Revelation Ch22v6-21 - Jesus Is Coming

Thanks, Rob.

So let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation 22, the very, very end, the last few verses

of Revelation and indeed all of Scripture.

Before we read, just a couple of extra things to say.

Yes, the carol service tonight at 5.30, so look forward to having everybody along to that.

If you're wanting to know how can I help, well, come early.

Imagine if you're a visitor and you've never been here before and you're the first person

to arrive because all the locals arrive at 25.2 or something like that.

So come early, take your seats and be ready to welcome those who come.

The other thing is the Thanksgiving service tomorrow for Mrs. Beamish, which will be out

in Westside in Bandon.

If anybody is going to that, I'll be taking the service.

If anybody's going, if they'd let me know, we're just looking for another person to help

with stewarding and welcoming people.

So just speak to me afterwards about that.

Well, let's turn to God's Word.

Revelation 22, verse 6, to the end.

Revelation 22:6

Let's hear what God has to say to us today.

Remember, John the disciple is writing.

The angel said to me,

These words are trustworthy and true.

The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets,

sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.

Look, I am coming soon.

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.

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

And when I heard and seen them,

I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.

But he said to me,

Don't do that.

I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets

and with all who keep the words of the scroll.

Worship God.

Then he told me,

Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll

because the time is near.

Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong.

Let the vile person continue to be vile.

Let the one who does right continue to do right.

And let the holy person continue to be holy.

Look, I am coming soon.

My reward is with me and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Blessed are those who wash their robes

that they may have the right to the tree of life

and may go through the gates into the city.

Outside are the dogs,

those who practice magic arts,

the sexually immoral,

the murderers,

the idolaters,

and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David,

the bright morning star.

The spirit and the bride say,

come.

And let the one who hears say,

come.

Let the one who is thirsty,

come.

And let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll.

If anyone adds anything to them,

God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.

And if anyone takes away any from this scroll,

God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life

and in the holy city,

which are described in this scroll.

He who testifies to these things says,

yes,

I am coming soon.

Amen.

Come,

Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.

Amen.

Well, let's pray.

Our Father God,

we echo these words.

Come,

Lord Jesus.

Come,

by the power of your Holy Spirit,

so that we may have eyes and ears

to see and hear

the amazing truth of your word

and what you are speaking to the churches

in this time and this generation,

what you are speaking to us

today.

Help us to hear

and help us to live our life

in response to you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, are you ready?

As we thought about at the beginning of our service,

are you prepared?

Well, if you're not,

you'd better get a move on

because Christmas is only seven days away.

A date has been set.

Yes.

Everybody knows

the 25th of December

is Christmas Day.

Leave it a day late

and it's too late.

So in preparation,

we've all been busy.

Decorations up.

The tree is there.

Plans for dinner.

Got the presents.

You visit friends.

You send the cards.

Because having the date

keeps our minds very focused.

Leave it a day late,

the 26th,

and it's too late.

Well, Christmas is not the only day

that is coming.

There is another day.

We don't know the date of this day,

but we can be absolutely sure it's coming.

Did you see the promise in our text?

Look at verse 7.

Jesus says,

Look, I am coming soon.

And in case we missed it,

verse 12,

Look, I am coming soon.

And again, verse 20,

Jesus, who testifies to these things,

says,

Yes, I am coming soon.

You better believe it.

So we must be ready.

We must be prepared.

Leave it a day late,

and it's too late.

Of course, if we've been following along

in our studies in Revelation,

this will come as no surprise whatsoever.

Look back at verse 6.

The angel said to John,

This is the angel who'd been giving him the visions.

The visions had come from God

to the angel to John.

The angel said to me,

These words are trustworthy and true.

Well, what words?

What words is he talking about?

Well, all the words that we've been reading

through Revelation.

The book of Revelation is trustworthy and true.

You can believe every word,

and you can depend on every word.

Because these words tell us

what we are to expect.

Look at the rest of verse 6.

