Revelation
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 28th September 2014
Passage: Revelation 12:1-17
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 I don't know if you've ever owned or had one of those 3D magic eye books.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 Tim's going to throw a picture up for me.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 I don't know if you remember when these first came out.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 Some of you won't because you were probably born afterwards.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 But I remember when these first came out and you get given the book
00:00:16 --> 00:00:21 and there was just this peer pressure to act like you could see the picture.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 And so everyone's passing around the book at school and you're looking at it going,
00:00:25 --> 00:00:26 yeah, I can see the boat.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:28 That's it over here, right?
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 Yeah, I mean in the middle.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:30 That's where it is.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:31 That's the boat, right?
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 And you're looking at it and everyone's going, it's simple.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:35 Just look.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:35 Look again.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 Just fuzzy your eyes.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 And I'm like, how do you fuzzy your eyes?
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 What kind of an instruction is that?
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 And so some people are just glancing at it going, yeah, it's no worries.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 But when you first look at it, it's just this mess.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 It's like, that's not anything, surely.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:53 It's just a mess and they're making it up to make me look stupid.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:54 You're waiting for one day.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 Everyone's going to turn around and go, there's no pictures.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 We know that you were pretending when you said you could saw the boat.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 It looks like a mess.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:07 And to see what's in there, you have to actually train your eyes to look past that first bit.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:13 To go beyond your first glance, you need to look properly and see what is really there.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:21 Now, this book of Revelation that we've been studying to the first century church, this letter, it's a pastoral one.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 The bishop reminded us last week.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 It's encouraging in many ways.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:25 It's challenging in many ways.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 But more than anything else, it's enlightening.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:38 Because this book of Revelation, what it does is it trains the hearts and eyes of Christians so that they have right perspective.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:48 It gives them the ability to see beyond their circumstance, to not be overwhelmed by what's happening today or next week or next month, and to see into eternity.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:56 This book is designed to enable them to understand more fully the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:03 And tonight, we drop into chapter 12 of Revelation, which is almost like a snapshot of the whole book wrapped up in one chapter.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 Chapters 12, 13 and 14 kind of sit together.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:12 And they are really a summary of what Revelation is about without all the detail that comes in other bit.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:22 And even though this snapshot that we get is a little bit creative and maybe a little bit confusing, it is a snapshot of history and eternity.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:30 And it's showing us that things are not how they seem, that things are not how they look at first glance.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:38 The pain and the struggle that the churches were facing, the pain and the struggle and the suffering that we face as Christians now is real and even normal.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 But it's not the whole picture.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 When we follow Jesus.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:51 And so to give John this perspective, to give us this perspective, God gives John another vision.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 Have a look with me at verse 1 and 2.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:03 A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and the crown of 12 stars on her head.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:07 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 So first up, we've got this woman wearing the sun.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:14 This woman is representative of Israel, of God's people.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 That's what the 12 stars is about.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 It's pointing us back to the 12 tribes in the Old Testament.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 And she's in pain and she's about to give birth.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 And there's this sense of expectation that something is going to come out of Israel.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 Something is going to come out of God's people.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30 The next bit, verse 3.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:56 So John sees this dragon, this enormous red dragon with horns and crowns and heads.
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 And verse 9 tells us that this dragon is Satan.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 This is the devil.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:08 His horns and his crowns tell us that Satan wants the power and the influence and the authority of God.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:08 That's his desire.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:17 And we know in this vision that Satan is sitting, waiting, wanting to devour the child that will come out of God's people.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 Wanting to devour whatever it is that God's people will produce.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 And we see what that is in verse 5.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:29 She, the woman, gave birth to a son, a male child who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:41 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God where she might be taken care of for 1 days.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 So a child is born.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 He's male.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:46 He will rule.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:52 And we know that he won't just be any male child who will rule.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 This will be the saviour.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:59 The fact that he will rule the nations with an iron scepter, that points us back to a special kind of king.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 That Israel is waiting for a king in the line of David.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 This baby, this child is Jesus.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:12 And we're told in the vision that he is snatched up to God before Satan can devour him.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:17 He is placed on his throne and the woman flees off into the desert to be taken care of by God.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 And then the last bit of this vision in verse 7.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:43 So Satan pursues the child.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 He's waiting there to devour him.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:49 But he misses his opportunity because Jesus is snatched up to heaven and onto the throne.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:54 And instead he is cast out by the angels and hurled down to the earth.
00:05:56 --> 00:05:56 Okay, deep breath.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 Seems simple enough, right?
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 So we've got God's people.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:01 Jesus is being born.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 Satan is against them.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 Satan misses his opportunity.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 Jesus goes onto his throne.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 Satan gets hurled down.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:08 You with me so far?
