[0:00] in Revelation chapter 22, starting verse 6 and going to verse 21. So if you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Revelation chapter 22. We'll be reading verses 6 through 21, which will bring us to the end of the book of Revelation.
[0:13] In all actuality, it will be the end of the Scripture, end of all of Scripture, as you have recorded for us. What a privilege it is that we know from Genesis to Revelation. God's Word says one thing and says it over and over again and says it real well.
[0:26] But we will see a repetition of this as the Word comes to a close in Revelation 22, starting in verse 6 and reading down to verse 21. So if you are physically able to desire to do this, I'm going to ask if you'll join me as we stand together and we read the Word of God, and then we will pray.
[0:45] John records for us here in Revelation chapter 22, starting in verse 6. And he said to me, now we need to clarify who that he is, that he is found in Revelation 21, verse 9.
[0:56] Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me. So this same angel is still speaking here. And he said to me, these words are faithful and true.
[1:08] And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his bondservants the things which soon must take place, or which must soon take place. Verse 7 is Jesus speaking.
[1:18] And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
[1:31] But he said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God. And he said to me, do not still up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
[1:44] Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy. And let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keep himself holy. Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
[2:00] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
[2:11] Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches.
[2:24] I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. The spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. And let the one who is thirsty, come.
[2:34] Let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
[2:46] If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming quickly.
[3:01] Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much that you have given us the opportunity to read your word.
[3:15] Lord, to stand together as brothers and sisters in Christ. And to see and to hear what the word of God says. And Lord, now we pray that by the power and presence of your spirit that you would open it up to us. Lord, that it would be so much more than words on a page of paper.
[3:29] But Lord, that it would be the very word of God speaking to our hearts and minds. And Lord, by hearing a word from you that our lives would be shaped and transformed to be more and more like your image. For your glory and yours alone.
[3:41] Lord, may the things that are said and may the things that are heard and may the things that are learned through this morning be for your name's sake. And we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.
[3:55] History has shown us that man has a fascination with last words. We like to know what people say in those final moments, those last moments of their life. We really hinge on what people are thinking about as they near death.
[4:08] Probably because of the mere uncertainty of death. And some people are very coherent at that moment and give great testimony. Some people even in their incoherent state give testimony one way or another.
[4:20] But man has sought over the years to know what people were thinking of as they were nearing the end of their life. Really hinging on the last words of people as they have passed from this life into the next.
[4:32] And great testimony has been seen because of that. We have reached a very unique place in Scripture because here in Scripture we have the last word of Scripture. We have God's final word to the church.
[4:45] We have here what God says in its completion. He is bringing His word to its fulfillment. Sure, God still speaks to us today. God has not quit talking to His people. And God is not silent.
[4:56] But yet everything God says now comes through this word. As a matter of fact, I would say that if you come to me and you tell me that God told you something, then whatever you say God told you, we're always going to hold it up to Scripture.
[5:08] And if God told you something that contradicts with Scripture, then I'm going to tell you the wrong God told you that. The God of this world, not the God of the world told you that. Because what God says now, He says through His word.
[5:21] He may say it through a song. He may say it through a pastor. He may say it through a friend. He may say it from another believer. But God always speaks to us from His word. The Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews in the first chapter, in latter times, God had spoken in various manners.
[5:37] That would be a reference to the Old Testament, that God spoke through burning bushes. He spoke through donkeys. He spoke through signs and wonders and prophecies. And He spoke through dreams and visions. But it says there in the first chapter of Hebrews, but in these last days, He has spoken to us through Jesus Christ, His Son.
[5:53] Jesus is the final word of God, which means that if we're going to hear a word from God, then we must get it from the word of God. We can only get it from Scripture.
[6:04] We're not looking for dreams and visions. We're not looking for signs and wonders. Jesus said, a wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign. Why does that mean that we are wicked and perverse?
[6:14] Because He has already told us. I love how Henry Blackaby put it. He says, if you want to know what God has told you or what God is saying to you, then open up your Bibles. And when you have done everything He's told you to do in here, then we can talk about what else He has to say to you.