The Lord,

the God who inspires the prophets,

that is,

the God who gives words to the prophets,

sent his angel to show his servants

the things that must soon take place.

What must soon take place

is what's happening between the resurrection of Jesus

and the return of Jesus.

And the climax of what must soon take place

is and will be the coming of Jesus again.

This is where all of history is heading.

It's heading to that day

when Jesus will return.

Every day is a step closer

to Christ's coming.

But how do we know?

How can we be absolutely sure

that Jesus is coming?

How do we know these aren't just made up words?

Well, we know that Jesus came once.

Two thousand years ago.

That's what we celebrate at Christmas.

Just as the prophets foretold.

So look at this from Matthew's Gospel.

It was talking about the birth of Jesus.

And the writer Matthew says this,

All this, the coming of Jesus,

all this took place to fulfil

what the Lord had said through the prophets.

And he quotes from Isaiah,

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son

and they will call him Emmanuel,

which means God is with us.

God had spoken in the past

about the coming of Jesus.

Jesus came and now God speaks again

through his servant John,

who is telling us that in the future,

Jesus will come again.

Just as the first promise is true,

so the second promise is true.

So we can trust God's words.

They are trustworthy.

You can build your life on them.

What he says we can depend on.

So are you ready?

Leave it a day late and it's too late.

Well through our text,

we're going to see that there are three ways

we can be prepared.

This is how we are to live our lives

as we wait for the return of Jesus.

Three things.

Keep the words of Jesus.

Obey the words of Jesus.

And heed the words of Jesus.

So keep, obey and heed.

So the first one.

We are blessed by keeping the words of Jesus.

Look at verse 7.

Look, I am coming soon.

Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy

written in this scroll.

He's given us his word.

And rather than ignore revelation,

we're to keep it.

And keeping the words of Jesus

are going to mean at least two things.

First, it's going to mean that we meditate

on them continually.

Now verse 7 is reflective

of chapter 1 verse 3.

Go back to chapter 1 verse 3.

It's really a repeat of what we were told

at the very beginning of Revelation.

Revelation chapter 1 verse 3.

Revelation 1:3

And this will help us to understand

what it means to meditate.

So verse 3.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud

the words of this prophecy.

Blessed are those who hear it.

And take to heart what is written in it

because the time is near.

Because Jesus is coming soon.

So to keep the word of Jesus

means that we're to read it.

We're to hear it.

We're to learn it.

But not in a mechanical way.

We are, look at verse 3,

to take it to heart.

That means we're to reflect on it.

We're to think deeply

about the words of Revelation.

We're to study it.

We're to meditate on it.

Not just once,

but continually.

Let's go back to chapter 22.

Chapter 22 verse 10.

We're to meditate on it.

Not just once,

but continually.

Look at verse 10.

Then he said to me,

do not seal up the words

of the prophecy of this scroll

because the time is near.

But you might think,

well, this is the last sermon.

This is Revelation done.

Tick box.

I don't have to read it again.

No.

Now that you've read it,

don't seal it up.

Don't staple the pages

of Revelation together.

You've read it.

You've heard its message.

Don't ignore it.

But keep on reading it.

Meditate on the words

of Revelation continually.

Now this helps explain

the strange words

that we read in verse 11.

Let the one who does wrong

continue to do wrong.

Let the vile person

continue to be vile.

But let the one who does right

continue to do right.

And let the holy person

continue to do holy things.

You see, it's pushing us

to make a choice.

What are we going to do

now that we've gone

through Revelation?

There's no middle ground.

We either shut it up

and close it up

and we live our own way

or we keep it open

and we keep on reading it

and live God's way.

So what's our response

going to be?

Meditate on it continually.

Now second,

to keep God's word

is not just to meditate

but it's to worship God.

You see,

when John received

these visions,

we're told in verse 8

that he went to

worship the angel.

But,

verse 9,

the angel said to me,

don't do that.

Stop.