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 I know there's a bit of weirdness.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:17 So we've got to understand when we read things like this in God's word that this is a prophetic vision.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 Which means it's not precise.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:26 We can't necessarily connect every bit of this vision to specific details in history.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:31 Even though it's obviously talking about some real things that did actually happen in history.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:36 There's kind of links and connections we can make in this vision.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:40 But we need to be careful how hard or how closely we do that.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 I mean, you've got a woman and a dragon or a serpent clashing.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 Which points us back to the Garden of Eden when you had a woman tempted by a serpent.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 And listen to these words when God pronounces judgment on the serpent back in Genesis 3.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:54 He says,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:59 I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 He will crush your head and you will strike his heel.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 It's pointing us maybe to something that we are already warned about.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:15 The woman being taken off into the desert to be protected for the 1 days reminds us of God rescuing his people out of Egypt.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 Taking them out into the desert.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:22 The book of Exodus talks about them being carried on eagle's wings just like the woman is.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:31 And then at the same time, this vision could almost connect to the situation of the early church when they were reading this book.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:37 The dragon is the emperor Domitian who is persecuting the Christians fiercely.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 He's killing them left, right and centre.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 And they are at his whim, it seems.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:48 So there's things that we can connect through history that kind of are part of this vision.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:54 But the focus is really in a tiny little bit of detail that comes in the middle of it.
00:07:55 --> 00:08:02 The focus of this encounter between Jesus and the woman and the dragon is Jesus' life itself.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 That's the bit we need to hone in on.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:10 His temptation in the wilderness, his death at the hands of the Roman authorities.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:15 In this passage, Jesus' life is summarised in 21 words.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 Basically, he's born and then he goes to heaven and sits on the throne.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:28 Those words are shorthand for the most significant event in human and created history ever.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:33 See, what this vision is telling us is that Jesus' life itself,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:37 his life growing up, his obedience to his father,
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 his life, his death and resurrection,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:44 Jesus' life was the battle between Satan and Jesus.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 It's not something in the future.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:51 It's not something that happens out there in the heavens and we can't see it.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 The battle took place on earth when Jesus came.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:58 His death and his resurrection were the means by which Satan gets beaten.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 And we see that because Satan gets hurled down.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 Even as the angels are the ones kicking him out of heaven,
00:09:04 --> 00:09:08 it's actually the blood of the lamb that overcame Satan.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 It's Jesus' life, Jesus' death and Jesus' resurrection
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 that actually win the battle against Satan.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:19 This great and wondrous sign that John gets shown is Jesus.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 In all its weirdness and wonderfulness,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 this chapter is a gospel chapter.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:30 God is opening John's eyes to look at Jesus and Jesus' victory.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:38 God is showing John that Jesus is sitting on his throne now.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:45 And at the same time, Satan is wallowing in defeat now.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:50 And it gets really clear for us because God gives us a clear interpretation
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 with a voice from heaven in verse 10.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
00:09:56 --> 00:10:00 Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
00:10:00 --> 00:10:04 and the authority of his Christ for the accuser of our brothers
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 They overcame him by the blood of the lamb
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 and by the word of their testimony.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:17 They did not love their lives so much as to shrink back from death.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:22 Now salvation has come.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 This vision is pointing to an event that happened a few decades
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 before the early church would have heard about in this letter.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 This letter is pointing to an event that happened thousands of years
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 before we opened it up tonight.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 This is a past tense verse.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:45 It says salvation is here now.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 The kingdom is here now.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Jesus sits on the throne reigning in authority now.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 Satan's been defeated.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 The death and resurrection of Jesus have won the battle.
00:10:58 --> 00:10:58 Satan has lost.
00:10:59 --> 00:10:59 Forgiveness is available.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:05 And yet, is that how it looked and felt for the early church reading this book?
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 I mean, we know that the churches were being persecuted.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 When we read the letters in the first chapters,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 we know they were facing opposition.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 They were suffering.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:19 We know that people are dying daily for calling Jesus their Lord
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 and for refusing to bow to the pressure of the Roman emperor.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:28 Does it feel like salvation has come in your life?
00:11:30 --> 00:11:34 Does it feel like Jesus sits on his throne in your situation?
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 I mean, the tension is hinted at in verse 11.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 Did you catch it?
