1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,580 We continue now, as like I said, I think we've landed on third base and we'll be heading 2 00:00:08,580 --> 00:00:13,380 home over the next couple weeks in this book of Revelation. 3 00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:18,100 Something that has been exhausting, something that has been exciting, something that we 4 00:00:18,100 --> 00:00:22,200 haven't gotten to anything yet, I feel like, in the book of Revelation, which I think I 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,540 have to just take a breath in that. 6 00:00:24,540 --> 00:00:30,660 But we're coming up to, we're seeing the Lamb come back and we are getting to a very specific 7 00:00:30,660 --> 00:00:35,880 place in the book of Revelation when scholars have studied this book from left to right, 8 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:42,400 right to left, if you're Hebrew, and understanding of what this actually looks like. 9 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,820 And we're going to do a little bit of a deep dive, it's a little more than a rabbit hole, 10 00:00:45,820 --> 00:00:51,680 but understand there's a deep dive of a correct understanding of what the 144,000 are and 11 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,760 kind of who they are, what it is, and all of those things. 12 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,980 And we start by talking about the faithful. 13 00:00:57,980 --> 00:01:01,940 So now over the coming couple weeks you're going to be talking about the faithful. 14 00:01:01,940 --> 00:01:06,280 We talked about that last week, that God is ultimate faithful. 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,220 He is the essence of faithfulness and thank God because we're not. 16 00:01:11,220 --> 00:01:16,900 We try our best, we believe we should be faithful, we try our best to be faithful in this thing 17 00:01:16,900 --> 00:01:22,820 or that, but he himself is faithfulness. 18 00:01:22,820 --> 00:01:26,740 That if we say, okay, I'm going to try to have my faithfulness be like that of God, 19 00:01:26,740 --> 00:01:31,500 that is great, though in knowing we're going to fall. 20 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:38,680 That Revelation 14 stands in contrast to what I deemed troubling scenes that we've seen 21 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,100 over the last couple Sundays. 22 00:01:41,100 --> 00:01:45,740 That there's been tragedy, there's been terror, that if we actually made this movie or if 23 00:01:45,740 --> 00:01:51,460 we put it through AI, Veggie Tales could not do it justice. 24 00:01:51,460 --> 00:01:58,940 There'll be a lot of slain vegetables in that scene because what we're seeing is that final 25 00:01:58,940 --> 00:02:08,020 judgment because, think about this, because of God's faithfulness that ever since the 26 00:02:08,020 --> 00:02:13,420 beginning there was going to be this eternal line in the sand. 27 00:02:13,420 --> 00:02:19,380 And 37% of you, a percentage I just made up, really don't like that because you don't like 28 00:02:19,380 --> 00:02:21,460 living in black and white. 29 00:02:21,460 --> 00:02:24,420 That you like 90 shades of gray. 30 00:02:24,420 --> 00:02:28,100 God makes it very clear, there is no gray here. 31 00:02:28,100 --> 00:02:29,300 There is none. 32 00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:34,180 If you find yourself in the gray, you need to dive deeper. 33 00:02:34,180 --> 00:02:39,000 You need to understand the line that is here. 34 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:46,180 So here we see the Lamb standing victorious, the faithful remnant of God's judgment and 35 00:02:46,180 --> 00:02:51,540 mercy unfolds to the harvesting of the earth. 36 00:02:51,540 --> 00:02:56,340 So Rachel, as a resident farmer, I know, roll your eyes, I get it. 37 00:02:56,340 --> 00:02:59,300 Some of you else, become farmers and I'll use you. 38 00:02:59,300 --> 00:03:02,500 When do you harvest? 39 00:03:02,500 --> 00:03:03,500 In the fall. 40 00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:05,500 But why do you harvest? 41 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:10,060 Oh, I stumped the farmer. 42 00:03:10,060 --> 00:03:14,380 You're not a farmer, don't answer. 43 00:03:14,380 --> 00:03:19,340 To feed people, but do you harvest and give away all the bad stuff? 44 00:03:19,340 --> 00:03:24,340 No, it's when at the right time in the right season, right now you're tracking where I'm 45 00:03:24,340 --> 00:03:30,140 going, good, that you harvest, you take into your barns, into the storage, into all of 46 00:03:30,140 --> 00:03:33,300 that because that was the plan. 47 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:37,860 That throughout the year, farmers have their crops attacked by all these different things. 48 00:03:37,860 --> 00:03:42,220 I'm not going to listen or list anything because it's going to show how much I don't know. 49 00:03:42,220 --> 00:03:44,500 You already know that, but I don't want to say it aloud. 50 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:49,420 But understand that the final harvest here means something. 51 00:03:49,420 --> 00:03:53,420 It's the harvest of the earth. 52 00:03:53,420 --> 00:04:00,420 That chapter 14 reaffirms for us key doctrines of election, of the perseverance of the saints, 53 00:04:00,420 --> 00:04:02,360 and of God's sovereignty. 54 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:13,700 This harvest should be a secure encouragement for us and what the lamb and the 144,000 represent. 55 00:04:13,700 --> 00:04:18,420 So let's jump in, the first five verses of chapter 14. 56 00:04:18,420 --> 00:04:25,300 Then I looked, and behold on Mount Zion stood the lamb and with him 144,000 who had his 57 00:04:25,300 --> 00:04:29,660 name and his father's name written on their foreheads. 58 00:04:29,660 --> 00:04:34,780 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud 59 00:04:34,780 --> 00:04:36,020 thunder. 