Revelation: Seeing What’s Really Real (Rev. 1:1-8)

Amen. Uh, guys, are we are we going to

be able to play that little video in a

second? That's a thumbs up. I think I

have bad vision. So, I think that was a

thumbs up. We're going to pretend like

that was uh but I want to set up the

little the film that it's a 90 second

short. Earlier this week, I don't

usually do this. Usually, I like to say

I have so much going on in my head. I

don't do the same thing twice. But our

our staff devotional, I shared this

little clip. Um, those of you that have

been following this theologian from

Canada named Wes Huff, he's been making

all these little podcast circuit circles

throughout the last year. and he uh

maybe my favorite one that that I've

seen, I haven't watched the whole thing

yet. Diary of a CEO with Steve Bartlett.

Anyone fans of that show? It's not a

Christian podcast, but the guy is

incredibly sharp and I really enjoy him

and the guest that he brings on and and

just the intentionality and the respect

and honor he gives every guest. Um they

they got you though. The the Diary of a

CEO podcast gets you with this this very

controversial dynamic. It acted like it

was like the whole conversation was a

standoff where he goes, "So, if I'm an

atheist and I was lived a good life, am

I going to go to hell according to these

scriptures?"

And he says it like in the most sincere

way possible. And and and Wes Huff goes

something to the effect of

God is not going to force you into his

presence,

but we're all going to hell.

And then he shares the gospel and there

wasn't this ugly standoff. There was

this deep conversing like longing to get

to the depth of truth. I felt so

strongly this is a taste again that we

are at a moment culturally globally

where people are asking the hard

questions not to do the I gotcha moments

but in a way that it's like I want to

explore this this idea. Is this idea of

Christ real? And can I enter into it in

a way that's like maybe not combative

with human beings, but something that

I'm willing to kind of take hard truths

and do something with them. It was

profound. But then at the end of their

conversation,

uh, Huff gives him a gift and that's

what the film is if you're able to play

it. That was supposed to segue right

into it beautifully. We haven't played a

video yet in the new place.

>> Is that I do what's called paparology

and paleography. So I make faximiles of

manuscripts, ancient manuscripts,

particularly biblical manuscripts. So

this is a biblical manuscript P46.

It's a late second or 3rd century page

from a collection of Paul's epistles.

>> Paul from the Bible.

>> He wrote this.

>> Well, so he wrote that and then a scribe

in the second century copied it down. So

this is I made this. So this is genuine

from papyrus. I'm only wrote on one side

so you could see kind of how the papyrus

is put together. And then I got you a I

got you a nice Bible.

>> I have put a bookmark in the page where

that passage is.

>> So it says, "Rejoice in hope. Be patient

in tribulation. Be constant in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints

and seek to show hospitality. Bless

those who persecute you. Bless and do

not curse them. Rejoice with those who

rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live

in harmony with one another. Do not be

haughty, but associate with the lowly.

Never be wise in your own sight. Repay

no one evil for evil, but give thought

to do what is honorable in the sight of

all if possible, so far as it depends on

you. Live peacefully with all. Beloved,

never avenge yourselves, but leave it to

the wrath of God. For it is written,

"Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says

the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy

is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty,

give him something to drink. For by so

doing, you will heat burning coals on

his head. Do not be overcome by evil.

but overcome evil with good.

>> So hopefully that's a good passage to

beautiful

>> remember.

>> Oh Jesus. I watched that probably 50

times this week and I'm crying.

I don't know what it is to to watch

someone just hungry for the gospel read

the word.

Three hours of talking to a world-class

theologian,

the power was in word,

not in a manuscript,

but in the testimony and the reality

that in that that's truth.

And it speaks to the heart of the human

condition. And it's as relevant today as

it was when it was written on a piece of

papyrus.

Jesus. So, well, here's here's what I

want to do. I was I was blown away.

There's no argument here. They talked

for two or three hours about very

controvers.

There wasn't manipulation, just the word

of God. And somehow at the end of that

conversation, something shifts. And what

we're seeing in this cultural moment

that I feel like we're in is that people

are open. They're more open than we

think they are.

Some of us need to be reminded that

where we were five years ago, 10 years

ago is not where we're at today. Some of

you have written people off. You need to

stop writing them off. People are asking

deeper questions. And if you're not

going to be available, someone else is.

Don't let Don't let a podcast be more

available than a friend.