00:11:43 --> 00:11:47 They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:52 They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 Satan was overcome, but they still died.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 The victory was won, but they still died.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:06 Even with the victory of Jesus, even having been washed in the blood of the lamb,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 even being forgiven, they still died.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 Many of them violently.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 And yet, we get this verse.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 We get this voice from heaven that says,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:22 they were victorious in their deaths.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 The kingdom of God,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 the salvation that is talked about in this verse,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 is not what we sometimes think it should be.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 It's better.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:43 A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to go on holidays,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 just for a few days, to visit my sister in Dubbo.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:50 It was a trip with a particular milestone that made me a very proud dad.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:55 We mapped out when you've got to do five hours driving with a two and a half year old.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 You really have to pick when you're going to stop,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 how you're going to do it, when he's going to sleep,
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 what's an appropriate amount of drugs to put it.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 No, I'm just joking.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:07 Just how are you going to get from A to B without losing your mind and smacking your child inappropriately.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 And this, for us, involved McDonald's,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:15 because McDonald's has good food for me, it has good play equipment for him.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 And the milestone was that our first pit stop,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 my son came out with the word Maccas.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 And basically, that is all he says when we're driving in the car now.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 He's just looking for the next Maccas that he can stop at.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:32 And I'm very proud because those of you who know me will know that McDonald's is a passion of mine.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:39 But the funny thing is, we went to McDonald's multiple times and he didn't eat food once.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 He's not interested.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 I tried to give him hash brown.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 He's like, no, just give me my mushy Wheat Bix or whatever.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 And so he thinks Maccas is just about Playland.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 And look, Playland is great.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:53 But because he has this limited understanding,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:57 he doesn't realise the goodness that he's on offer behind the counter at McDonald's,
00:13:57 --> 00:14:01 he's sold himself short and settled for less.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:11 And look, we have this limited understanding when it comes to the glorious future that God is preparing for us.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:16 And we need to be careful that when we dream about the kingdom of God,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 when we hope for our future,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:23 when we imagine what he will do and what good he will bring in our life,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:30 that we don't pull the kingdom back in and make it small and less impressive than it actually is.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 The kingdom of God is victorious.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:42 But we mustn't let our understanding of what that looks like be limited by our own sinful imagination.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:49 This verse, verse 10, that salvation has come, that the kingdom has come,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:53 was true for those Christians suffering 2 years ago.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:59 And it's true for Christians around the world today facing persecution in Iraq and Syria.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 And it's true for Christians today in Chatswood.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:10 Facing temptation and depression and failing in their battle with sin.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:17 We are both citizens of heaven and residents of earth.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:21 Our names are immovably etched into the book of life.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 God is preparing a place for us in glory.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:31 And yet right now we live in a fallen and limited and pain-filled world.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 This is the reality of the kingdom now.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 It's there in verse 12.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:46 Therefore, because salvation has come, because the kingdom has come,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 because Christ sits on the throne,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:53 therefore rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 That's us.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 But woe to the earth and the sea,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 because the devil has gone down to you.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 Woe to you who live on the earth.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 That's us.
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth,
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:26 where she would be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time,
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 out of the serpent's reach.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:33 The woman is rescued, but there is an ominous warning in verse 17.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring,
00:16:40 --> 00:16:45 those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 That's us.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:52 Because we live in both heaven and earth,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 because we are citizens of heaven,
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 because we are guaranteed our place,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 because we belong to that kingdom that is not of this world,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 we experience both the joy that is declared for heaven
00:17:03 --> 00:17:07 and the woe that is declared for earth.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:12 Sadness and depression are not alternatives to joy in the Christian life.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 We will experience both.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 I mean, did you catch it there?
00:17:19 --> 00:17:24 In verse 17, we are at war in our day-to-day life.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 Satan is our enemy.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 He is a wounded enemy,
00:17:29 --> 00:17:34 but he will do anything to share the pain that he experiences with us.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 There was a football game yesterday.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 I've been very restrained.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 We're 15 minutes in and I haven't mentioned it yet.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 There was a football game yesterday
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 and there are some notable absences from church tonight.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 But there was a football game yesterday
00:17:48 --> 00:17:52 between the Sydney Swans and the Hawthorne Hawks.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 You all know that I support a couple of teams
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 and whoever's playing the Swans.
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 Now, I could have gotten up to gloat tonight.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 I could have intentionally, you know,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 modelled my wardrobe on brown and gold.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 Would have been tough.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:09 But I could have intentionally dressed that way.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:13 And you can imagine the pain that that would have caused for certain people.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:17 Like I said, the Smiths particularly may have had to take a week off to recover afterwards
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 because of the damage to the relationship.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 Waving that pain back in their face
00:18:22 --> 00:18:26 would have been just exacerbating what they were already feeling.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 And what we need to understand is that
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 Satan is a defeated enemy.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:34 And every time he sees somebody who bears the name of Jesus,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:39 it's like we wave the jersey in front of his face to remind him that he lost.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:45 He is antagonised by people who love Jesus in their day-to-day life.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:49 He is enraged every time you make a decision to treasure Jesus
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 above the things in the world.