I'm a fellow servant

with you

and with your fellow prophets

and with all who keep

the words of this scroll.

Worship God.

You see,

the words that we are reading

and learning,

the words of Revelation

that we are taking to heart,

lead us

to worship God.

In other words,

to keep the words of Jesus

means

that we respond

in thanks

and praise.

As we take in

God's word,

we see his sovereignty

over suffering

and opposition.

We see his victory

over Satan and evil.

We see the glory

of the new creation

to come.

His words

lead us

to trust

and depend

on him

who knows all things

and rules all things.

And in response,

we worship

God.

We worship

God.

Now,

if we keep

his words,

if we're meditating

on them,

if we're worshipping

God,

there's going to be

a blessing.

Look at verse 7.

Look,

I am coming soon.

Blessed

is the one

who keeps

the words.

To be blessed

blessed

is to know and experience

God's

favour

in your life.

In other words,

revelation

isn't to be used

to speculate

about the future.

It's to

bless us.

Yeah,

we find parts

of it difficult,

but the main

things

are always

the plain

things,

and the plain

things are always

the main

things.

We can all

read that

and get

that message.

And if we

keep these

words,

they are going

to encourage

you to keep

on going.

Read these

words and they

will strengthen

you in times

of hardship.

Read these

words and they

will keep

you as you

face opposition.

So first,

let's

together

keep the

words

of Jesus

and you

will be

blessed.

Keep the

words of

Jesus

and you

will be

prepared

for the

coming of

Jesus.

So,

first one is

obey the

words.

Second,

sorry,

keep the

words.

Second,

we're to

obey the

words.

We know

life if we

obey the

words of

Jesus.

Look with

me at

verse 12.

Again,

look,

I am

coming soon.

My reward

is with

me and

I will

give to

each person

according to

what they

have done.

You see,

how we

live today

is really

important.

as we

wait for

the

coming of

Jesus,

it really

matters

because he

will reward

us according

to what we

have done.

And we

don't need

to be

concerned that

it's going

to be

unfair or

unjust.

Look who

holds us

to account.

Verse 13.

Jesus

says,

I am the

Alpha and

the Omega,

the first

and the

last,

the beginning

and the

end.

I see

your life

from your

first breath

to your

last breath,

from your

birthday

to your

death day.

I see

all,

I know

all,

the private

things,

the public

things,

and I

will give

to each

person

according to

what they

have done.

So how

am I

going to

be ready?

And what

kind of

reward am

I going

to receive?

Well,

to be

ready we

need to

obey.

We need

to obey

the words

of Jesus.

And that

will mean

two things.

First,

it will

mean that

we obey

the call

for cleansing

or obey

the command

for cleansing.

Look at

verse 14.

Blessed

are those

who wash

their robes

that they

may have

the right

to the

tree of

life

and may

go through

the gates

into the

city.

Look,

if we're

unclean,

we can't

enter God's

city.

If we're

impure,

we'll not

come to

the new

creation.

Because sin

stains and

spoils,

it leaves

us dirty,

filthy,

unacceptable

to God.

Like the

workman,

we mentioned

this before

in Revelation,

who's been

clearing the

sewage pipes

all day

and then

tries to

gain access

to a fine

dining restaurant.

No way,

you're not

coming in.

clean.

So Jesus

says, if

you're not

clean,

then,

verse 15,

outside are

the dogs,

meaning the

dogs are

those who

roll about

in their

own filth,

they don't

care.

Those who

practice

magic arts,

the sexually

immoral,

not just the

person who

has an

affair,

but the

one who

looks and

lingers

too long,

the murderers,

not just

those who

actually kill,

but those

who have

hate in

their hearts,

the idolaters,

anyone who

puts anything

or any

person before

God,

and everyone

who loves

and practices

falsehood.

have you

ever loved

the sin

you've been

involved in?

You see,

verse 15

is challenging

because,

well, I see

myself in

verse 15.

Can you see

yourself there?

we won't

be allowed

access into

the city.