[6:28] And you're not going to reach that point in this life. So what we have here in Revelation chapter 22 is the final word of Scripture. What God says in finality.
[6:40] And I would say that this has a direct application to the book of Revelation, but it has a full application to all of Scripture. Now, sure, we'll never glean all of the truths from here. There are such great truths as to who Christ is.
[6:53] It really can captivate our mind. The book of Revelation is not a revelation of things to come or a revelation of end times, but a revelation of what? Jesus Christ. And we see here that Jesus says, I am the root and the offspring of David.
[7:06] Think about it. This just blew my mind when I was studying this. This is not the sermon, by the way. This is a side sermon, right? This is just kind of the cream on the top. He is both the cause of David and He comes from David.
[7:17] Just let that set in just for a moment. He is like the root and the fruit of the tree, which means He is on each side of David. That's pretty good. Some of you are like, okay, maybe that will hit you later when you are sitting at your table, right?
[7:28] Because He is that which brought David into existence and He came from David. Only God can do that, right? He can move through that. So we see all of these things. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the beginning and the end.
[7:39] He was there in Genesis 1 and He is here in Revelation 22. He is there when it all began and He is here when it all ends. He is the root and He is the fruit. He is the beginning and the end. But what we have here is the last word of Scripture, which kind of gives us encouragement to Scripture.
[7:55] If someone was to ask me what was the best thing or what was the one great advice that I would give any believer in Christ, new believer, long-time believer, and it is something that many of you have heard me say over and over again, it would be to get into the Word of God, to get into your Bibles, to read them more.
[8:11] You say, well, I read them a lot. Read them more, to study them more, not to get into more Bible studies, not to get into more commentaries, not to get into more Bible books, but to get into the Bible, right?
[8:23] Not to get into more interpretations of other people's Bible, but for you yourself personally to get into the Bible. Now, am I downplaying Bible studies? No, not at all.
[8:33] Am I? There are some great authors out there. There are some great writers, but God longs to speak to you just as clearly as He has spoken to them. And you say, well, I don't know if the Bible just doesn't seem to be that interesting to me.
[8:47] People have told me, well, I just can't get into it. I get bored. I've had people tell me over and over again, I don't know why the genealogies are in there. And it wasn't until we began to open up the genealogies.
[8:58] I remember I was doing counseling recently with a couple, and they made the comment. One of them made the comment to me. He said, yeah, when I get there, I was encouraging them to read Scripture. And they said, yeah, I'll just be honest with you. And when I get to those genealogies found in the early pages of the gospel, he said, I love this gospel.
[9:16] And I said, oh, yes, I do too. And I love especially the genealogy you find there. He goes, ah, just be honest, I skip over that. I said, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't skip over that. He said, well, it's just a bunch of names. Well, we began to talk what those names meant.
[9:29] And he said, oh, so much more than a bunch of names. I said, yes. Those names have a purpose. Those names have a reason. Those names are there for a purpose. And people will tell me all the time, well, the Bible is a boring book.
[9:41] I don't really understand it. And it's confusing. And I'm not a reader. Friend, I'm not a reader either. But if I want to know what God says to me, then I have to go to the book, right? I have to go to his word.
[9:51] It would be like me saying, well, I love being married to my wife. I really don't want her to ever talk to me. I really don't ever want to know anything about her. I'm going to come to you and talk to you about what my wife is like. When I could spend a lot more time with my wife and I would get to know her better, right?
[10:04] Don't come to me and ask me what God is like if we're not spending time in his presence through his word. People say, well, it just doesn't make sense to me. Well, it's just like anything else.
[10:15] There are great books that really are confusing to mankind. We can see this in the art world. How many pictures have you seen? You have no idea what that artist was drawing. And we call that abstract art. We used to call that just dots on pages, right?
[10:27] And just look at it and say, what in the world does this mean? It's nothing but a bunch of smears and nothing but a bunch of abstract drawings. But when the artist interprets it for you, all of a sudden it begins to make sense.
[10:37] You begin to see it. Anytime you pick up any book, secular or religious, and you really want to know what the author meant, you have to go to the source. So many people misunderstand scripture or really do not find the enjoyment or the excitement in scripture because they're too busy trying to figure it out on their own.