00:18:51 --> 00:19:01 He desperately wants to cover up that light of salvation that dwells in us.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:06 He wants to damage our lives with pain and sin and temptation,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 so much so that our love for Jesus will be diluted
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 or maybe even extinguished.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 The war with Satan will not go forever.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:20 Satan is defeated and the times, time and half a time,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 the 1260 days, that's three and a half,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 which in Revelation speak means a limited time.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 Satan has not been sent down here with just open slather.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 He knows that his time is short.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 But until Jesus returns, we are at war.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 And war is not easy.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:46 If nothing else, reading this should make us ready
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 for what we will face in life.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 If you're a follower of Jesus,
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 you must expect that life will throw things at you
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 that make it hard to treasure Jesus,
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 that make it hard to put him first.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:03 One of our core values as a church is humble authenticity.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 It's about being real and being honest with each other.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 It's about not putting on pretense.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 This passage has just reminded us,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 maybe told us,
00:20:12 --> 00:20:16 that every one of us who loves Jesus is at war with Satan.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 It's told us that Satan is powerful and clever
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 and so we should assume that at any given point,
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 some of us in this room will not be feeling
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 all clappy and cheerful about following Jesus.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 We should assume that in this room,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 sometimes all of us will not be particularly excited
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 about following Jesus
00:20:35 --> 00:20:39 because Satan is pressing on pressure points in our lives.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:43 We might be struggling with doubt,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 maybe even anger towards God,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 maybe a sense of failure
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 as we continue to fall into sin.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 Humble authenticity is being honest
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 about the fact that that's how we're feeling.
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 It means we don't have to turn up to church
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 and put on a show and say everything's great
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 and yeah, I had a fantastic quiet time this week.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 It's okay to say I really struggled
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 to open my Bible this week
00:21:08 --> 00:21:12 because the reality is
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 that will be all of us at some point
00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 and all we do when we put on a show
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 and say everything's fine
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 is we project that expectation
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 and that pressure onto other people
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 and suddenly this isn't a safe place
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 to just be how I'm going anymore.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 It's the place where everything
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 has to be fine all the time.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 I've got to be honest with you,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 for me personally,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 I'm feeling weary as a Christian.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 I'm finding it difficult
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 to open the Bible
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 and be refreshed at the moment.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 I'm trying,
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 sometimes more than others,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 but I'm feeling weary.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 My Sundays are fairly epic.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 I get to three,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 three and a half services
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 and I have to pray sometimes
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 to ask God,
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 don't make me switch off in this.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 Don't let me be cynical in this
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 because when I'm tired,
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 that's where I go.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 When I'm tired,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 I start looking down at other people.
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 I start judging other people.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 I start thinking
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 they're not really as holy
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 as they're pretending to be right now.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 Now,
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 Satan is powerful
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 and he's clever
00:22:23 --> 00:22:26 and he will press your life
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 in whatever way he knows
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 you are vulnerable.
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 It might not be pride.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 It's right for us
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 to recognise
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 that Satan is behind
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 the persecution
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 that our brothers
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 and sisters face
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 in Iraq and Syria
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 when there is a gun
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 pointed at them
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 saying follow Jesus
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 or give up on Jesus
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 or die.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 But we need to also recognise
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 that Satan has more weapons
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 than just guns.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 Satan's goal
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 isn't to kill you.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 It's to make you
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 stop loving Jesus.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 It's to make you doubt
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 that God loves you
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 and he doesn't necessarily
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 need a gun to do it.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 He can drag you down
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 with temptation
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 by maybe giving you
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 the opportunity
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 to get something
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 that you really desire
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 that you know God
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 doesn't want for you.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 He can distract you
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 from treasuring Jesus
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 with the lure of comfort
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 by giving you something
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 that's not bad in itself
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 but that will be
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 a distraction.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 He might attack you
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 with envy.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 He might give things
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 that you want
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 to the people around you
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 just so that you start
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 wondering whether or not
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 God loves you.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 God loves you.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 God loves you.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 God loves you.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 God loves you.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 God loves you.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 God loves you.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 God loves you.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 This is why
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 knowing our hope
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 is so important.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 This is why
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 perspective matters.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 This is why
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 we need to train
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 our eyes
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 to not just see
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 what's right in front
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 of us today
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 and tomorrow
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 and next week
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 and next year
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 and for the next 50 years.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 God's kingdom
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 is not
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 about
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 this life.