Use the podcast. Use the share the

whatever, but don't be more available

than a human being. No, regardless of

the stats, Easter Sunday stats, because

of bump pastor. It's amazing what AI and

the algorithms do. I've been so

bombarded with all the Did you know

pastor that no matter what you do on

social media blah blah blah blah the

most impactful invitation is a friend to

a friend that I'm like shut up I know

that it's like but my people maybe you

don't know that you maybe need to know

that that's the that's the that's the

reality people are craving humanity and

it's still they want they want the human

touch from you and they want the human

touch from a king named Jesus if they

don't even know his name and that's

never going That's never going to

change. But we don't want watered down

answers. They culture wants something

real. And in the hardest parts of the

Christian story, judgment, heaven and

hell, repentance, it's never actually

about condemnation. And what we saw just

in a little taste is that host Steve

Bart, he didn't feel condemnation.

I think he ultimately felt that the

fierce love of God is confronting

something. What's happening is that it's

confronting what destroys us. It's

calling us back to some kind of life

that every single one of us is craving.

And the book of Revelation that we're

going to get into today is it matters

because of this. It's often treated like

the most confusing book in the Bible. I

have a couple goals. It's not just to

teach you the book and to make sure it's

not confusing like maybe you've thought

about or to avoid anything or to over

complicate it. At its core, Revelation

is simply doing this one thing that we

saw in that moment. It's pulling back

the curtain

and it's it's showing us what's actually

real. It's pulling back the curtain and

showing us what's real. The big idea of

the entire book is that Revelation isn't

about predicting the future.

And I know some of you can't wait to

hear about my preferences about how the

future is going to unfold.

That's why I didn't announce it ahead of

time that we're talking about Revelation

because that also we'd have a few extra

weirdo guests that I don't want. No, I'm

just kidding. I've been in some weird

conversations when people tell a pastor

and say, "Hey, I have this incredibly

unique view on Revelation and I'm like,

great. I'd love to hear it. Can you

email it so I never have to read it

again?" Not from anyone in the room. I'm

just saying that there are some

Christians that like have their their

little pet projects and Revelation tends

to be one of them. And I think that's

part of the reason why so many pastors

uh avoid it or limit their engagement

with this book. And

Genesis and Revelation,

Alpha and Omega, beginning and end.

Knowing how the story starts and how it

ends, is a big deal. So understanding

the scripture that we put our lives to

that give us the revelation of Jesus. If

you don't understand really much of

anything about how it ends, you're not

really understanding the entire book.

And so what I want us to see is to pull

back the curtain, see what's actually

real, and see that revelation isn't

about predicting the future. It's about

remembering the future

so that we can faithfully live in the

present. Remembering the future so we

can faithfully live right now. And so

that's where we're going to get at. But

before we transition to that, I want to

give another little example. Um the

question that many people are asking,

looking at the world right now, there's

a lot of intense stuff happening. AI is

going bonkers. The growth that we're

going to see, the differences we're

going to see in society in the matter of

moments, months, and years is insane.

The intensity of wars and nuclear

weapons and all these things are not

going anywhere. It's a valid question to

ask, is this the end?

But I want I want us to remember just a

moment throughout history that this is a

normal question. And I want to give just

one example. um

from from the early 1900s. Is this the

end? That was what people will live

through. We're really familiar with the

Second World War, but even in the First

World War, I want you to remember

something. Women and children were

starving to death at home while their

husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons

are dying on the trenches.

Life on the front was almost

unimaginable. I just want you to like,

and you can close your eyes if you want,

but I just want to paint a picture for

you. what they were living in. The

soldiers, our soldiers. I mean, I'm not

It's It's odd. I had I had a really good

friend that went off, you know, on on a

base and he said, "I gained 30 pounds

because we had steak every day." I don't

know if that's still true, but all I

know is is that that the dynamics that

most were living in back then or not

today. I also don't want to minimize the

fact that people are still risking their

lives. I don't like that either.

Different dynamics. People aren't going

off to war and going to get killed by a

steak. So whether you're getting fat,

you're not getting anything. The point

is the war is horrible and you're still

risking your life. So don't minimize

that. But the reality is they lived in

trenches often for years that were

freezing, muddy, wet, infested with

rats, lice, and surrounded by bodies of

dead folks all the time and everywhere

they went. The only way out was to climb

up and run straight into gunfire. That

was the norm. If you just imagine what

our great-grandfathers were living in,

World War I. And if you survived, your

reward was going back down into the same

hole, waiting for your turn again. Then

there was the chemical warfare that they

had, the gas, and the attack didn't just

kill. They would permanently destroy

you. There were teenage boys who

survived the war and then they spent the

rest of their lives completely unable to

breathe properly.

It's like they had smoked heavily for 60

years, but they had just gone to war for

two.

There's there's examples where they

couldn't even walk like teenage boys

come back from war. They couldn't even

walk up a flight of stairs without

running out of breath.