60 00:04:36,020 --> 00:04:40,220 The voice I heard was like the sound of the harpists playing on their harps. 61 00:04:40,220 --> 00:04:46,180 And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures 62 00:04:46,180 --> 00:04:47,180 and before the elders. 63 00:04:47,180 --> 00:04:50,260 Remember, that's a tie all the way back to the beginning. 64 00:04:50,260 --> 00:04:58,140 No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who have been redeemed from the earth. 65 00:04:58,140 --> 00:05:03,780 It is these, it is these who do not, or who have not defiled themselves with women for 66 00:05:03,780 --> 00:05:05,180 they are virgins. 67 00:05:05,180 --> 00:05:09,120 It is these who follow the lamb wherever he goes. 68 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:15,660 These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the lamb and in their mouth 69 00:05:15,660 --> 00:05:21,140 was no lie or no lie was found for they are blameless. 70 00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:29,740 Alright so given that, this might get awkward, but given that description of the 144,000, 71 00:05:29,740 --> 00:05:33,100 read all of it, I'm not reading it again. 72 00:05:33,100 --> 00:05:39,220 How many of you are 144,000? 73 00:05:39,220 --> 00:05:42,500 So what in the world? 74 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:47,820 Like we're not going to do an anatomy class, I'm not here to be your health teacher, right, 75 00:05:47,820 --> 00:05:56,180 but you know, the reasons why I'm not, Joey, Teddy, Jack. 76 00:05:56,180 --> 00:05:58,340 Ouch. 77 00:05:58,340 --> 00:06:03,340 I'd love to say I've never lied, but I just did, so I'm not there. 78 00:06:03,340 --> 00:06:05,500 So what in the world does this mean? 79 00:06:05,500 --> 00:06:13,860 How in the world can we actually find comfort in this when you read it and go, nope, not 80 00:06:13,860 --> 00:06:15,660 me. 81 00:06:15,660 --> 00:06:23,460 So the 144,000 in Revelation 14 is symbolic, but it's hotly debated. 82 00:06:23,460 --> 00:06:27,820 It carries historical and theological significance. 83 00:06:27,820 --> 00:06:31,860 Now we're going to get a little on the nerdy side, okay, don't worry, this is a little 84 00:06:31,860 --> 00:06:38,660 bit of the rabbit trail of the 144,000 because a misreading of this gets you a misreading 85 00:06:38,660 --> 00:06:40,900 of the entire book. 86 00:06:40,900 --> 00:06:48,460 And we actually have a world religion, a cult, actually multiple, that follow a literal misunderstanding 87 00:06:48,460 --> 00:06:54,460 of this and have led many, many people astray in this world. 88 00:06:54,460 --> 00:07:00,080 So the symbolic use in Jewish tradition, the Jews were all about numbers. 89 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:01,740 They loved numbers. 90 00:07:01,740 --> 00:07:03,160 Numbers represented everything. 91 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:08,540 If you want to get into that, The Dust of the Rabbi by Ray Vanderlaan, phenomenal, there's 92 00:07:08,540 --> 00:07:14,500 plenty others, I just like Ray better, that he does a great job of really diving into 93 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:15,500 numbers. 94 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:18,420 And if I did that, I would ruin it. 95 00:07:18,420 --> 00:07:24,020 And you all know that because it's hard for me to count, okay, or do simple math. 96 00:07:24,020 --> 00:07:25,020 Joey, can I get in? 97 00:07:25,020 --> 00:07:26,780 He's not even here, okay? 98 00:07:26,780 --> 00:07:30,420 Does anyone know where Joey went? 99 00:07:30,420 --> 00:07:34,780 If the rapture happened, we're all, that's, oh gosh, okay, we haven't even got to the 100 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:36,660 rapture yet, that's another sermon. 101 00:07:36,660 --> 00:07:40,060 Okay, the multiplication of 12, okay? 102 00:07:40,060 --> 00:07:45,260 The number 144,000, I actually wrote it down, Sarah, because I know you'd call me on it. 103 00:07:45,260 --> 00:07:52,780 12 times 12 times 1,000, don't do the math, put your phones away, it's right, okay? 104 00:07:52,780 --> 00:08:02,420 144,000 represents completeness in a manner familiar with the Jewish apocalyptic texts 105 00:08:02,420 --> 00:08:05,500 and the literature that was around in the first century. 106 00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:13,340 12 is associated with God's covenant people, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles representing 107 00:08:13,340 --> 00:08:18,580 the fullness of God's people across Old and New Testaments. 108 00:08:18,580 --> 00:08:25,480 The symbol of wholeness that we have to understand, because I know 12 times 12 is not 144,000, 109 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:31,460 but the thousand, multiplying these 12s by a thousand suggests in the way that we look 110 00:08:31,460 --> 00:08:38,820 at the text, the literature in the Greek is the vast completeness, a multitude representing 111 00:08:38,820 --> 00:08:43,140 God's people, not just a literal number. 112 00:08:43,140 --> 00:08:48,060 And especially reformed theologians have gone a little bit of a step further and view this 113 00:08:48,060 --> 00:08:57,700 symbolic rather than literal, embracing a vision of the totality of the redeemed, okay? 114 00:08:57,700 --> 00:09:01,280 The totality of the redeemed. 115 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:06,420 So the Dead Sea Scrolls, that community that found those and have used that in what I would 116 00:09:06,420 --> 00:09:13,420 call kind of biblical advancement, if you will, of bringing not only truth but evidence 117 00:09:13,420 --> 00:09:19,540 to biblical claims, another rhyme for another time, the idea of the remnant of a chosen 118 00:09:19,540 --> 00:09:25,420 group often depicted as 12 tribes mirrors the revelation symbolic use. 119 00:09:25,420 --> 00:09:32,540 The community saw itself as God's elect remnant, a remnant set apart for special covenantal 120 00:09:32,540 --> 00:09:33,540 purposes. 