This will

be our

reward.

This is

what we

will deserve.

But if

we obey

the command

of Jesus

in verse

14,

to wash

our robes,

well,

then we

will be

given

entry.

Now,

this isn't

a physical

washing,

but a

spiritual

washing.

It's not

about taking

off our

clothes and

sticking them

in the

washing machine

and giving

them a

good old

clean.

It's about

an internal

cleaning of

our hearts.

It's coming

to Jesus

and trusting

him that

when Jesus

took my

sin,

Jesus

became

unclean

for me.

And in

his place,

we receive

the cleanliness,

the purity

of Jesus.

He takes

my uncleanness

and by

faith,

I receive

his

cleanness.

What I

deserve,

the rewards

that I

should get,

Jesus

takes.

And the

rewards that

Jesus deserves,

I now

receive by

faith.

I am

made

clean.

Like the

sewage worker

who goes

home,

has his

shower,

scrubs

up,

puts on

his clean

clothes from

the wardrobe

and comes

to that

fine dining

restaurant,

he will be

welcomed in

to sit,

eat,

drink and

feast.

feast.

Well,

here's the

command.

Get

yourself

clean,

not by

doing things

yourself,

but by

coming to

Jesus,

who will

wash you,

so that you

have the

right to

go through

into the

city,

the new

creation.

second,

then,

is not

just get

clean,

but invite

to come.

You see,

the evidence

that we have

been made

clean,

the evidence

is that we

want others

to be made

clean and

ready too.

If I

say,

yes,

I'm trusting

Jesus,

then a

big part of

my life

is going

to be

wanting

others

to be

there in

the new

creation.

Look at

verse 17.

The spirit

and the

bride say,

come.

Well,

we know

the bride

is the

church,

God's

people,

so the

spirit

speaks

through

the church,

through

God's

people,

he gives

the church

an invitation

to send

that invitation

out to

people,

and the

invitation

is simply,

come.

Well,

come to

what?

What are

we inviting

people to?

Well,

look at the

rest of

verse 17.

And let

the one

who hears

say,

come.

Let the

one who

is thirsty

come.

And let

the one

who wishes

take the

free gift

of the

water of

life.

It's an

invitation

to people

to say,

come.

Come to

Jesus.

You see,

people all

around us

are thirsty.

And maybe

you're thirsty

today,

not in the

physical sense,

but in the

spiritual sense.

You're not

satisfied with

what the

world throws

at you.

You're left

empty,

dry,

and thirsty.

You keep

drinking it

in,

but nothing

changes.

Whatever you

add to your

life never

seems to

quench your

thirst.

Well,

come to

Jesus who

gives,

verse 17,

the free

gift of

the water

of life.

Jesus will

quench you.

Listen to

his words.

Take on

board his

words.

Come to

him and

he will

clean up

your life.

He will

deal with

your past

and give

you a

new and

eternal

reward.

You see,

that's what

we're about

as we

wait for

the coming

of Jesus.

Our

business,

wherever we

are,

whether it's

at home

with our

children,

or at

work with

people,

or at

college,

amongst

our neighbours,

we're people

who have

been sent

out with

an invite,

and the

invite is

just simply

come.

Come to

Jesus.

Because now,

today,

is a time

of mercy

and grace.

Now is a

time of

salvation.

Come now.

Come and

take this

free gift

of life.

Now,

if we

obey these

words of

Jesus,

if we

obey the

command to

come,

then we

receive

life.

Isn't that

the message

of verse

14?

Clean up,

get washed

up,

so that you

can have

the right

to the

tree of

life.

Also,

the end

of verse

17,

take the

free gift

of the

water of

life.

life.

You see,

Jesus is

not just

the creator

of physical

life,

he is the

source of

true,

lasting,

and abundant

life.

You see,

to have

life from

Jesus means

that whatever

circumstances we

are in right

now,

whether we're

rich or

poor,

whether we

think ourselves

as being

healthy or

unhealthy,

healthy,

whether we're

sad or

happy,

worried or

no concerns,

whatever our

situation,

Jesus will

always be

enough for

you.