[10:55] When the Bible says we can have ears and not hear and eyes and not see, when we need to go to the author himself and say, oh Lord, would you show me your word? Because this is his word. And when we consult the author, the author begins to speak to our hearts and begins to open it up for us.
[11:09] And what we see here in this final word is an admonition, an encouragement for the word of God. I want you to see four truths that we see here in Revelation 22, verses 6 through 21, that are really an encouragement of how we should interpret the book of Revelation and also how we should handle all of scripture.
[11:29] Now, I know the book of Revelation is not for everyone, but it is for everyone inside the church because it very clearly says for the churches. So if we're a part of the church, if we're members of the church, then we ought to stand up and go, hey, that was for me.
[11:43] It's confusing. It doesn't make sense, but I need to know it because he says it is for me. Number one, we see here that the word is given to us, that this is a word to obey.
[11:53] It is a word to obey. Look at what verse 6 says. Then he said to me, these words are faithful and true. These words are faithful and true. We see here that this is a trustworthy word.
[12:06] What we see is that God has said something which is faithful. It can be counted on. It is true. It is not a lie. It is not false. There is no hint of obscurity in it. It is absolutely 100% true.
[12:19] Everything God has said will happen. He will bring it about. It is faithful. You can count on it. Friend, there are a lot of things in this world you cannot count on, but when you hold the Bible in your hand, you can count on it.
[12:32] Everything that God said would happen has happened. Everything that he says will happen. Friend, guess what? It will happen. The angel said these words are faithful and true.
[12:43] You can trust it. It is trustworthy. That does not just apply to the book of Revelation. It applies to everything in all of Scripture. It is faithful. It is true.
[12:54] If you don't mind me getting a little preacher on you, I will say this is a reason why you need to have at least an accurate translation of Scripture. You need to have one that is accurately transcribed.
[13:06] Now, for devotional readings, and I am not very one in endorsing much, right? I am not one big in endorsing. I am not telling you what type of translation you need to read.
[13:17] But understand and pay attention to your Bible. The reason is there are paraphrased Scriptures. Those are good if you want to read for devotional purposes. But be careful with paraphrased Bibles.
[13:33] Push yourself to find a Bible that is a literal translation of the words. Because these words are accurate and true and faithful.
[13:43] We'll get to that in just a little bit. So what we see here is this is a word to obey. Why? Because the angel said, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his bondservants the things which must soon take place.
[13:58] So we see that these words, the words of Scripture, are of divine revelation. Do you understand that when you open up your Bible, anywhere you open it up, may it be in Genesis or Leviticus, or if it's in Numbers, or if it's in the book of Proverbs, or if you're going to the Song of Solomon, or if you open it up in Matthew, or you go to the book of Revelation, what you are reading are words of divine inspiration and revelation.
[14:21] That the God of the spirits and the prophets sent his angel to reveal to man what it is he wanted to say. That's important. Because when you open up your Bibles, you are not opening up man's opinions or thoughts.
[14:36] Friend, if you were to come to me, and we were to open up a passage of Scripture, if you were to come to me and you would, well, let's just say it, there is one book that I have written. I'm not published it, okay?
[14:46] I've written it. I've written it years ago on a series of sermons called Promises of Hope, found in the last sayings of Christ before we went to the cross. If you were to come and you say, well, I want to read that book, and I'll let you read that book, and you read the Promises of Hope, found in John 13 through John 15, and you say, oh, that's great, but what you are reading are my opinions and my interpretations of that passage.
[15:06] Right? But if you were to open up that passage, now you are reading the divine revelation of what God said through John in that passage. You can hopefully trust at least my interpretation or my thoughts on that, my study, but I should not be the final word on that.
[15:23] What we see here is that we need to obey the word of God because it is that of divine revelation. Verse 7 says, and this is Jesus speaking, and behold, I am coming quickly.
[15:33] Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. We are looking at this as a word to obey. Not only is it a word that can be counted on, not only is it a word of divine revelation, it is also a word of preparation.