121 00:09:33,540 --> 00:09:43,620 John's use of 144,000 parallels this, emphasizing a remnant faithful to God amidst widespread 122 00:09:43,620 --> 00:09:45,860 apostasy. 123 00:09:45,860 --> 00:09:50,420 In the early church, the imagery would signal to a Jewish and Gentile audience alike the 124 00:09:50,420 --> 00:09:59,700 continuation of God's covenant across the old and new messianic covenant rather than 125 00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:02,500 being limited to an ethnic Israel. 126 00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:08,980 The 144,000 is often seen as inclusive of the entire spiritual Israel. 127 00:10:08,980 --> 00:10:14,180 We get that from Galatians 6, marking the full number of redeemed in Christ. 128 00:10:14,180 --> 00:10:19,680 So let's go a little bit deeper because you have to see what, it's not just the number 129 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:23,540 but just like a lot of things, you need the context. 130 00:10:23,540 --> 00:10:26,660 You have context, you have subtext to what's going on. 131 00:10:26,660 --> 00:10:29,780 First you have the Mount Zion as a symbol. 132 00:10:29,780 --> 00:10:35,140 Mount Zion is historically the symbol of the location of Jerusalem and anticipated to be 133 00:10:35,140 --> 00:10:39,300 the gathering point for God's people in messianic times. 134 00:10:39,300 --> 00:10:44,540 Here in Revelation, Mount Zion symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem and the ultimate gathering 135 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:46,340 of God's people. 136 00:10:46,340 --> 00:10:50,740 The Lamb's presence, we see the Lamb come back, this is his third time on the scene. 137 00:10:50,740 --> 00:10:56,700 The Lamb standing there indicates the gathering is under the authority of Christ. 138 00:10:56,700 --> 00:11:00,860 And here's a key little backdoor curveball. 139 00:11:00,860 --> 00:11:07,020 Those under the authority of Christ will live under that authority. 140 00:11:07,020 --> 00:11:11,940 Yet there are times in our lives the authority of Christ, Christ's definition of who you 141 00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:19,260 are may be different than what you're feeling and understanding that you do not trump Christ's 142 00:11:19,260 --> 00:11:20,260 authority. 143 00:11:20,260 --> 00:11:26,500 The authority in the Godhead, the authority of Christ, you do not get to say, no, not 144 00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:29,020 for me, no, I want my own authority. 145 00:11:29,020 --> 00:11:33,420 No, now you are breaking one of the first two commandments. 146 00:11:33,420 --> 00:11:36,100 Yet we do that, as a society we do that. 147 00:11:36,100 --> 00:11:41,380 Be your own God and do not pass go, do not collect $200. 148 00:11:41,380 --> 00:11:46,260 The minute you want to be or the minute you think life is there to please everything you 149 00:11:46,260 --> 00:11:50,420 want it to be, that's not the authority of Christ. 150 00:11:50,420 --> 00:11:56,260 The authority of Christ is not a Burger King motto of have it your way right away. 151 00:11:56,260 --> 00:12:02,620 That is so anti-biblical, we could probably do a year-long sermon series on it. 152 00:12:02,620 --> 00:12:05,360 It's not about your happiness and pleasure. 153 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:06,980 It's never been about that. 154 00:12:06,980 --> 00:12:12,540 If everyone's salvation is rooted through Jim's happiness and his pleasure, there will 155 00:12:12,540 --> 00:12:17,800 be no Chicago Cubs, the socks would rain, the bears wouldn't stink, and the bulls would 156 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,700 figure it out. 157 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:24,140 But it's not, and so I persevere. 158 00:12:24,140 --> 00:12:29,860 We are called to persevere even in the depths of our soul where there is friction with the 159 00:12:29,860 --> 00:12:30,860 word of God. 160 00:12:30,860 --> 00:12:35,220 Because at the end of the day, the friction you are having with the word of God on the 161 00:12:35,220 --> 00:12:38,980 last day doesn't stand. 162 00:12:38,980 --> 00:12:47,060 The lamb is present on the mountain because his authority is his authority and the authority 163 00:12:47,060 --> 00:12:49,420 of the covenant. 164 00:12:49,420 --> 00:12:55,700 So we see this 144,000, we see these markings on their forehead and we'll get to that. 165 00:12:55,700 --> 00:13:05,500 But understand that the 144,000 here is a symbolism in apocalyptic literature, a non-literal 166 00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:12,420 approach, by taking a literal approach of the 144,000, then you are walking the road 167 00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:14,660 of Jehovah's Witnesses. 168 00:13:14,660 --> 00:13:20,860 And they apply unique reading not commonly used in the book of Revelation. 169 00:13:20,860 --> 00:13:25,580 Liberal Christians, especially reform believers, typically view the apocalyptic literature 170 00:13:25,580 --> 00:13:32,740 in this as a lens of God's elect, God's redeemed. 171 00:13:32,740 --> 00:13:39,860 And where the Jehovah's Witness world religion or cult falls in on itself is that they institute 172 00:13:39,860 --> 00:13:46,260 a different class of people, that there are classes of people within the Revelation understanding 173 00:13:46,260 --> 00:13:48,340 of the 144,000. 174 00:13:48,340 --> 00:13:55,660 Jehovah's Witnesses teach that only a small group, a literal 144,000, has been privileged 175 00:13:55,660 --> 00:14:01,740 of being anointed, their words not mine, and ruling with Christ in heaven. 176 00:14:01,740 --> 00:14:04,460 The rest of the faithful will live on earth. 177 00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:12,100 This creates a two-tiered system of salvation that we as Christians ultimately reject. 