'

blood is completely innocent. You and me, we've got sin, we've got

rebellion, we're guilty. But his blood was shed so that ours can be

spared. And Jesus said, whenever you eat of this or drink of it,

remember what he's done. So let's take a moment right now to remember.

Would you bow your head in this moment? Would you confess any sin

to the Lord that you may need to confess, if there's anything between you

and God, would you just confess that now? Father, God, we

thank you that we have a hope for the future so we can endure this

present life. God, we thank you for the gift of Jesus who died

and rose for our salvation. Now together, let's receive the cracker, the

body of Jesus. And now together, let's receive the juice, the blood.

And now together, let's stand and let's worship one more time.