And then on the home front, the soldiers

went home on on leave and found

something just as devastating. They had

they had families that were starving and

children that were wasting away from

hunger at home. The women whose husbands

had been killed were trying to keep

their families alive and couldn't. And

then the escalation happens. By 1915,

food protests broke out across Europe.

By 1916, it turned into riots, mostly

led by women because most of the men

were gone. I just just want to give you

just a taste of one moment in human

history. Just one. And then I want to

tie it to Revelation a little bit. Uh

you've heard of the four horsemen.

Yeah. And most of us could like be like,

"Ah, that's where it gets weird and I

stop paying attention." Or some of you

is like, "That's where it gets weird and

I start going towards conspiracy

theories." You're on one side or the

other. you overengage or underengage is

usually how it goes. But the Bible gives

us a picture of Revelation. It does this

through the the four horsemen of the

apocalypse.

And I really wanted to give a lecture

about like the big picture on Revelation

today. And I just felt like I'm not

going to help anybody out if I start

geeking out about a lecture series on

Revelation. So, we're just going to be

in the first few verses. And I'm going

to touch on some things. And if you'll

be patient with me, all the things that

you probably want to hear my opinion on

will probably come up eventually. But

I'm trying really hard not to give you

all my opinions today. Uh here's the

thing. The four horsemen though that

four horsemen of the apocalypse, they

represent conquest, war, famine, and

death. That's what it represents. So,

and by 1917, to go back to our little

analogy here, those are those guys are

still standing. If you'd gone to war,

you had lived under all four of those.

Conquest, the nation's expanding power.

War, obviously, relentless violence that

was constant. Famine, their families are

starving at home. They were starving on

the front lines and then death

everywhere on a massive scale. So for

three and a half years, it felt like

they were living through the apocalypse

and yet it wasn't the end.

They had every right to feel like this

is the end. And so I don't know if you

guys are just numbing out and just can't

pay attention to what's going on in the

world. Some of us are living with just

like maybe a heaviness and an angst and

like what is going on?

But I want you to look as Christians for

a moment. That was not the literal

fulfillment of Revelation in the early

1900s. That wasn't the end. And we

should be very cautious about looking

at, you know, I grew up in the B. Bless

you. I grew up in the Bible belt. Every

time some bad news report would happen,

just a sign of the times, brother.

Just a sign of the times.

Anyone else? Everything was a sign of

the times.

Well, maybe not. Maybe not.

Very smart people look at things and

think it's a sign of the times. Martin

Luther

shifted the entire history of the

Catholic Church and he was pretty

convinced it was a sign of the times.

Every generation feels like they're

living at the end. So maybe the question

though is not is this the end? Maybe the

question should look something more like

how do we live if it feels like it could

be?

Maybe let that take care of itself. How

do we live if it feels like it could be?

Revelation was again written to answer

not when will the end come. That was not

the goal of John when he wrote this

book. But how do you live faithfully

until it does? Because Revelation is not

a book that's meant to scare you and I.

It's it's meant to steady me. Steady me

in the midst of uncertainty. Because

Revelation is again, it's not about

predicting the future. It's about

remembering it so that I can live

faithfully today and tomorrow. So to do

that, we want to look at some of these

sections, these apocalyptic elements. I

just want to decode a couple things for

you and then we're just going to get

into the first few verses and then I can

tell I'm already going to have to skim

those and we're going to land. There's

something that we can do with something

with. But here's here's the thing. the

word apocalypse.

This is going to make sure that we don't

get way offkilter with this book, but

it's also one that makes it really

exciting because you can understand

what's happening on a deeper level. This

is not a timeline. Revelation is not a

timeline. So, you can predict and decode

when something's going to happen.

Whenever you start seeing people start

posting their things about a timeline of

something, you can just keep Well, don't

do what I do. Watch because it's

entertaining and then laugh at them and

then keep going. I you don't have to do

that. That's rude. But I can do that in

the privacy of my own home.

The word apocalypse means unveiling. It

does not mean destruction. A lot of

people think that's what it means.

Pulling the curtain back again. That's

what we're talking about. So that you

can see what's real. And John tells us

that what's being communicated, this

apocalyptic communication, it's all

about these signs through symbols.

That's where there's so many images in

the book. And so I want you to see that

we do this all the time in the modern

day. We say things like, "The world's on

fire." We don't mean that. Now, it's not

nearly as funny in California in the

last year as that used to be to say that

phrase, "The world's on fire," because

we literally had our world on fire a

year ago. But but when someone says,

"The world's on fire," or, "Oh, he went

beast mode." Like my kids come home and

go, "He went beast mode today." Like at

the game, and I don't actually think a

wild beast became one of their

teammates.