178 00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:17,740 If there's a tiered system to salvation, then we understand it completely wrong that Christ 179 00:14:17,740 --> 00:14:21,980 died, Christ is all and is in all. 180 00:14:21,980 --> 00:14:27,740 And so we understand that though they believe in the tiered system, we don't, and it actually 181 00:14:27,740 --> 00:14:30,060 contradicts the New Testament. 182 00:14:30,060 --> 00:14:35,860 Ephesians 4 teaches that all believers share in one body, in one spirit, and one hope of 183 00:14:35,860 --> 00:14:39,340 their divine calling in Christ. 184 00:14:39,340 --> 00:14:45,580 The division of hope in the heavenly classes and earthly classes completely contradict. 185 00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:51,700 And here's the kicker, 2024, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the elect, those 144,000, that 186 00:14:51,700 --> 00:14:55,460 number has been completed already. 187 00:14:55,460 --> 00:15:01,540 Yet if you do the work, and here's where it fits into that works righteousness, that many, 188 00:15:01,540 --> 00:15:06,580 if not all, cults do and world religions do, if we see that, now all of a sudden I can 189 00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:14,100 work, I can go door to door, I can do all the things to try to get to a heavenly class, 190 00:15:14,100 --> 00:15:16,780 then really you're just gonna be in the earthly class. 191 00:15:16,780 --> 00:15:21,460 You're gonna be JV salvation, you're not gonna make it to varsity. 192 00:15:21,460 --> 00:15:26,980 So a distinction here is that the Jehovah's Witnesses interprets this great multitude 193 00:15:26,980 --> 00:15:36,260 as those who are not part of the 144,000 but still redeeming themselves. 194 00:15:36,260 --> 00:15:37,980 I can't redeem myself. 195 00:15:37,980 --> 00:15:42,540 I can claim myself as righteous but then my wife's gonna tell me I'm wrong. 196 00:15:42,540 --> 00:15:44,740 We don't get that. 197 00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:47,260 Believers in Christ don't get to dictate themselves. 198 00:15:47,260 --> 00:15:49,100 It doesn't work that way. 199 00:15:49,100 --> 00:15:58,020 So understand that this group takes a theological isolation to what this 144,000 actually means. 200 00:15:58,020 --> 00:16:01,700 Now what happens when they come to your door? 201 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:03,020 You show them love and grace. 202 00:16:03,020 --> 00:16:04,900 I'll tell you a quick story. 203 00:16:04,900 --> 00:16:09,380 We're in Crown Point and we had Mormon group come to the door and a couple months later 204 00:16:09,380 --> 00:16:14,500 Jehovah's Witnesses and I always offer to them, I said I will make a pot of coffee, 205 00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:16,620 you'll see me make it so I'm not putting anything in it. 206 00:16:16,620 --> 00:16:18,140 I verbalized this to them. 207 00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:24,300 I said I will give you a half an hour of my undivided attention if you give me 10 when 208 00:16:24,300 --> 00:16:26,540 you're done. 209 00:16:26,540 --> 00:16:30,380 The Mormons ran, the Jehovah's Witnesses took me up on it. 210 00:16:30,380 --> 00:16:32,140 So we sat in my living room. 211 00:16:32,140 --> 00:16:35,180 They walked, well first it was a K-cup so they were good. 212 00:16:35,180 --> 00:16:39,980 But understand that they got there, they went for about only 15 minutes. 213 00:16:39,980 --> 00:16:43,020 And I said you have another 15, I want to be true to what I said. 214 00:16:43,020 --> 00:16:44,480 And they said no Jim we're good. 215 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:52,720 They knew I was a pastor, they knew that I was a believer and I asked them flat out, 216 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:57,660 what if I'm 144,001? 217 00:16:57,660 --> 00:17:06,740 Why would I accept an earthly class to salvation when my Jesus, what Christianity tells me 218 00:17:06,740 --> 00:17:13,180 is that I will reign with him as sons and daughters of the King in glory. 219 00:17:13,180 --> 00:17:18,620 You're not even telling me I'm on a perfected earth. 220 00:17:18,620 --> 00:17:24,740 Why would I put my hope and my faith and my trust in that when the three of us, there 221 00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:28,740 was two of them because they always go in pairs or more, I said why don't the three 222 00:17:28,740 --> 00:17:35,020 of us seek Christ together so then we don't have to worry about a number but we worry 223 00:17:35,020 --> 00:17:40,420 about eternal life into glory together. 224 00:17:40,420 --> 00:17:43,420 They left. 225 00:17:43,420 --> 00:17:48,900 But what I like to think happened is maybe just maybe a little seed of doubt, it's okay 226 00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:51,220 to put a seed of doubt in a worldly cult. 227 00:17:51,220 --> 00:17:57,100 It is okay that that's one way that we can fight the spiritual powers of that. 228 00:17:57,100 --> 00:18:03,980 And I'm hoping that one of them isn't okay with being 144,001 and that that could lead 229 00:18:03,980 --> 00:18:05,820 to some kind of life change. 230 00:18:05,820 --> 00:18:06,820 Who knows? 231 00:18:06,820 --> 00:18:11,860 Sometimes we plant our seeds, maybe they said that guy's crazy, must have been day drinking 232 00:18:11,860 --> 00:18:12,860 and they got out of there. 233 00:18:12,860 --> 00:18:16,700 I have no idea what their thoughts were right because they left so abruptly. 234 00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:23,700 But understand that this 144,000, if we follow apocalyptic symbolism, is the understanding 235 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:27,300 of God's elect, God's completeness. 236 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:32,500 And we have confessions that speak to that, the Belgian confession being one that I quote 237 00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:33,500 often. 238 00:18:33,500 --> 00:18:39,180 But these 144,000, God's complete, God's seal, there's something on their foreheads. 