Tree of Life Day 90: Revelation 19-22

Well, folks, here's the last entry in the Tree of Life series.  It was a fun series to preach and I hope you benefitted from the survey-style reading as well as the Bible book summaries we provided.

I want to close this series with a singular thought in light of the reading today:

The difference between Utopia and Heaven is Jesus.

Everyone wants a place where they don't cry, get cancer, or suffer.  Who doesn't want a peaceful, happy afterlife?  But we could have all of that without Jesus and it be Utopia.

The measure of a Christian is whether or not we'd be happy in Heaven if Jesus wasn't there.

As for me, I can't wait to gather with His people tomorrow and worship Him.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

Tree of Life Day 89: Revelation 14-18

Justice can be sweet. It can also be as scary as you-know-what.

And in this case, it just might be both.  The bad guys get what is coming to them.  They have connived, rebelled, deceived, and hated Jesus and His people.  The figure heads go down along with many who follow them.  And the angel sings...

"Just are you, O Holy One, who was and who is, for you brought these judgments...it is what they deserve" (16.5-6)

Here's what's scary to me:  hell.  It's fiery and dark and the place of the outpouring of God's just wrath against sin and rebellion.  And it doesn't end.  It just keeps going.  A million years from now those in hell will be no closer to relief than in this moment right now.

And those people around us, in our neighborhoods and among the nations, are the ones who will populate it if they do not know Christ.

Tree of Life Day 88: Revelation 6-9

Admittedly, there's some crazy stuff going on in these chapters.  And as I said in the sermon on Sunday, some argue that this kind of writing is symbolic.  Well, if these are just the symbols, how bad must the reality be?  Scary stuff!

I have to say that the one that gets me every time I read it is in Revelation 6.  The picture is the martyrs who have died for their loyalty to Jesus under the throne of God.  I love that for this reason:  though they were martyred in this life, I love the picture of being under God's throne and protection in the next life.  Not safe on earth.  Absolutely safe in heaven.

I'm also provoked by the picture.  Their question is haunting:  "How long, Lord, until you avenge us?"  I don't know what all the implications are, but it sure appears that they know that their blood has not been avenged.  Therefore, they know what's going on - they have some sense of what's happening on earth.  They are part of the cloud of witnesses.  Somehow that makes me want to be a better man today.

And lastly, I'm challenged.  God's reply:  "Not until the full number of you has come in."  Full number.  That means the number isn't full yet.  They haven't hit capacity.  They're not running at 100%.  There are more martyrs to come.  That is challenging.  I know there are people around the world today giving their lives for their loyalty to Christ.  North Korea.  India.  Nigeria.  And on and on.  But their number hasn't hit capacity yet.  So I'll pray for brothers and sisters around the world and ready myself just in case my life is one of their number.

How about you?

Tree of Life Day 87: Revelation 4-5

You just can't capture it better than this in my opinion...

(props to Jennie Riddle, the songwriter, and Kari Jobe, the singer)

Tree of Life Day 86: 2 Peter

I read a stern exhortation today.  Did you see it too?

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved [speaking of the destruction of the current world and its system in v.10], what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness... (3.11)

What kind of person makes an investment in a losing situation?  No one buys stock of a company going into bankruptcy.  No one buys a car that is on the verge of breaking down.  You get the idea.

So why do we love and invest in the world so much since it's headed downhill in a hurry?

There are things in the world that are worth our investment:  the people around us, the good of society, the beauty that reflects God.  But those things are in the world but not the world themselves.  Our lives are to reflect the kind of holiness and godliness that remind others (and ourselves!) that there is another world coming, one in which you invest and always see good return.  A new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (v.13).

Where is your investment today?

Tree of Life Day 85: 1 Thessalonians 4-5

Therefore encourage one another with these words...

That's what I wanted to do in yesterday's sermon.  I wanted to encourage the people who gathered and those who listen via podcast with thoughts of Heaven and Jesus' victory and the end of days.