There's context. No one thinks that's

literal. We're using images to

communicate something real. And that's

how revelation works. It's using images

to communicate something real. So in in

the world of the ancients of John the

the the apostle, there was writings that

describe battles where blood it says

blood rose to a horse's height.

Not because people expected a literal

river of blood, but because it was a way

of saying something to the effect of

this is really overwhelming, devastating

judgment. That's all they're saying.

They're not actually talking about a

river of blood going to come through.

You shouldn't start looking for rivers

of blood coming down the San Gabriel's.

So, the more intense the image, the more

clearly it was symbolic. And the more

intense uh Revelation gets, dragons,

beasts with seven heads, stars falling

out of the sky, there's all kinds of

wonderful wild imagery that we're going

to touch on throughout this book. But

you're supposed to not think just what

on earth is this? It's supposed to look

like what is this showing me? It's

taking you somewhere. And this is the

kind of writing that shows up moments

before the context of deep suffering.

That's what he's trying to get us. give

you images so you can confront the

realities of suffering. When people have

lost control, when the world feels like

it's falling apart, and when they're

asking a simple question, that's what

this book is getting at, and they're

essentially answering the question, God,

how long?

So, that's where it can get personal

just from today. Maybe you're not

concerned and you can't even have a

capacity to think about all the things

happening in the world. Some of you are

deeply concerned of what's happening in

the world. Others of you are just like,

"God, how long?" with your own problems,

with your own loved ones, with your own

families.

Some of you are looking at the world.

You've poured your life into civil

service or whatever it is, and you're

saying, "God, how long are we going to

get breakthrough?"

But the the scriptures take that

question, that valid question, and these

images aren't to get weird with it. It's

to do something with it. Yes, to

remember the future, but so that you can

actually do something with it now.

So, Revelation one, finally, I'm going

to read you a couple verses.

The first verse, the revelation of Jesus

Christ, which God gave him to show his

servants the things that must soon take

place. He made it known by sending his

angel to his servant John, who bore

witness to the word of God and to the

testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all

that he saw. Blessed is the one who

reads aloud the word of this prophecy

and blessed are those who hear and who

keep what is written in it for the time

is near. So the first point what we want

to get at is we are not seeing clearly.

That's what John is saying. You and I

are not seeing clearly. He wants to

reframe our vision. Point number one is

all about how to see.

We're going to get into both seeing

clearly then living differently. And

then he's going to teach us how to rest

in the fact that God is holding the

whole story. But first, the issue,

how to see, we're not seeing clearly

what's going on here. He says the

revelation of Jesus. This is not hidden

truth, but it's unveiled reality he's

trying to get at. It's coming from the

father to Jesus through an angel to John

and then a letter. This is actually

still an epistle, which is a letter

written to churches, seven churches. The

idea here is that this is a godly divine

perspective. It's not about humans

speculating about what may or may not

be. John is giving you a vision of a

divine of God's perspective on all this.

What must play what must take place

soon? He says soon doesn't mean

immediate timeline in the context of how

he wrote it. It it can mean things like

certainty or suddeness when it happens.

That's really important because then

when people say, "Look, it didn't

suddenly happen in John's day." He goes,

"Yeah, well, it doesn't take that long

to understand if you really look at the

ancient manuscripts what that meant.

It's a symbol of communicate." When it

says he made known or signified in some

translations, this is this is a key for

interpretation. That means this is

symbolic communication.

He get he says, "Blessed is the one who

reads, hears, and keeps it." That's

significant.

Because what that means is this book is

not meant to be like decoded like so

many people get so excited about. Oh,

I've got the key to decode revelation.

Let me share it with you. What's your

email?

It's meant to be obeyed,

not to be decoded. It's meant to be

obeyed. It's It's But let me let me just

be honest. It's way more fun to decode

something because then the goal is just

that I get to tell you that I figured

out a problem and now I don't have any

responsibility to do anything about it

other than to tell you, can I have your

email to show you how I decoded this

book? That's not the goal of revelation.

The goal of revelation is your

obedience.

Most of the Christian life is just

learning what real obedience looks like.

And we have to separate ourselves from a

false version of human obedience. We've

been so obedience became like a bad

word. I don't know when.

Somewhere between Bob's childhood and

mine, but

we can't say obedience anymore. But

scripture talks about obedience

constantly. All I want to say to you is

if you had a horrible

person in your life teaching you the

concept of obedience, I'm sorry. That's

and and that wasn't good.

Let's let Jesus reorient us towards a

concept of obedience. Because the entire

book, the way this entire thing ends is

if you will learn to find your life in

the only one who's worth fully

entrusting your obedience to, that will

set you free.

And he always leads with his intention,

which is love and sacrifice.