239 00:18:39,180 --> 00:18:44,120 The seal on their foreheads marks them as belonging to God. 240 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:46,740 This is something that I know cattle farmers do. 241 00:18:46,740 --> 00:18:51,860 They brand their cattle, the ones that they own, the ones that they've saved from fields 242 00:18:51,860 --> 00:18:55,260 or they bought or whatever, that they brand them. 243 00:18:55,260 --> 00:18:57,880 That the seal, but there's a reason why. 244 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,300 People get stuck like, the seal, oh the mark of the beast, oh left behind, heaven help 245 00:19:02,300 --> 00:19:04,180 us. 246 00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:09,260 Understand that God is sealing for a reason because of what is going to come. 247 00:19:09,260 --> 00:19:15,220 I said we've got to the third base in this, but we haven't seen anything yet. 248 00:19:15,220 --> 00:19:17,140 Yet we've seen a lot. 249 00:19:17,140 --> 00:19:22,780 That the seal is resembling the seal of God commanded for the Israelite priests in Exodus 250 00:19:22,780 --> 00:19:30,900 28, affirms that they are consecrated to God and faithful in their testimony. 251 00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:37,500 So in your testimony is there contradiction that as you tell your testimony, the power 252 00:19:37,500 --> 00:19:42,020 of your testimony, who is getting the credit, who is getting the glory. 253 00:19:42,020 --> 00:19:47,220 If telling your testimony, you come out on top, then you are failing in your testimony 254 00:19:47,220 --> 00:19:53,500 because your testimony should be old life, cross, new life, and end on the cross. 255 00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:55,300 Why that? 256 00:19:55,300 --> 00:20:04,140 So understanding that the mark represents God's covenantal claim on his people. 257 00:20:04,140 --> 00:20:08,060 But I think there's some of us that don't like that either because we have it in our 258 00:20:08,060 --> 00:20:09,060 mind. 259 00:20:09,060 --> 00:20:10,740 We're going to be our own people. 260 00:20:10,740 --> 00:20:16,100 Come hell or high water, I'm going to be my own individual self. 261 00:20:16,100 --> 00:20:23,060 No, you cannot be your own individual self and be bought with the blood of Jesus. 262 00:20:23,060 --> 00:20:26,260 His covenantal seal is on your life. 263 00:20:26,260 --> 00:20:29,060 Well, how does this look practically? 264 00:20:29,060 --> 00:20:30,940 Let's go back a couple months. 265 00:20:30,940 --> 00:20:37,860 One Sunday we're baptizing a baby and the next Sunday one is making profession of faith. 266 00:20:37,860 --> 00:20:40,100 That is a sign and a symbol. 267 00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:45,100 That is us engaging the covenantal seal of when we understand when the Holy Spirit has 268 00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:51,660 showed us in our heart that we belong to Christ. 269 00:20:51,660 --> 00:20:58,500 This signifies the assurance of salvation and a perseverance of God's grace. 270 00:20:58,500 --> 00:21:03,980 So we have this seal and then we have this song, the song of the redeemed. 271 00:21:03,980 --> 00:21:10,780 The new song may signify the unique relationship between the redeemed and God, reflecting their 272 00:21:10,780 --> 00:21:15,940 special role as those who have endured and triumphed in Christ. 273 00:21:15,940 --> 00:21:21,500 But what we pull from this is for what's to come. 274 00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:29,540 The seal and the song is for what's to come because unfortunately and even some in the 275 00:21:29,540 --> 00:21:37,540 here and now who think they claim Jesus, in the end the seal will not be on them, the 276 00:21:37,540 --> 00:21:41,220 song will not be in their mouth. 277 00:21:41,220 --> 00:21:46,620 And the rub here, the hard part of that is why? 278 00:21:46,620 --> 00:21:51,700 Because the scripture tells us there are going to be some that say Lord, Lord and Jesus says 279 00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:53,220 I never knew you. 280 00:21:53,220 --> 00:21:57,780 So the challenge in this kind of confusing set of scriptures is how do you know that 281 00:21:57,780 --> 00:22:03,260 you know that you know that you belong to Christ? 282 00:22:03,260 --> 00:22:06,220 What is the evidence of that? 283 00:22:06,220 --> 00:22:12,020 Not the lip service but the evidence and it's not just the works, it's the combination of 284 00:22:12,020 --> 00:22:14,220 the two. 285 00:22:14,220 --> 00:22:18,300 When people come to make profession of faith in the elders given the way our tradition 286 00:22:18,300 --> 00:22:23,040 follows and walks through all of that, that one of the things the elders is looking for 287 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,300 is the evidence of faith. 288 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:31,220 For new believers there's not much because it might be the first step of the process 289 00:22:31,220 --> 00:22:32,860 and the elders have to discern that. 290 00:22:32,860 --> 00:22:37,360 For some it's almost like a culmination of maybe growing up in the church, maybe Christian 291 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:41,980 education, maybe camps or other conferences that they go to. 292 00:22:41,980 --> 00:22:46,860 It's never a graduation of God but it's the start of a new journey and that is evidence 293 00:22:46,860 --> 00:22:48,980 in their life. 294 00:22:48,980 --> 00:22:56,500 If someone comes to church for the very first time and professes Christ as Lord and Savior 295 00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,820 there's a lot of conversations around that. 296 00:22:58,820 --> 00:23:03,340 And some of you don't like that because like, ooh, are you putting glories on salvation? 