Part of the reason I wanted to encourage them with these things is because so many get caught up too easily in the charts, graphs, predictions, prophecies, interpretations, and so forth when it comes to eschatology (Gr. eschaton: "end").  You can lose Jesus in the Nicolae Carpathia characters of the world.  And what a terrible trade that would be.

Thinking about the end of time is good because it gives us perspective in trials, hope in darkness, and a fixed point of certainty toward which we can aim our lives.  And that's encouraging.  Amen.

Sermon Notes from 4.29.12

Here are the sermon notes from the last sermon in the Tree of Life series.  You can get these notes in PDF and the sermon audio on our website (sermons.heritagepark.org).  You can also download the sermon audio on iTunes via our podcast.

Tree of Life

Part 13 – The End.

Revelation 19-­‐22 

What is happening?

Things get bad.

• Plagues and persecution run throughout the earth.Deception is powerful.

Jesus wins.

Judgment is certain.

Hell is real.

• Hell lasts forever.
• Hell is reserved for those who have not trusted Christ.  
• Hell is somewhat an extension of our own will.

Heaven is stunning.

What does it mean?

God will make everything right through Jesus.

• We wait with anticipation (22.6-­‐10).
  
• We wait with faithfulness (22.12-­‐14).
  
• We share Jesus now (22.17).
  

Tree of Life Day 83: James 1-5

James is such an easy book to read in some ways.  And in other ways, it's brutal.

Consider...

Don't be a hearer of the Word only, be a doer (1.22).

Is that easy to read?  You bet.  Is it easy to understand?  Sure.  Is it easy to implement in my life?  Well, that's a different question, isn't it?

He goes on to say that when we're hearers only and not doers, we deceive ourselves.  We think that we're growing spiritually, but we're not.  We think that we're doing the right thing, but we're not.  We think that God is pleased, but He's not.  We think we're being upright, but we're not.  We think that podcasting sermons is helping our spiritual growth, but when we don't apply them it's not.  We think that reading theology is good, but unapplied it's not.  On and on James could go with illustrations and challenges.

God, through James, is clear:  our spiritual maturity shows up not in our intake but in our output.

Easy.  And hard.  So hard.

Tree of Life Day 82: 1 Timothy 1-4

I know I have ranted and raved about this before, but since it's in the text, indulge me...

Leadership is about character.

There.  I said it.  Whether it's political, business, ethical, classroom, extracurricular, church, marital, parental, or any other sphere of leadership, it all boils down to character.

Leadership has the capacity and the tenacity to put you in tough situations.  When you're in tough situations, two things are true:

1. Your future character is developed (see Romans 5.3-5, James 1.2-4).
2. Your current character is demonstrated (you know a tree by its fruits, etc).

And you see that in the list of qualifications for the two offices in the church:  elders/overseers and deacons.  Leadership is about character:  above reproach, gentle, etc.  And you measure the leadership not by their effect but by their relationships (to wine, money, their family, etc.).

Man, that Paul guy and the Holy Spirit who inspired him sure are smart.

Tree of Life Day 81: Philippians

Admittedly, as a pastor, I’ve turned my attention to next week’s sermon.  Generally, that happens on Monday.  I had a professor at seminary that called it IROS – the Incessant Return of Sunday.  But this post isn’t about my mental habits.

Philippians 2 mentions a final moment in history.  The end of time is what I am addressing this coming Sunday, so it caught my attention.  What is it?

There is coming a day when at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  

That's a powerful statement.  Think about it for just a second.  Every knee will bow.  Every person will have a moment where they will acknowledge that Jesus is right.  Every believer.  Every unbeliever.  Every person whose allegiance was to Jesus already.  Every person whose allegiance was to themselves for their whole lives.  Every single person.  Red,  yellow, black, white.  Republicans and Democrats.  Africans and Albanians.  Rich and poor.  Powerful and powerless.  Every person.

And their confession will be, "Jesus is Lord."  And whether or not they acknowledged it before, they will now.  And that glorifies the Father whose plan of rescuing sinners by means of sacrifice is now fully complete and seen for the plan it was.  

Amazing.