He will

satisfy you

and fill

you.

His words,

the words of

revelation,

will give

you all

that you

need every

single day,

moment by

moment,

as you

live your

Christian

life.

remember

Jesus'

invitation

to the

broken and

forsaken

woman at

the well?

He was

speaking about

himself when

he said

this,

whoever drinks

the water

I give

them will

never thirst.

Indeed,

the water

I give

them will

become in

them a

spring of

water,

welling up

to eternal

life.

people

around us

are thirsty

and they're

trying to

quench that

thirst with

things that

will never

satisfy.

And we've

been sent

with an

invitation to

say come

and receive

life,

life from

Jesus.

So keep

the words

of Jesus,

obey the

words of

Jesus.

And third,

heed the

words.

We have

hope by

heeding the

words of

Jesus.

Look at

verse 18.

I warn

everyone who

hears the

words of the

prophecy of

this scroll.

A warning

to everyone

who's read

Revelation.

we need

to heed

these words

of Jesus.

And we do

that in

two ways.

First,

come on

flicker,

don't add

verse 18.

He says,

I warn

everyone who

hears the

words of

the prophecy

of this

scroll,

if anyone

adds

anything

to them.

Don't

add.

The word

of Jesus

is full

and final.

What he's

given to

us in

the book

of Revelation

is enough.

We don't

need to

add anything

extra to

it.

That means

we need to

be very

careful of

well-meaning

folk who

say things

like,

God

told me,

God

revealed to

me,

God

told me

to tell

you.

We need

to be

especially

careful of

people who

claim to

have

knowledge

about the

end times

and how

it's all

going to

figure out.

No,

we don't

need to

add to

it.

Jesus

has

spoken

and he

has his

words written

down for

us.

He

didn't

forget to

put

something

in and

he now

needs you

or I

to finish

it off.

Jesus

isn't

going,

oh my

goodness,

Revelation

23,

I forgot.

Would you

please finish

23 for

me?

No,

don't add

anything to

it.

And this

is serious,

look at

verse 18.

If anyone

adds anything

to them,

God will

add to

that person

the plagues

described in

this scroll.

Well,

the plagues

were those

of judgment.

So mess

with God's

word,

add to

God's

word,

and you

will face

judgment.

The other

way in which

we heed

God's word

is the

opposite.

Don't

subtract

verse 19.

and if

anyone

takes

words

away

from

this

scroll

of

prophecy.

You see,

the word

of Jesus

is sufficient

and complete.

What he's

given to us

in Revelation

is just

what we

need to

hear.

We're not

to leave

any of

the bits

out.

Again,

that means

we need

to be

careful of

well-meaning

folk who

say things

like,

well,

you know

what we

read in

Revelation?

Revelation,

that only

applied to

people in

the first

century.

Things are

very different

now.

We've kind

of moved

on.

And if

people are

going to

accept Jesus,

you're talking

about the

invitation to

life.

Well,

we've got

to subtract.

We've got

to take

some of

the things

out.

I mean,

it's pretty

dark,

isn't it,

some of

Revelation?

The rider

coming on

the horse

with his

sword.

I mean,

let's leave

those judgment

bits out.

They're a bit

uncomfortable.

And the

talk of

the beast

rising up

from the

sea.

All that

stuff of

Satan,

people don't

want to

hear that.

Let's just

talk about

the new

creation.

No,

don't

subtract

from it.

What Jesus

has spoken,

we need

to hear.

We need

to hear

all of

Revelation.

Revelation.

And it's

serious,

verse 19.

Look at

the end

of verse

19,

if we

subtract,

God will

take away

from that

person any

share in

the tree

of life

and in

the holy

city which

are described

in this

scroll.

Mess

with God's

word

and we

will not

enter the

city.

God's

love.