297 00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:04,700 Well the elders are called to do that. 298 00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:10,220 As a pastor I'm called to do that because you have people that will just say it and 299 00:23:10,220 --> 00:23:11,580 not really believe it. 300 00:23:11,580 --> 00:23:17,100 If we confess Jesus as Lord and believe true faith, going back to the Heidelberg, what 301 00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:18,100 is true faith? 302 00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:22,340 It is a knowledge and a conviction. 303 00:23:22,340 --> 00:23:27,620 Anyone can say Jesus is Lord but do you really believe it and do you put it into practice 304 00:23:27,620 --> 00:23:30,780 in your everyday life? 305 00:23:30,780 --> 00:23:36,340 That is the weight of being an elder, of being a pastor, of having to walk through that with 306 00:23:36,340 --> 00:23:42,820 individuals and if not, discipling them to go deeper. 307 00:23:42,820 --> 00:23:46,620 So not only is there a mark across the forehead and a new song in their heart and in their 308 00:23:46,620 --> 00:23:53,020 mouth, there's this call for purity and faithfulness. 309 00:23:53,020 --> 00:23:59,820 So yes, there's a purity when it comes to kind of a understanding of the virginity of 310 00:23:59,820 --> 00:24:05,420 these people, right, of the 144,000 and not to make it awkward or weird, you may have 311 00:24:05,420 --> 00:24:09,420 to have conversations later in the day but call your elder. 312 00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:14,100 Understand that these 144 elders, they are committed and unblemished. 313 00:24:14,100 --> 00:24:20,020 They are rejecting the understanding that they alone can make themselves pure, that 314 00:24:20,020 --> 00:24:23,620 it's God in them, preparing them as a bride. 315 00:24:23,620 --> 00:24:34,820 This symbolizes a singular devotion, singular devotion to God, undistracted by any kind 316 00:24:34,820 --> 00:24:40,100 of infidelity, spiritual, physical, anything. 317 00:24:40,100 --> 00:24:46,300 The purity is seen as metaphorical, thank God, okay, is seen as metaphorical for their 318 00:24:46,300 --> 00:24:51,060 steadfast love in a world of spiritual compromise. 319 00:24:51,060 --> 00:24:55,140 So that was Warren Worsby when I was reading some of his thoughts that the thing that we 320 00:24:55,140 --> 00:25:00,480 need to pull from this is that there's a world today that is telling you to compromise in 321 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:05,660 your faith because of your own truth and understanding all of those things, that if it contradicts 322 00:25:05,660 --> 00:25:08,220 God's word, it contradicts your spirit. 323 00:25:08,220 --> 00:25:09,900 At least it should. 324 00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:17,100 It should be quote unquote that easy and understanding this, that this is the call, a symbolic understanding 325 00:25:17,100 --> 00:25:19,920 of what God is demanding of you. 326 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:24,860 You get things like do justly, love mercy, walk humbly, trust in the Lord with all of 327 00:25:24,860 --> 00:25:27,900 your heart, lean not on your own understanding. 328 00:25:27,900 --> 00:25:32,820 Gospel, Testament and New, Jesus' sermon on the mount, go through each section. 329 00:25:32,820 --> 00:25:37,520 It has to do with understanding who you are in Christ in a purified way and walking it 330 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,460 out in a purified way. 331 00:25:40,460 --> 00:25:46,500 And for those that are not called to be married, that that is the sacred calling, right, to 332 00:25:46,500 --> 00:25:54,040 abstain from the pleasures of the world to have a singular devotion in God. 333 00:25:54,040 --> 00:26:02,580 In 2024, it could be seen as laughable for how much we love those physical pleasures 334 00:26:02,580 --> 00:26:04,780 and whatever that looks like. 335 00:26:04,780 --> 00:26:06,500 So how do we walk from this? 336 00:26:06,500 --> 00:26:08,460 Because I haven't even started the sermon yet. 337 00:26:08,460 --> 00:26:10,540 Where do we walk from this? 338 00:26:10,540 --> 00:26:12,920 Some of you just got really nervous. 339 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:18,820 The application for this is we can trust that as believers, we are securely held in God's 340 00:26:18,820 --> 00:26:20,300 covenant love. 341 00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:28,420 In times of trial and spiritual opposition, remember that your identity is sealed in God 342 00:26:28,420 --> 00:26:31,020 Himself. 343 00:26:31,020 --> 00:26:35,980 There's a lot more that we can dive into about the 144,000, but we don't, that's not the 344 00:26:35,980 --> 00:26:37,540 only part of the story. 345 00:26:37,540 --> 00:26:42,540 We see three angels and we see God's warning in Revelation 14. 346 00:26:42,540 --> 00:26:49,020 Revelation 14 says this, then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal 347 00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:54,700 gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and 348 00:26:54,700 --> 00:26:55,700 people. 349 00:26:55,700 --> 00:27:00,740 And he said with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment 350 00:27:00,740 --> 00:27:06,700 has come and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. 351 00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:10,620 And another angel, a third, followed them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships 352 00:27:10,620 --> 00:27:16,580 the beast and its images and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will 353 00:27:16,580 --> 00:27:22,740 also drink the wine of God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger and 354 00:27:22,740 --> 00:27:27,540 he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the 355 00:27:27,540 --> 00:27:29,220 presence of the lamb. 356 00:27:29,220 --> 00:27:34,740 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day or night, 357 00:27:34,740 --> 00:27:39,300 these worshipers of the beast and its image and whoever receives the mark in his name. 358 00:27:39,300 --> 00:27:41,940 April, go back to the middle slide. 