[15:45] He says, I'm coming quickly. How are you going to prepare yourself for the coming of Christ? Obey the word. Read the word. Hear the word. Heed the word. And we see here that it says, blessed are those who heed, that is to live in obedience to the word of God.
[16:01] The way to live a blessed manner of life is not to attain to the American dream. The way, according to scripture, to live a blessed manner of life is to obey the word of God.
[16:15] And sometimes that obedience is costly. Most times that obedience is sacrificial. But we see here that this is the only means in which God says we live a blessed manner of life.
[16:26] He is living a life of blessing is the interpretation. Those who heed the word of God. We see that it is a word to obey. Number two, we see that the Bible leads us to a worship to extend.
[16:40] Verse eight says, I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. Now we need to understand who this is. I, John. Think about this. John wrote this book.
[16:51] This is the last book written in all of scripture, written somewhere around A.D. 90. Okay. Jesus would have died somewhere around A.D. 33. And now John has lived a number of years up to this point, somewhere around A.D. 90.
[17:04] I know that there are different interpretations because people say, well, John never mentions the fall of Jerusalem, which happened in A.D. 70. I know that's what you're saying. And you're trying to figure that out. Well, listen, if you are enraptured with heaven, it doesn't matter what has happened on earth, right?
[17:18] So we don't need to be all bent out of shape because Jerusalem fell, because the new Jerusalem is coming. So John's goal here, being led by the Spirit, was not to speak of things that have happened, but to speak of things that will come.
[17:29] And he is speaking of Jesus. So we're looking at John, the aged apostle, the beloved, if you will, the one who has given his life and is now on the island of Patmos, who is being persecuted for the proclamation of the gospel.
[17:42] Brother, you better get her. She's going to run away from you. Somebody had no idea. I had a precious little girl looking at me through the glass, and she's starting to leave people all this a little bit away. But what we see here is that John, being exiled on the island of Patmos for the proclamation of the gospel.
[17:58] I'm painting this picture because we need to see this. This is John, who leaned upon the chest of Christ at the Last Supper. This is John, who was one of the ones at the empty tomb, one of the first ones.
[18:08] Peter and John, he, as a matter of fact, was the first apostle there because he was younger than Peter, so he outran him, right? This is John, who has written all these letters. This is John, who has been so faithful.
[18:19] This is John, one of the sons of thunder, who is on fire for the Lord. He says, when I saw these things and heard these things, I bowed down at the feet of the angel to worship.
[18:30] Now, let's just stop for just a moment. The worship is wrong. I get that. A lot of people want to hang on. He should have never worshiped an angel. We'll get to that in just a moment. But let me just ask you, John, who was called by Christ, walked with him in the flesh, served him in the spirit, was at the empty tomb, seen the risen Savior, proclaimed his name, built the churches, established the churches as a proclamation, was so persecuted for the faith, he wouldn't die, said that he wouldn't die, even though he ended up dying of old age, was thrown off the pinnacle of the temple, was given poison to drink, was put into a boiling pot of oil, yet did not die, so they put him on the island of Patmos, and the Lord led him to write the book of Revelation.
[19:09] Ended up going back to Ephesus and died of old age. The man finally left him alone. This man, John, who had seen such great things, he had seen the miracles of Christ, he was there when Jesus fed the 10,000.
[19:22] You say, it was 5,000. Well, that was men, right? So he's there when he fed the multitudes. He was there when he walked on the water. He was there. He saw all of these things. Listen to it. But when he heard this, he fell down to worship.
[19:35] If this word would move John that way, why doesn't it move us that way? If John, who had walked with Christ, served Christ, seen Christ, served with Christ, was led to worship based on what he saw, then what reason do we have and our limited exposure to the powers of Christ.
[20:05] And we are limited because we do not have the privileges that John had not to fall down and worship because of what we see. John says, when I saw these things, I fell down and worship, but he said to me, that is an angel.
[20:15] Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren and prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. There you go. I told you that the angels were your servants, right? Fellow servant of yours.
[20:25] They are there to serve along beside of us. They are created beings. Listen, worship is not meant for any created being. We are not to worship anything that has been created. Okay, we are not to worship man.