00:23:57 --> 00:24:00 and if you think
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 it is
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 if your hope
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 is for a good life
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 as a Christian
00:24:04 --> 00:24:07 then you'll probably
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 be disappointed.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 If your hope
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 in dark times
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 is that
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 it's going to get
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 better soon
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 and by soon
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 you mean in a week
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 or a month
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 or a year
00:24:17 --> 00:24:21 that's not the hope
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 of the kingdom of God.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 It's an understandable hope
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 it's not a wrong
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 thing to desire
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 but it's not the hope
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 of the kingdom of God.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 It's not the hope
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 of scripture
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 it's not the victory
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 that is won
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 in Jesus' death
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 and resurrection.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 For many of the Christians
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 reading this letter
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 in the first century
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 reading about
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 the victory of Christ
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 they would either
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 lose loved ones
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 or die themselves
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 under persecution.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 For many of them
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 life didn't get better.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:53 They suffered every day
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 until their life
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 was taken from them.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 But ultimately
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 it did get better
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 because for them
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 death was not the end
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 it was the transition
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 into the better place
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 that God had prepared
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 for them.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 It was the transition
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 into the fuller
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 version of God's kingdom
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 free from Satan's
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 opposition.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 If our hope
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 in this life
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 if our hope
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 as Christians
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 is just about
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 being a bit more
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 comfortable
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 a bit less sick
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 a bit less poor
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 then we make
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 Satan's job
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 really easy.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:30 God never
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 promises
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 comfort
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 never.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 It is nowhere
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 in scripture
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 he never promises
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 comfort in this life
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 and yet somehow
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 it just has
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 crept in
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 and become part
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 of our subconscious
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 expectation
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 of what it means
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 to follow Jesus.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 we're happy
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 to concede
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 we will suffer
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 as Christians
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 but what we mean
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 by that is
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 most of our life
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 will be okay
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 and there'll be
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 the odd struggle
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 to teach me
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 something.
00:25:57 --> 00:26:01 and so when
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 that struggle
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 stretches out
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 for a year
00:26:03 --> 00:26:06 or for five
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 years
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 or for 50
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 years
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 we don't know
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 what to do
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 with it
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 because we
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 have convinced
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 ourselves
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 that the kingdom
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 of God
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 is about
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 having a happy
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 retirement.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:21 last week
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 we prayed
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 for our
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 sister Janine
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 and her
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 family
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 as she
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 began a round
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 of intensive
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 cancer treatment
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 and we
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 continue to
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 pray for her
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 and we
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 cry out
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 that God
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 would intervene
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 and that he
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 would heal
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 her
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 and that he
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 would restore
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 her
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 but what
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 we have
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 to grasp
00:26:39 --> 00:26:42 is that
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 even if
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 she dies
00:26:43 --> 00:26:46 even if
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 God calls
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 her home
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 because she
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 knows Jesus
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 she still
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 wins.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 That's the
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 hope of the
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 kingdom.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 The victory
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 of God
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 might not
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 look like
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 victory to
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 us
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 but that
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 just means
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 we need
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 victory
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 redefined.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:07 We are
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 so focused
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 on the
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 here and
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 now
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 and God
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 has a
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 bigger vision
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 for us.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 He has a
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 bigger hope
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 than just
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 your 60,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 70,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 80,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 90 or
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 100 years
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 on this
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 earth.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 The hope
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 that he
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 has for
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 you is
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 eternal.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 The 3D
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 images that
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 I was talking
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 about before
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 are blurry
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 at best.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 Even when
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 you train
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 your eyes
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 to see
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 whatever
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 sailboat
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 is supposed
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 to be in
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 the picture
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 it's still
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 hidden in
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 a mess
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 of colour
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 or pattern
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 and it's
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 blurry
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 at best.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:38 Now that
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 you've
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 trained
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 your eyes
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 there's
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 just a
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 picture
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 in that
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 blurriness.
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 There's
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 a little
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 bit of
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 clarity
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 but there's
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 still
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 mess.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 The
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 kingdom
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 of God
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 is real
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 and has
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 begun
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 but in
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 this life
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 we see
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 it through
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 a mess.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 We see
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 it amidst
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 suffering
00:28:01 --> 00:28:04 being followers
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 of Jesus
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 and being
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 forgiven
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 being part
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 of God's
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 kingdom
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 now brings
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 clarity
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 and hope
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 in the
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 mess
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 but it
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 doesn't
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 remove
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 the mess
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 altogether.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 It will
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 when Jesus
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 comes back
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 but right
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 now the
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 hope of the
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 kingdom is
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 not the
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 removal of
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 mess but
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 it's
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 clarity
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 in the
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 mess.
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 victory.
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 The
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 centerpiece
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 of God's
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 victory
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 the
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 centerpiece
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 of God's
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 saving
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 work in
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 history
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 is the
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 cross.