When you're not leading with that, no

one wants to hear your version of

obedience.

So the book is not meant to be decoded.

It's meant to be o obeyed. The problem

is not just what's happening in the

world though. It's that we don't see

clearly what's really going on. That's

what John is getting at. So how do we

apply this first point in the first few

verses? He wants us to reframe our

vision to stop trying to control the

future, predict the future. And if you

don't see clearly, you're always going

to try to control what you can't

control. And every single one of us have

some version of what we try to control.

And remember history, I mentioned

Luther. He thought the end was near

during the reformation. The Puritans,

the people that came to this country to

escape all the oppression that they had.

They they faced upheaval, instability,

persecution. And they were all thinking

they were watching the end unfold. The

Civil War was the same thing. Horrific.

They all thought the end was near. 1900s

before this World War I was the same

thing. They had rapid industrial change,

global tension, and rising conflict.

People were convinced that the world

couldn't go on much longer and then they

got World War I and then they got World

War II and then they got whatever else.

I mean, we just history.

Revelation is not telling you when the

end's going to come. Are we clear on

that?

It's telling you how to live until it

does.

So, here's the key truth. Every one of

these people in the past from Martin

Luther, very smart people, much smarter

than me, it doesn't mean they were dumb

and wrong about everything they said. It

just means that they were wrong about

the timing. And we can be wrong about

the timing, but we can be right about

something else. That the world is broken

and we need to be faithful.

The world's broken. Will you be

faithful?

So, let's make it personal for a second.

just just sit with the question of okay

I'm entering into this this ancient book

that's challenging me to obey it but the

first question is what's forming your

outlook on the future where are you

trying to control outcomes

what's forming my outlook on the future

is everything I pull in from the news

401k my stocks the future what I should

be investing in the housing market all

these

It's completely It's completely

unnatural to not care how those things

are. The problem is is that the

Christian life is meant to invite you

into a completely unnatural way of life.

Sometimes we Christians are so good at

being like naturally supernatural that

we just basically stress out the exact

same as everybody else.

The goal is yes, we can resonate because

we all have stressed out and lived like

everybody else. But if there's no

difference in the way that we have a way

of life that offers us something better

than the way everyone else is living,

then what's the point?

You and I shouldn't be stressing out the

exact same about the future that we were

last year or decade ago. And if you are,

this is not a guilt and shame thing.

It's an invitation to not let the

standard stay here. So, I just want I

just want us to to allow this to shape

us, to convict us, to make us a little

bit uncomfortable, to to maybe lean into

this and say, "Maybe there's something

for me here where I've fallen asleep and

I've gotten used to just surviving in a

way of life that Jesus isn't saying is

the way of life he's offering me."

What's shaping the outcomes of your

future, your outlook? What are you

trying to control in those outcomes?

Where's your attention on the future

keeping you from obedience in the

present? Now, that can be everything

from your stocks to your future spouse.

Let's be honest, if you're on the prowl,

I won't have raise hands. Hold hands if

you're interested. But I mean, that's

if you're on the prowl for a spouse, how

do you think about anything else

like every day? That is a future outcome

that you should be highly invested in.

But the question then becomes where is

your attention on that future outcome

and how is it how is it influencing how

you live in the present? How does it

influence your obedience? And how how is

your mindset then skewed in any way,

shape or form? To frame it another way,

what are some of the passions of your

heart that are great? But how are those

things shaping how you frame your

desired outcomes in life? And how are

they taking precedence? And how are they

influencing your ability to obey the way

of Jesus? That's it. Again, this has

nothing to do with guilt and shame. It

has to do with being real. Do you want

the life Jesus offers? Then there's

always more. And what I have to realize

for myself is, hey, the heaviness, the

burdens that you still feel, that's not

about him saying like you suck. That's

about him saying, "There is more that I

want to take you into. If you will just

literally come back to the simple things

of my gospel, my way of life, and what I

have on offer, I want to relieve you. My

burden is light." Jesus said, "So, when

we step into this, what we're saying is

is that my attention, my my outlooks, my

my my heart's desire to control things

natural. That's great. I can resonate

with anyone. I can be real with it. I

don't have to fake it till I make it."

any of that bull crap that no one wants

Christians to just say that they're

better than they really are. We don't do

that. No one cares to see your fake

attempt at not doing what they know you

can't do.

That sounded way meaner. I don't mean to

be mean right now. Like I feel like I'm

being mean.

I I just feel like I had to Some of you

like it. You get on Come to the altar.

Those of you that like it, just get on

your face.

Some of you wanting to walk out, just

stay a few more minutes. I'm going to

get nicer. Maybe it's why the band comes

up. I get too mean. Uh I really don't

mean that mean. I I mean that for myself

where this is my wrestle always because

if you get static and content and

comfortable

your life, you've just chosen where your

life levels off.