[20:37] We are not to worship angels. We are not to worship the earth as we see it. We are not to worship creation. We are not to worship any animals. We are not to worship the sun or the moon or the stars or the heavenly host. We are not to worship any created being.
[20:49] We are to worship and worship only the great, uncreated one. He says, Worship God. The Word of God leads us to a worship to be extended to the rightful person.
[21:01] This is the only book that you will ever read that will always point you away from yourself and away from others to the one who is the great uncreated one, the one who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
[21:12] He is both the root and the fruit. He is there before it all started, and it pushes us to the rightful place of worship. What we worship is of utmost importance, and this book pushes us to worship.
[21:26] When we read the book of Revelation, we stand in awe of everything that is going to happen, and we stand of awe of the one who is in control of all that is going to happen, and we stand in wonder of these things, and yet it should lead us to worship.
[21:39] It should lead us to fall on our faces and to say, how great is our God? How deserving and worthy of our praise is He? And yet, too often, we get caught up in the creation and we neglect the Creator.
[21:55] But the Bible was given to us to lead us to a worship to extend to the rightful place. Number three, we see that it is a witness to proclaim. It is a witness to proclaim. Verse 10 says, And He said to me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
[22:10] Bible students and people who understand their Scripture should pick up on this, because Daniel, too, saw a revelation of things to come. Daniel saw a number of visions. If you go to the book of Daniel, which you have to use the book of Daniel and other Old Testament books for a proper interpretation of the book of Revelation.
[22:27] But if you go and you read the book of Daniel, and it is there that we get the 70 weeks, the 69 weeks and the break, and then coming of the 70th week, and we see the church age, if you will, and then the rapture of the church, which starts the 70th week, and we get all these things.
[22:41] And Daniel saw all this that is going to happen. My understanding of Scripture is that everything John saw, Daniel probably saw, too. But when Daniel saw it, he woke up, and the angel told him, he said, seal up the prophecy.
[22:52] Daniel was not to write it down. He was not to record it. He was not to proclaim it, because the time was not near. Right? Daniel was to keep those things to himself, and he did. God just showed favor upon Daniel. But when John sees these things, he says, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
[23:09] It is no longer time to be silenced. It is time to tell all. Why? Because John is now in the church age, and he is encouraging the churches. This is for the churches. They need to know.
[23:20] Daniel could not understand the church age. He could not understand the coming of the Messiah, who would build a church, who would reach the world. But John here, serving not only as a part of that, but a pastor in it as well, understood that now was not the time to be silent.
[23:34] Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy, and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keeping himself holy. What that literally means is that when this comes to pass, there will be no change in anybody's behavior.
[23:48] When Jesus shows up, if you're filthy, you're filthy. If you're righteous, you're righteous. If you're holy, you're holy. If you're unclean, you're unclean, because there's coming a day where it is too late. But that day has not yet come.
[23:58] He says, behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done. Friend, here is the witness that we must proclaim. The reward is coming, and it will be given to you based on what you have done.
[24:09] We're not talking about here eternity, because you are saved by the blood of the Lamb. How do we get that? Because it says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes.
[24:21] How do you wash your robes? In the blood of the Lamb, right? So they may have a right to the tree of life and may enter the gates into the city. Here's the testimony. If you have come to Jesus and had your robes washed in his blood, that is faith, you have a right to the tree of life, but the reward that you take with you into that tree of life is determined on how you behave after that right.
[24:44] He says, I am bringing a reward based on what you have done. Here is the testimony to proclaim. He says, Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lies.
[24:56] I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. Here's what the church must proclaim. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. The spirit and the bride, that is the Holy Spirit and the church, say come.
[25:10] And let the one who hears say come. And let the one who is thirsty come. And let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost come. Here's the testimony. Friend, listen.
[25:20] We live in a day of invitation. And woe to the church that is silent about that invitation. Today is not the day to be silent. Today is not the day to bind up the testimony which we have seen.
[25:31] Today is the day of proclaiming that testimony. He is coming. This is not a scare tactic. This is not a false warning. This is not something to cause us to stumble.
[25:43] This is a reality. There is coming a day when Jesus returns. And He is coming. And only those who have had their robes washed in His blood will have a right to the tree of life. And we who have heard it need to proclaim come.