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 It's the
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 humiliation
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 and mockery
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 of Jesus
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 as he is
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 murdered as
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 an innocent
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 man and
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 through that
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 event he
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 is crowned
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 the Lord
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 of all.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 Victory in
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 the kingdom
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 of God is
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 very different
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 to the way
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 the world
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 around us
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 defines
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 victory.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 What God
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 has for us
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 is good
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 and is
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 better but
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 we must
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 understand that
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 to a lot of
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 people it
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 won't look
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 good and
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 it won't
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 look better.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 It will
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 involve pain
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 and suffering
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 and possibly
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 even death.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 We need to
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 take this
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 idea of
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 comfort in
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 the Christian
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 life and
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 throw it
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 away.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 We need
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 to get
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 rid of it
00:29:16 --> 00:29:19 because it
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 is damaging
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 our ability
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 to see
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 our eternal
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 hope.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 Because we're
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 so focused
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 on what's
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 here we're
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 missing what
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 is further
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 out.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 We're missing
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 what is more
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 exciting.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 We're missing
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 what is hiding
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 in the mess.
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 So long as
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 we allow
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 comfort to
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 shape our
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 hope then
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 we'll be
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 setting ourselves
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 up for
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 pain.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 Because God
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 just doesn't
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 promise you
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 comfort in
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 this life.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 He does
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 promise comfort
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 beyond your
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 wildest imagination
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 but he promises
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 it when he
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 returns.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 And if you
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 are expecting
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 him to
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 give you
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 comfort now
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 you will
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 be disappointed.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 Now don't
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 mishear me.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 There's nothing
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 wrong with
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 comfort in
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 itself.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 There's nothing
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 wrong with the
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 fact that you
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 live in a
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 house and that
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 you can feed
00:30:08 --> 00:30:08 yourself and
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 those sort of
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 things but you
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 must understand
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 it's less than
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 what God wants
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 for you.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 So if that is
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 your ambition
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 if that is your
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 hope in dark
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 times that you
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 can get back to
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 that sort of
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 life it's not
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 the kingdom.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 And it's a
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 distraction from
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 what God is
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 doing.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 The Christian
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 life now, the
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 kingdom of God
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 now is both
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 joy and woe.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 It's not one or
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 the other.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 We're at war with
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 Satan and yet
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 Christ is on the
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 throne.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 It's done, he's
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 won the victory,
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 eternity is sure
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 and we have heaven
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 to look forward to.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:47 But the key to
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 having joy and
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 woe rather than
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 just woe is
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 perspective.
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 The key is
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 training our eyes
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 to look past the
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 fuzziness of our
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 situation and our
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 circumstance and to
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 see what is
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 eternally true.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 To see more than
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06 what first appears.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 The whole book of
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 Revelation is about
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 perspective.
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 We talked about
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 this when we're
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 looking at
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 Revelation 1.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 It's like God
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 tears the curtains
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 of time back so
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 that John can see
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 into eternity.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 He can see that
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 God is still winning,
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 that he is still
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 in control and
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 this book is
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 designed to lift
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 struggling Christians,
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 those struggling
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 with opposition and
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 those struggling
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 with apathy and
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 laziness, to lift
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 struggling Christians
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 above their
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 circumstance so
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 that they can see
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 a glorious and
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 better hope.
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 So that they can
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 see the victory
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 of the cross
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 already achieved
00:31:44 --> 00:31:46 and so that they
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 can begin to run
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 with excitement
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 to the future
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 heaven that awaits
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 them.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 It will still hurt
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 to follow Jesus.
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 There will still be
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 sorrow but when
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 our eyes are fixed
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 on heaven,
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 fixed on eternity,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 we can endure any
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 suffering with joy.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 It doesn't mean we
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 won't cry, it
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 doesn't mean it
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 won't be painful
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13 but in our pain,
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 in our woe,
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 there will be joy.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 I read a devotional
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 book called Taste
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 and See a couple
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 of years ago,
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 it's just a daily
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 little bit and one
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 thing that stuck with
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27 me and has really
00:32:27 --> 00:32:29 haunted me ever
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 since was the story
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 of a family of
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 missionaries.
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 I can't remember
00:32:33 --> 00:32:33 exactly what
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 country they're
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 from and that
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 family was basically
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 rounded up and
00:32:38 --> 00:32:40 forced to dig their
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 own grave before
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 they were going to
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 be executed for
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 doing Christian
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 ministry in this
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 country.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 It was a father
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 and a mother and
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 three children.
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 So they dug their
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 own grave with the
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 soldiers standing
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 around, guns ready.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 Just before they're
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 about to be killed,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 the dad asked if
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 they could kneel and
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 pray first before
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03 they were shot and
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05 the soldiers allowed
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 them to kneel down
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 and pray and as
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 they began to pray,
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 the eldest son ran.