You've just chosen a mindset that is

that is going to be reproduced in some

way, shape, or form everywhere you go. I

and I don't want I don't want I don't

want this family I don't want my kids to

see to see a man that's just said this

is about as good as I can get. Jesus is

awesome but this is about he wants more

for you. If some of you today I just

want you to know there there's there's

more. Whether you feel like you've tried

everything. This isn't about trying

something else. It's about surrendering

on a deeper level.

Where's your attention on the future

keeping you from obedience now? And what

has God already asked of you to do that

you're putting off because you're so

distracted

by these other things that you care

about? Often amazing things,

these amazing things that you care

about.

It's not about controlling the future.

It's about giving you clarity for right

now. So our prayer this morning is that

this book that we get in for the next

number of couple months is going to help

pull us out of that cycle. Pulling us

out and reminding us that you don't need

to control the future. You need to live

faithfully today.

Faithfulness looks like this. It's so

simple. Tell the truth.

Start with yourself because many of us

are lying to ourselves every single day.

Tell the truth. Love your neighbor. Pray

consistently.

These aren't complicated. It's just you

can't do this in your own strength. You

can't tell the truth of yourself in your

own strength. We have to lie to

ourselves to keep ourselves going apart

from the love of Jesus. I joke about

this all the time. I I go back to my

when I used to do Pelaton to rehab my

knee and that Pelaton instructor would

tell me that I was worthy every day.

You are worthy. You and D, baby, you can

get up. I don't know what she said.

She's like she had some mantra at the

end of every little uh every little

session. And and I I would just be

thinking about that all the time. I go,

"Yeah, well that's the thing is that

someone has to tell you you're worthy.

Someone has to lie to you or it's really

dark out there." The gospel doesn't lie

to you. It gives you real light. The

gospel says,

"Yeah, again, you're not worthy." And

that feeling that you have of

unworthiness is valid. But you know who

is worthy?

The king that was slain. This lamb

imagery thing that gets all bloody and

weird and we sing songs about his blood.

That guy, that guy's worthy. And if he's

real, then he says

he gives you his worth.

And you don't have to earn it. You don't

have to perform for it. You don't have

to accomplish it. And if that's true,

then I can confidently say I can look

myself in the mirror every morning. I

don't have to lie. I don't have to say,

"Christian, you're worthy." Or whatever

mantra, whatever lie you have to tell

yourself, "I'm better than so and so. I

suck at my job. Well, at least I'm

better than him." It's like, that's how

many of us get through the day. You

don't have to lie anymore.

Because he says, he gives you his worth.

And he says you're worthy not because

you are,

because he's made you of something, a

new creation.

So you can tell the truth because of

that. You can love your neighbor because

of that.

And without that, you can't really love

your neighbor because even even if

you're honest, there's always some

ulterior motive.

I can't really tell the truth. Apart

from that, I can't really love my

neighbor apart from that. I can't really

pray purely apart from that because it's

still always selfish in some way, shape,

or form. I can't really live with any

sort of integrity apart from that

because I need in every single thing

that I do that's right, I need him to

cover me because there's no such thing

as pure motives.

Speak about Jesus when you have the

chance.

Speak about him imperfectly

when you have the chance.

Fall in love with him in private so that

you have something to talk about your

love in public.

And don't worry about predicting the

future.

Just obey him in the present. Revelation

is freeing us from needing to control

the future. It frees us from needing to

control our weak. It frees us from

needing to control our parents, our

siblings, our spouses, our bosses,

our careers.

Because Jesus is not who you think he

is. That's point two.

Jesus is not who you and I think he is.

And what John wants is for us to reclaim

allegiance. I'm going to read these

verses quickly and then we're going to

try to land. John says to the seven

churches that are in Asia, "Grace to you

and peace from him who is who is and who

was and who is to come and from the

seven spirits who are before his throne

and from Jesus Christ the faithful

witness, the firstborn of the dead and

the ruler of kings on earth. To him who

loves us and has freed us from our sins

by his blood and made us a kingdom

priest who was God and father. To him be

glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen." It's the gospel. John starts the

entire book of Revelation with the

gospel and that we're invited into

obeying it. He opens with a greeting,

but he turns it into worship. Jesus is a

faithful witness. He lived the truth

even to death. He was the firstborn from

the dead and he defeated death. And he's

the ruler of the kings of earth, not

someday, but right now.

Then he says to him who loves us and

freed us. See, the gospel never starts

with your sin. It always starts with

God's intention. God's intention is that

he loves you and sacrificed for you. And

in that place, then we can talk about

the brokenness, the shame, the guilt,

and the sin. It never starts with that.