[25:56] And we need to proclaim to those who are outside come. I love hearing the old Billy Graham sermons. Have you ever heard the old Billy Graham say it? I mean, that man could say come like nobody else could, right?
[26:08] He could just, he'd say come. And he would call people out and then people would come out of the congregation and he said just come. What he was doing, he was proclaiming the invitation, right? I remember hearing when Billy Graham first started his crusades and he went to the other side of the pond, if you will.
[26:21] He went into Europe and he was over there and he was proclaiming and he had with him Ira Sankey who was there singing, or no, George Beverly Shea. Ira Sankey was with D.O. Moody. He had George Beverly Shea and he had all this music and he was having these revivals and people were coming where the newspapers started writing, well, it's a singing of Beverly Shea which is leading people to an emotional response.
[26:41] And so Billy Graham doing what only Billy Graham could do, say, okay, hey, George, you're not singing tonight. So the next night he preached and George didn't, they didn't even sing a hymn of invitation, right? He just extended the invitation.
[26:51] More people responded that night than they did the night before. Well, the newspaper said, well, it was the pitter patter of the seats, people's feet walking down the stadiums, which led other people to have emotional response.
[27:03] So he said, okay, George, you're not singing. Nobody's coming. We're just gonna extend an invitation and tell everybody to stay where they're at. More people came to Christ that night than they did the previous two nights. Why? Because it is the invitation that leads people who are thirsty to come.
[27:17] The only requirement for coming to Christ is to be thirsty, to have a hungering and a thirst for righteousness, to know that what you have is not doing it, to know that what you have is not fulfilling your desire.
[27:28] When you're thirsty, you get water. When you realize something is missing, the only thing that will fill that, it says that he who is thirsty, let him come. Friend, listen to me. We live in a world full of people who are dying of thirst, and the church has the source to feed that.
[27:43] The church knows the nourishment for the poverty of the world. We know what the world needs. We know where the well is, but yet we're not telling anyone about it.
[27:56] And all around us are people who are hungering and thirsting. And we're just letting them go about malnourished. Because it has nothing to do with the music. It has nothing to do about the hymn of invitation. It has nothing to do with the pitter-patter of feet.
[28:08] It has to do with the well who can fill every thirsty soul, who says that if you're thirsty, come. You know what you need to proclaim? Here's the testimony.
[28:19] It's this simple. You say, well, I don't know how to be a witness for Jesus. I can promise you that God has set eternity in the heart of every man. Every person you come into contact with has a longing for something beyond themselves.
[28:30] They're seeking to fill that thirst. They're seeking to, and I'm just gonna give you good news right now. Nothing that anyone around you is doing is satisfying their need. Nothing. Nothing. They may be having a lot of fun.
[28:41] They may have a lot of goosebumps. But if you pay attention, they're always doing something more, something other, going a little further, going a little further. And the reason they have to go a little further is because, as Solomon says, vanity of vanities is this life.
[28:55] Nothing you do in this world will ever meet the thirst you have for Jesus Christ. You know what will meet the need of every person you come into contact with. And now is not the time to be silent.
[29:07] Because this is for the churches. The church needs to tell those. We have here a witness to proclaim. We need to say, I know where you can meet your need. Friend, listen, I tried to meet my need in a number of ways, and it didn't work.
[29:21] But when I came to Christ, my need disappeared. Because what I needed was Jesus. I didn't need excitement. It says, the Spirit and the bride say, come, and let the one who hears say, come, and let the one who is thirsty, come, let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost.
[29:36] It won't cost you anything. Just coming to Christ. And now we come to the final thing, a warning to heed. And this is why my encouragement to you earlier was to find an accurate translation of Scripture, and that if you are inclined to read books and interpretations, to be careful.
[29:53] To always judge things that you read by Scripture and by Scripture alone. And this is how we need to be careful. Because again, this is a word to the church.
[30:04] I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. Here is a warning to those who hear the word. This is not a warning to those outside of the church. This is a warning to those inside the church. This is a warning to those who are a part of the church.