You see,

Jesus doesn't

need an

editor,

does he?

He doesn't

give us a

pen or an

eraser and

say, I want

you to go

through Revelation

or indeed all

of Scripture

and rub out

the bits that

you don't

like and

write in the

bits that

you want

to add.

God's

love.

God's

love.

He doesn't

need us to

proofread

Revelation.

He's made

no mistake

in giving us

his word.

What he

requires of

us is

humility,

humbleness

before his

word,

to keep

his word,

obey his

word,

and to

heed his

word.

that means

we need

to be

people who

have our

Bibles open

because if

we don't

have our

Bibles open,

we're adding

to it with

our own

way of

thinking and

we're subtracting

by keeping

it shut.

Now, if we

heed the

words of

Jesus,

there is

hope.

Not the

kind of

hope we

think of

like, I

hope to

get a

brand new

car this

Christmas.

Now, hope

in the

Bible is

complete

assurance

and total

confidence

that God

will always

deliver on

his promise.

And the

hope we

have is

both future

and present.

Look at

our future

hope,

verse 20.

He who

testifies,

Jesus who

testifies to

all these

things,

says,

yes,

I am

coming soon.

He'd

the

words of

Jesus

and we

have the

promise of

his word

that Jesus

is coming

again.

And when

he comes

again,

he's going

to bring

all things

to their

completion.

Where we

will live

in the

new creation

forever and

ever.

A world

full of

justice and

life.

No more

evil or

suffering.

Everything

made

wonderfully

new.

This is

our

guaranteed

future

hope.

But we

also have

a present

hope.

A hope

for today.

Look at

verse 21.

The

grace of

the Lord

Jesus

be with

God's

people.

Amen.

By

heeding the

words of

Jesus,

we have

the promise

of his

grace to

help us

and keep

us as

we wait

for the

coming of

Jesus.

You see,

it's all

by grace.

The fact

that we

have life

in Christ

today is

because he

came to

us and

he saved

us.

It's the

grace of

Jesus that's

going to

keep us

in times

of suffering

and opposition.

It's the

grace of

Jesus that

will sustain

us when

we want to

give up.

It's

grace all

the way

through.

As we

often sing

through many

dangers,

toils and

snares,

I have

already

come.

Tis grace

that brought

me safe

thus far

and grace

will lead

me home.

It's all

of grace

we have

a glorious

hope.

hope.

So

Christmas

will remind

us this

week and

this season

that Jesus

came once.

Tonight

we'll sing

carols,

we'll celebrate

the coming

of Christ,

the life

he comes

to bring.

But his

first coming

reminds us

of his

second coming.

are you

ready?

Are you

prepared?

Well the

way to

prepare is

to listen

to the

words of

Jesus,

verse 6,

the words

that are

trustworthy

and true.

So let's

together,

as we

start into

a new

year not

too far

away,

let's

live by

these words

as we

wait for

the soon

return of

Jesus.

Let's

together

keep his

word,

obey his

word and

heed his

word.

And if

we do,

our lives

will be the

better for

it for we

will be

blessed,

we will

experience

life in

all its

fullness and

we will

have hope

for today

and for

eternity

to come.

Let's

pray.

Lord God,

we thank

you so

much that

you gave

these

revelations,

these

visions to

John,

that he

wrote them

down so

that we

have access

to your

word today

speaking to

us today.

Thank you

for your

word.

Thank you

for its

trustworthiness.

Thank you

for its

truth.

And we

pray for the

help of your

Holy Spirit

that we

would be

keepers,

obeyers,

and

headers

of all

your

word.

And that

you would

work in

us a

life of

blessing,

a life

filled with

hope,

and life

forevermore.

Help us

then together,

we pray,

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Well,

we're going

to sing

a song

that's

really

reflective

of our

theme

this

morning.

Speak,

O Lord,

as we

come to

you to

receive

the

food

of

your

Holy

Word.

May

this be

our

prayer,

our

encouragement

to one

another.

prayer.