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 He jumped up and
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 just bolted off into
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 the bush and the
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 soldiers got very
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 aggressive and were
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 ready to go after
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 him and the dad
00:33:16 --> 00:33:18 asked them not to
00:33:18 --> 00:33:18 chase the son.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 He said,
00:33:19 --> 00:33:21 please allow me to
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 call him back.
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 And the dad said
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 to his son,
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 please come back.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 It is better for
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 us to enter,
00:33:30 --> 00:33:32 eternity together
00:33:32 --> 00:33:34 today than for
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 you to live with
00:33:35 --> 00:33:37 a regret of
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 fleeing from
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 faithfulness.
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 The question I
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 find myself asking
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 when I hear a
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 story like that is
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 how did he do
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 that?
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 If I was in the
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 situation with my
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 son, would I call
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 him back or would I
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 cheer and try and
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 slow down the
00:33:54 --> 00:33:54 soldiers so that he
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 could get away?
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 How did he do
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 that?
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 And the answer is
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 perspective.
00:34:04 --> 00:34:06 The answer is he
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 had trained his
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 eyes and his heart
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 to see more than
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 what was in front of
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 him.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 He wasn't consumed
00:34:13 --> 00:34:15 by the soldiers and
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 the guns and the
00:34:16 --> 00:34:18 grave and the death
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 that he knew was
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 coming.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 He had trained his
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 eyes and his heart to
00:34:22 --> 00:34:24 see the cross first
00:34:24 --> 00:34:26 and the victory
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 that was won on the
00:34:27 --> 00:34:30 cross and the
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 sure hope he had
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 for heaven.
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 And so even in the
00:34:35 --> 00:34:38 pain of anticipating
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 the death of his
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 children and his
00:34:40 --> 00:34:42 wife, there was the
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 joy of knowing that
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 soon they would all
00:34:44 --> 00:34:46 enjoy perfect eternity
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 with God.
00:34:47 --> 00:34:50 the key to not
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 loving our lives
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 too much, to not
00:34:52 --> 00:34:54 loving the things in
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 our lives too much,
00:34:55 --> 00:34:57 is training our
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 eyes on the two
00:34:58 --> 00:35:00 key moments in
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 eternity.
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 The two key moments
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 that stand either side
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 of us.
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 The first is the
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 victory of the cross,
00:35:06 --> 00:35:08 the complete and
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 irreversible victory of
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 the cross which
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 enables you to be
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 forgiven and loved
00:35:12 --> 00:35:14 and adopted and
00:35:14 --> 00:35:16 which enabled Jesus
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 to ascend to his
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 throne where he
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 reigns forever.
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 And that first
00:35:21 --> 00:35:23 point points toward
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 and guarantees the
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 second point.
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 We live here in the
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 middle.
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 You've got the cross
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 and the second point
00:35:28 --> 00:35:30 is Jesus coming back.
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 It's the guarantee
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 that the king on the
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 throne will come and
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 gather up his
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 subjects.
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 He will bring the
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 comfort and the
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 joy and the
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 satisfaction.
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 He will remove the
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 pain and the
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 suffering and the
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 sickness and the
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 death.
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 He will fill us with
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 pleasure beyond our
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 wildest imagination
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 as we spend
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49 eternity in the
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 presence of the
00:35:50 --> 00:35:52 good and loving
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 and gracious
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 God.
00:35:58 --> 00:36:01 The key is to
00:36:01 --> 00:36:03 train your eyes to
00:36:03 --> 00:36:05 see past today,
00:36:05 --> 00:36:07 to see past this
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 week, this year,
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 to see the cross
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 and heaven.
00:36:12 --> 00:36:15 those two things
00:36:15 --> 00:36:17 bring joy into the
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 war that is raging.
00:36:19 --> 00:36:21 John saw a great
00:36:21 --> 00:36:23 and wondrous sign in
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 heaven.
00:36:24 --> 00:36:26 He saw war and
00:36:26 --> 00:36:28 pain and suffering
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 in this life,
00:36:30 --> 00:36:32 but he saw his
00:36:32 --> 00:36:34 risen Savior Jesus
00:36:34 --> 00:36:36 on the throne and
00:36:36 --> 00:36:38 he saw hope for the
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 day when it would
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 all be made right.
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 As you look at the
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 mess in your own
00:36:44 --> 00:36:47 life now, as you
00:36:47 --> 00:36:47 look at the world
00:36:47 --> 00:36:50 around us, train
00:36:50 --> 00:36:53 your eyes to see
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 the hope and
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 victory of Jesus.