359 00:27:41,940 --> 00:27:48,420 Really you're seeing this, that God is coming as conqueror king and what Satan is doing, 360 00:27:48,420 --> 00:27:54,180 what Satan has been allowed to do is make a counterfeit every step along the way. 361 00:27:54,180 --> 00:27:59,940 The 144,000, God's elect, they've been sealed, they've been given a song, they have been 362 00:27:59,940 --> 00:28:06,380 acknowledged for their purity of their understanding of who they are in Christ. 363 00:28:06,380 --> 00:28:08,260 And so what does the beast do? 364 00:28:08,260 --> 00:28:09,660 What does Satan do? 365 00:28:09,660 --> 00:28:11,980 He counterfeits it. 366 00:28:11,980 --> 00:28:14,180 I'm gonna give you my own mark. 367 00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:20,020 My guess is he's telling the people it's just like the mark of that guy. 368 00:28:20,020 --> 00:28:22,580 It's just like his mark, right? 369 00:28:22,580 --> 00:28:26,500 But it's just easier because you get to put yourself first. 370 00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:30,300 It's just easier to take the mark of the beast because the mark of the beast is marked by 371 00:28:30,300 --> 00:28:38,820 selfishness about wanting your own way, contradicting everything that the Bible calls us to, everything 372 00:28:38,820 --> 00:28:44,780 that we are encouraged to repent of and walk in though it's hard. 373 00:28:44,780 --> 00:28:47,540 First angel is proclaiming the eternal gospel. 374 00:28:47,540 --> 00:28:50,900 The second angel, we see Babylon finally falling. 375 00:28:50,900 --> 00:28:55,180 Third angel is the warning against worshiping the beast. 376 00:28:55,180 --> 00:29:01,900 So I get this question, I've gotten it a couple times every week since we've been in it. 377 00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:09,740 How do I, pastor, how do I know if I'm following God or if I'm following the beast? 378 00:29:09,740 --> 00:29:13,860 I thought about this and I've given, I thought some decent answers, probably not some of 379 00:29:13,860 --> 00:29:14,860 the great ones. 380 00:29:14,860 --> 00:29:18,260 When it first came to me, but I've been thinking about this, it's been churning for a couple 381 00:29:18,260 --> 00:29:19,260 weeks. 382 00:29:19,260 --> 00:29:24,180 And again, I was not planning on preaching this the week of the election, nor do I ever 383 00:29:24,180 --> 00:29:27,380 really want to preach a lot of politics. 384 00:29:27,380 --> 00:29:33,180 But understand that the following of the beast starts with you. 385 00:29:33,180 --> 00:29:38,540 Again, Satan doesn't want a relationship with you, Satan didn't die for you, Satan doesn't 386 00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:39,660 really care about you. 387 00:29:39,660 --> 00:29:41,620 It's not a what would Satan do culture. 388 00:29:41,620 --> 00:29:45,740 Satan just wants you to live it up for you. 389 00:29:45,740 --> 00:29:53,020 It's about your comfort, it's about your pleasure, it's about making sure everything you do is 390 00:29:53,020 --> 00:29:59,160 right and you don't really give a hoot what anyone else thinks, even someone that may 391 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:03,660 be trying to spiritually correct or maybe try to bring some things back so that your 392 00:30:03,660 --> 00:30:07,140 life actually aligns biblically and scripturally. 393 00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:14,960 Well, you can't do that because it's my truth, it's my identity, it's my understanding. 394 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:20,100 Understand that that will fall short ultimately if your understanding is not rooted in scripture 395 00:30:20,100 --> 00:30:25,380 because God has given his word, God has claimed his word over us. 396 00:30:25,380 --> 00:30:28,580 And so we need to heed that message. 397 00:30:28,580 --> 00:30:32,940 The way of the beast is self-centered. 398 00:30:32,940 --> 00:30:37,420 The way of the cross, the way of salvation is Jesus-centered. 399 00:30:37,420 --> 00:30:38,580 Now is that easy? 400 00:30:38,580 --> 00:30:39,580 No. 401 00:30:39,580 --> 00:30:40,580 Is it clean? 402 00:30:40,580 --> 00:30:45,540 It should be, but we don't make it that way and so it's hard. 403 00:30:45,540 --> 00:30:47,020 So what do we need to do? 404 00:30:47,020 --> 00:30:52,940 As we take these warnings, as we get to the final harvest, let us heed the gospel message, 405 00:30:52,940 --> 00:30:58,340 staying faithful and resisting allegiances that pull us away from God. 406 00:30:58,340 --> 00:31:03,540 That is not a political statement. 407 00:31:03,540 --> 00:31:06,280 Understand that first. 408 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:12,440 Heed the gospel message, staying faithful and resisting allegiances that pull us away 409 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:13,620 from God. 410 00:31:13,620 --> 00:31:18,900 Every choice we make to honor God strengthens our witness and aligns us with his eternal 411 00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:20,260 kingdom. 412 00:31:20,260 --> 00:31:24,780 Out of our faith, we live this way. 413 00:31:24,780 --> 00:31:26,860 So we got to get to the harvest. 414 00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:29,540 We'll get to that quickly. 415 00:31:29,540 --> 00:31:34,340 Revelation 14, then I looked and behold a white cloud and seated on the white cloud 416 00:31:34,340 --> 00:31:39,500 like a son of man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand and another 417 00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:44,540 angel came out of the temple calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, 418 00:31:44,540 --> 00:31:51,000 put in your sickle and reap for the hour to reap has come for the harvest of the earth 419 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,080 is fully ripe. 420 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:58,820 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth and the earth was reaped. 