[30:16] This is a warning to those who have the Bible. It says, I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to them the plagues that are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, from the holy city, which are written in this book.
[30:34] It has direct application to the book of Revelation, but it has full application to all of Scripture. All 66 books from Genesis to Revelation is this, friend, it is not for you to add to or take away from.
[30:47] There may be things that you do not understand. There may be things that you do not agree with, but your problem is with God and your problem is with your interpretation, right? There are things I read in Scripture I don't agree with, but I need to change rather than change it.
[31:00] And by agree with it, I mean in my personality. It's not that in the spirit, I'm like, well, God, you're wrong there. It's just in the flesh. I'm like, that seems uncomfortable, right? When it says, give to whoever asks, to walk the extra mile, to do all these things, to, if someone slaps you on this cheek, to turn to him also the other cheek, to do all these things.
[31:15] In the flesh, there's a struggle. Like, that doesn't seem right, but it is right because God says it's right, right? And when I come across things in Scripture and I read them and it's no longer for me to say, well, God, I'm going to change that or mark that out in my Bible.
[31:27] I'm going to remove that just a little bit. I'm not going to do that because it's a word not to be tampered with. Here is the warning to heed. Be careful how you treat your Scripture. Be careful how you treat it.
[31:42] Genesis to Malachi are not out of date. They point us to Matthew to Revelation. They still have application today. They're always pointing to Jesus Christ.
[31:53] We must not discount the Old Testament and focus on the New Testament. We must not discount the New Testament and focus on the Old Testament. We must take it in its entirety and say, yes, God, everything you have is here for a reason, for a purpose, and it is to draw me to you.
[32:07] May we heed the warning and may we be careful. I'll just be honest with you. I've gotten into Bible studies before and I've opened up things and just watching them a lot of times before I'll take other people through them.
[32:18] I'll go through them myself and about halfway through cut it off because I'm not watching any more of that because when we begin adding to Scripture or taking away from Scripture, I want nothing to do with that. It is a warning to heed.
[32:31] May we always heed the warning and be true to the Bible and to the Bible alone because we see here this is a word to obey. It leads us to a worship to extend. It calls us to a witness of proclamation and it gives us this warning.
[32:45] We must be careful how we handle not only the book of Revelation but all of Scripture. It is important. It is the standard. It is that which leads us to a holy living because it leads us to the Holy One who is Jesus Christ.
[33:00] And when we come to the end of the book of Revelation, it says that Jesus gives this great proclamation. And He says there, He who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming quickly.
[33:13] The last thing Jesus says is I am coming quickly. And I love how John says it, says amen. That means let it be come Lord Jesus. May our life be so directed by Scripture, may our life be so directed by the Word that we can call out as well, come Lord Jesus.
[33:30] We are ready. And as John closes, I close today too. May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Because the one thing we need when we read Scripture, the one thing that is highlighted from Genesis to Revelation is this, I need His grace.
[33:50] And so do you. I can't get over grace. And may you never get over it as well. If you ever get over grace, I mean, I think we're about to sing Amazing Grace.
[34:01] I think I saw that. If grace does not move you and grace does not excite you and if grace does not make you want to, I didn't say you were going to, but it ought to make you want to jump up and down and shout hallelujah.
[34:14] If it doesn't do that to you, then my friend, may I encourage you to go back and read the book of Numbers and tell me how far you would be or the book of Leviticus and tell me how long into the book of Leviticus you would get before you were dead.
[34:27] Because I don't get very far into those Old Testament books where I find out I would be underneath a pile of stones. Because if you broke the law, you deserve to be stones. But by His grace, I stand today.
[34:40] And it makes me shout hallelujah. May His grace be with us and may it lead us to love His word for His glory. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for this day. I thank you for giving us the opportunity of looking at your word.
[34:53] And Lord, we pray that your word would be that which directs and dictates our life. Lord, that it would set the path before us and it would determine how we live and walk on that path. May it be for your glory. May it be for your honor.
[35:04] And may it be for the expansion of your kingdom and not for our namesake but for yours. We ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
[36:01] Amen. Amen.
[36:31] Amen. Amen. Thank you.