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 Train your heart to
00:36:58 --> 00:37:02 see Jesus because
00:37:02 --> 00:37:04 in him and in his
00:37:04 --> 00:37:06 kingdom there is joy
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 even in woe.
00:37:08 --> 00:37:10 There is peace even
00:37:10 --> 00:37:12 in uncertainty and
00:37:12 --> 00:37:14 there is hope even
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 in death.
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 Train your eyes,
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 train your heart
00:37:20 --> 00:37:23 and fix them on
00:37:23 --> 00:37:23 Jesus.
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 Let's pray.
00:37:27 --> 00:37:36 Father God, we
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 want to confess
00:37:37 --> 00:37:39 that we are so
00:37:39 --> 00:37:41 quick to desire
00:37:41 --> 00:37:42 and settle for
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 less than you have
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 designed for us.
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 We want to
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 acknowledge that we
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 get overwhelmed by
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 our situation and
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 our circumstance.
00:37:52 --> 00:37:52 Father, there are
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53 many of us in this
00:37:53 --> 00:37:54 room who right now
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 are dealing with
00:37:55 --> 00:37:57 pain and doubt
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 and frustration
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 when it comes to
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 our lives following
00:38:00 --> 00:38:00 you.
00:38:02 --> 00:38:05 God, please lift
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 our eyes, train
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 our eyes, train
00:38:07 --> 00:38:08 our hearts to
00:38:08 --> 00:38:09 focus on the
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 cross, to focus
00:38:10 --> 00:38:11 on the victory
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 that you won in
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 Jesus.
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 Open our eyes to
00:38:16 --> 00:38:18 see the hope that
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20 awaits us, to
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 look forward with
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 anticipation, to
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 not love our lives
00:38:23 --> 00:38:24 or things in our
00:38:24 --> 00:38:24 lives because we
00:38:24 --> 00:38:25 know that there
00:38:25 --> 00:38:25 is something
00:38:25 --> 00:38:26 better that you
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 have prepared for
00:38:27 --> 00:38:27 us.
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 Give us the joy
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31 and the peace and
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 the hope that you
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 promised that is
00:38:33 --> 00:38:35 bigger than any
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 circumstance in our
00:38:36 --> 00:38:36 life.
00:38:38 --> 00:38:39 Give us the
00:38:39 --> 00:38:40 humility and the
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 honesty to admit
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 when we're
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 struggling.
00:38:46 --> 00:38:46 Give us the
00:38:46 --> 00:38:47 love for one
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48 another to
00:38:48 --> 00:38:51 rejoice as we
00:38:51 --> 00:38:54 overcome, as we
00:38:54 --> 00:38:54 find joy.
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 Give us the love
00:38:57 --> 00:38:57 for one another
00:38:57 --> 00:38:58 that we might
00:38:58 --> 00:38:59 struggle together,
00:38:59 --> 00:39:02 that we might
00:39:02 --> 00:39:02 bear with one
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 another.
00:39:06 --> 00:39:07 Father God,
00:39:07 --> 00:39:09 please imprint
00:39:09 --> 00:39:11 Jesus on our
00:39:11 --> 00:39:13 hearts and minds
00:39:13 --> 00:39:15 so that we may
00:39:15 --> 00:39:17 love you more
00:39:17 --> 00:39:17 than anything
00:39:17 --> 00:39:20 else, so that
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 we may live
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21 wanting more
00:39:21 --> 00:39:22 than anything
00:39:22 --> 00:39:24 else to get
00:39:24 --> 00:39:25 to that future
00:39:25 --> 00:39:25 kingdom that
00:39:25 --> 00:39:26 awaits us.
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 And we pray,
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 please come
00:39:30 --> 00:39:31 soon.
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 Amen.
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 Amen.
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 Let's continue in
00:39:42 --> 00:39:42 prayer.
00:39:42 --> 00:39:47 Almighty God
00:39:47 --> 00:39:48 and merciful
00:39:48 --> 00:39:49 Father, we
00:39:49 --> 00:39:50 give you humble
00:39:50 --> 00:39:51 and heartfelt
00:39:51 --> 00:39:53 thanks for all
00:39:53 --> 00:39:54 your goodness and
00:39:54 --> 00:39:55 loving kindness to
00:39:55 --> 00:39:56 us and to all
00:39:56 --> 00:39:56 people.
00:39:57 --> 00:39:59 We bless you for
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 our creation and
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01 preservation and
00:40:01 --> 00:40:02 all the blessings of
00:40:02 --> 00:40:04 this life, but
00:40:04 --> 00:40:05 above all for your
00:40:05 --> 00:40:06 immeasurable love in
00:40:06 --> 00:40:07 the redemption of