Many of us were told the gospel in some

way, probably by a well-meaning

Christian, probably back in the Bible

belt, like I was. Where it starts with,

"You're sinful and separated from God.

Do you have a plan for that?" Like, "No,

I don't. That's dark, but I would really

like to avoid hell. So, let me pray this

little prayer and see if that works

out." That's not the gospel. The gospel

is to him who loves us and has freed us.

But he doesn't shy away. He's freed us

from what? He's freed us from the sin.

He's freed us by his blood.

And we don't have to shy away from lambs

and from blood and from really crazy

pictures that we're going to see of

dragons and foreheaded horsemen. We can

simply say

this is a beautiful ancient document

that is speaking both to the ancient

culture but it's prophetic in nature

talking to every generation who was and

is and is to come.

And when I receive from this it's not as

complicated as it sounds. It's just deep

and it's costly. We often reduce Jesus

to a helper or a teacher or a comforting

presence. And Revelation is showing him

as a king that comes as a lamb that's

willing to have his throat slit for you.

The one who loves you is the one who

rules everything

and has already died for you. So you

can't take anything from him. And if you

will find your life in him, they can't

take anything from you either.

He makes us a kingdom. He makes us

priests. And that means together we're a

kingdom. You belong to a different kind

of people individually. You are a

priest. That means you have the access

to God himself. You have access to his

presence. And you represent him to other

people. Your life then has a purpose.

And you're to serve and the witness to

others. And you're not just saved from

hell.

You're sent.

You're sent with all of heaven

and the same power and the same blood

and the same purpose. And that might

sound still for those of you that are

exploring faith. I get that. That is

that's a little bit like kind of

intense. Well, it is kind of intense.

There's no reason why a few hundred

people would be here on a Sunday morning

if we weren't dealing with an intense

reality. This isn't just a fun social

club.

We're dealing with life and death. And

we're all trying to figure out what the

flip this means. And if it doesn't have

to do with life and death, if it's not a

little bit bloody, then I don't want to

have any part of it. I don't have time

for that. I have plenty of other things

to do. This is life or death. And he's

saying, reclaim your allegiance.

Start with living on purpose. So many of

us are still so overwhelmed with modern

life. We live in reaction. All I want to

say is you can respond to the gospel

today by saying, "I refuse this week to

live in reactionary posture." Just like

surviving what comes at me and just

trying to like, "Oh Jesus, please help

me survive." That's okay for a moment.

If that's your way of life, you need to

repent and move because that is not the

way of a person that follows Jesus. He

is ready to take you, prepare you, take

you in the secret place, and then

release you sent convicted that I have a

purpose. I have to go somewhere today. I

don't know where that is, but I'm not

going to live in some like uh oh, don't

look at me at Trader Joe's. I'm having a

rough day. I can't possibly encourage

you. I I mean, that's that's when I know

it's like I get out of the gym, I cross

Trader Joe's like four times a week, and

if I can't make eye contact with people

because I'm so overwhelmed, I go, I need

a quiet time and not like a Christian

quiet time. I need like a Jesus slain

lamb push me in the face and say, "What

the flip is wrong with you, Christian?

Do you have any idea? Do you have any

idea what I've given you?" And you can't

encourage and look people in the eye

because you're so heavy with all the

problems of the world that I've already

dealt with. Do you believe my word or

not?

>> I need that. I need that because it goes

like, "Yeah,

you're not as far as you think you are.

You're not as far." Like many of us live

for years like this and we realize

you're you're a moment away from just

receiving

receiving that shaking and letting him

change the trajectory of your whole

life. Some of us have had wisps of it,

but but I can just feel in the room

there's like this holy dissatisfaction

with the status quo. No more. We don't

want that. I don't want it.

I want to be coming out heavy from a

rough day and going like, I can't wait

to make the enemy pay.

>> That's the shift. That's the shift every

single one of you that are going through

life's absolute atrocities and heaviness

and burdens that are so real. He's not

looking at you upset at you because

you're not having more encounters at

Trader Joe's. He's saying, "Do you have

any idea how in your weakness I want to

use you?"

That's what he's doing.

And many of us take ourselves out of the

game.

So here's the diagnosis diagnosis that I

I just want us to feel today and team

can please come up so that I can stop

talking. When has your faith become

something private

like just private when it was always

meant to be public?

I know as soon as I say that, you can

think of all the millions of ways

Christians these days on the

stratospheres are obnoxifying still our

faith. It's getting better in some areas

and worse in others. That's not the

point. You and I, you and I, where are

you and I struggling to keep our faith

just this private thing when it was

meant to be a public decree, the work of

Jesus? And I'm just inviting you, will

you let him make your life,

a public act of worship and song.

When we reduce the gospel of Jesus to

something small, something we're just

decoding, a fun intellectual exercise,

it's just that's it's never going to

work. When you see him as the

resurrected king, as the slain lamb who

is living and active and wants you,

what's going to happen is that you live

with a posture of purpose and intention.

And it never has to be it never has to

be dramatic. Go back to those simple

things. Start with telling yourself the

truth.

Love people well.

Then then ask him, I can't love people

well. I can't tell the truth. I can't

pray consistently without you. So So

with him, do those things. Live with

integrity and then speak about speak

about the person of Jesus when

opportunity comes.

But here's the thing.

He's holding the whole story. That's the

final point.

And when you and I realize that, that's

a relief.

It's not it's ultimately not our story.

It's his. He says, "Behold, he's coming

with the clouds. Every eye will see him.

Even those who pierced him, and all the

tribes of the earth will wait, wail on

account of him. Even so, amen.

I'm the Alpha and Omega, beginning and

end, who is and was, and who is to come,

Almighty.

God has the first word and he has the

last.

He wants to restore our security in him.

The invitation is just to trust him with

your real life. Where does your life

feel out of control? What are you trying

to hold together in your own strength

that you were never meant to carry? And

what future, what's the future outcome

that you were quietly afraid to

confront?

I want us to look at a few things that

we're just going to step in together.

a few practices. But in the midst of

that, I want us to be real. We're going

to respond in some worship. But in your

deepest pain, you know that no argument

is going to sustain your deepest pain.

You don't need an argument in those

places. You need an encounter with

seeing the risen Jesus as the slain lamb

who died for you, rose again, and is

looking you in the face, waiting for you

to say yes to the invitation of his

worth becoming yours.

That's what every single one of us

means. It means that in our deepest

pain, you don't need an explanation. You

need a person that you can trust. And

that's why Jesus came as a real human

being, fully God and fully man. And so

revelation then comes in and shows us

he's on the throne. He's the ultimate

king of all the kings.

And he's still the one that laid his

life down so that death cannot keep him

and it cannot keep you and I.

And he holds the entire story together.

yours in the entire world's.

So when life doesn't make sense, the

invitation is would you look look at

that lamb.

Just close your eyes with me if you

would. If you

and Holy Spirit, we just ask you

if you're the one that holds this story

like you say,

we just ask for an encounter. We can see

you for who you are, Jesus.

For those of us where life doesn't make

sense and it feels out of control, we

look at you

with fresh eyes and fresh hearts.

When we don't understand what's

happening, we remember what you've

already accomplished, what you've

already done.

I pray that we be a people that

continually remember the future

so that we can live right now.

We ask Holy Spirit for your strength

this week.

We ask for your strength one to replace

the spirit of control with the spirit of

trust.

I encourage every single one of us as as

you feel the urge to control, would you

just take a moment with the presence of

God and name that place? Be real. Don't

lie to yourself. Name it. Give it to

God. Start your day with it. End your

day with it.

Rebel against the anxiety of this world.

Pray that we would replace the way of

anxiety with trust, the way of control

with trust.

Second, I pray that we would become a

people that truly live as visible

witnesses in the world.

that our faith would be lived out loud,

not perfectly, just openly. What is one

step that you need to make that just

opens your faith book? Opens the realm

of your life that many others don't know

because we've been going for decades

where it's just kind of like I don't

want to show them a bad version. It's

there's so many gross versions of Jesus

and Christians. I just don't want to

weird them out, ick them out, whatever.

I've just been so dettled with that

reality. This is meant to be

the most loving in your face

public witness faith you could ever

imagine.

You can't see the pain of the world

without meeting it. It doesn't mean

you're telling everybody a four-step

gospel prayer. It means that you cannot

see the pain of the world and not move

towards people. That's it. Just move

towards somebody.

Move towards someone that's feeling the

heaviness of the world.

Live as a visible witness. And finally,

anchor yourselves in this story. That's

a constant reminder that this not about

me. We're obsessed with our own stories.

We're obsessed with how the story ends

and what the future holds. We're

obsessed with how we're going to get

into a house, get into a relationship,

raise our kids, deal with our parents,

whatever the situation is. We're

obsessed with the future. And he's

saying, "You cannot live in the present

if you do not remember the future I have

already settled." He holds it in his

hands. From all of history,

world wars to the Reformation, you hold

all of history and you invite us

to live present in the future.

We remember the future when we live in

the present.

Holy Spirit, come. We release control.

We live on purpose.

We remember the story in Jesus name.

Amen. Would you rise to your feet?