421 00:31:58,820 --> 00:32:03,300 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has the authority over the fire 422 00:32:03,300 --> 00:32:07,980 and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, put your sickle 423 00:32:07,980 --> 00:32:12,780 and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth for its grapes are ripe. 424 00:32:12,780 --> 00:32:18,060 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grapes harvest of the earth 425 00:32:18,060 --> 00:32:23,300 and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 426 00:32:23,300 --> 00:32:28,940 And the wine press was trodden outside the city and blood flowed from the wine press 427 00:32:28,940 --> 00:32:34,660 as high as a horse's bridle for 1600 stadia. 428 00:32:34,660 --> 00:32:37,740 So understand that here is the reaping. 429 00:32:37,740 --> 00:32:39,700 The harvest of the world. 430 00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:43,380 I love how it starts with the son of man. 431 00:32:43,380 --> 00:32:48,780 What Jesus says about himself in the book of Luke, Christ enters the seed. 432 00:32:48,780 --> 00:32:53,120 This harvest represents the gathering of the righteous, those who are in Christ and the 433 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:57,220 end of the age. 434 00:32:57,220 --> 00:33:01,140 The second harvest, the grape harvest represents judgment. 435 00:33:01,140 --> 00:33:05,700 The image of the wine press signifies the outpouring of God's wrath on the unrepentant, 436 00:33:05,700 --> 00:33:13,580 a sobering depiction of final judgment, not only a final judgment, of final justice. 437 00:33:13,580 --> 00:33:18,340 There's a dual nature here, because I was reading this kind of anew, I don't dive into 438 00:33:18,340 --> 00:33:23,220 this, I don't really devote on revelations, it's way too scary, is an understanding of 439 00:33:23,220 --> 00:33:25,660 the dual nature of these harvests. 440 00:33:25,660 --> 00:33:30,860 Because as it was first starting, I was like, all right, wine on the vine or grape on the 441 00:33:30,860 --> 00:33:35,420 vine, God, Christ says I'm the vine, you are the branches, fantastic, I'm going to be a 442 00:33:35,420 --> 00:33:38,300 grape, hard stop. 443 00:33:38,300 --> 00:33:41,840 No I'm not, you don't want to be a grape, right? 444 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:46,740 You want to be harvested before that, because these harvests illustrate salvation of God's 445 00:33:46,740 --> 00:33:53,420 people and judgment of the unrepentant. 446 00:33:53,420 --> 00:34:02,380 It reveals the just character of God, who God will separate the righteous from the wicked. 447 00:34:02,380 --> 00:34:07,300 And I guarantee you there are people here that hate that I just said that. 448 00:34:07,300 --> 00:34:11,660 Because God's all inclusive, it's just like Cancun. 449 00:34:11,660 --> 00:34:15,060 No it's not, it's never been. 450 00:34:15,060 --> 00:34:20,420 If that's your reading of the book, I think you got to go a little deeper, that God is 451 00:34:20,420 --> 00:34:25,260 the one that is separating, he's made it very clear. 452 00:34:25,260 --> 00:34:30,860 And what we seem to not understand at times is this isn't like, oh man, after revelation 453 00:34:30,860 --> 00:34:32,420 we're all going to get it. 454 00:34:32,420 --> 00:34:35,940 No, it's the end of the judgment. 455 00:34:35,940 --> 00:34:40,580 It is the end of the world. 456 00:34:40,580 --> 00:34:43,100 Because there's salvation and there's judgment. 457 00:34:43,100 --> 00:34:47,520 There always has been and now we're walking in it in the book of Revelation. 458 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:49,660 Are we there in 2024? 459 00:34:49,660 --> 00:34:52,860 I'm not going to wear a sign board and ring a bell, but what I want to pull from that 460 00:34:52,860 --> 00:34:56,900 is there are people in my life that are unrepentant to Jesus. 461 00:34:56,900 --> 00:34:58,380 They don't think they need him. 462 00:34:58,380 --> 00:35:00,520 They think his salvation means nothing. 463 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:02,340 They think the church is a joke. 464 00:35:02,340 --> 00:35:05,420 They think I only work one day a week. 465 00:35:05,420 --> 00:35:09,060 Friends, we got to work on them. 466 00:35:09,060 --> 00:35:13,500 And though they may not, their salvation may look different than yours, if they confess 467 00:35:13,500 --> 00:35:18,340 with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and they believe in their heart that God raised them 468 00:35:18,340 --> 00:35:22,520 from the dead, they're saved by biblical standards. 469 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:27,260 And here's the understanding, the biblical standard of salvation is not Jim Holland owner's 470 00:35:27,260 --> 00:35:29,300 standard. 471 00:35:29,300 --> 00:35:31,740 It's not Elder Paul's standard. 472 00:35:31,740 --> 00:35:34,100 It's not Deacon Neal's standard. 473 00:35:34,100 --> 00:35:37,740 It's not the Christian Reformed Church's standard. 474 00:35:37,740 --> 00:35:44,100 It is the salvation that comes through Christ alone. 475 00:35:44,100 --> 00:35:46,060 And here's the key. 476 00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:49,860 A lot of us bring way too many people to that dance. 477 00:35:49,860 --> 00:35:52,300 And it's not Christ alone. 478 00:35:52,300 --> 00:35:56,860 It's all these other things that we want to add to it. 479 00:35:56,860 --> 00:35:58,460 Don't. 480 00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:03,220 The use I use internally and how I try to lead is the acronym KISS. 481 00:36:03,220 --> 00:36:04,220 Keep it simple. 482 00:36:04,220 --> 00:36:08,220 Okay, you didn't have to say it out loud, seven of you. 483 00:36:08,220 --> 00:36:11,340 But understand that that is true. 484 00:36:11,340 --> 00:36:14,940 Jesus is saying the same thing minus the stupid. 485 00:36:14,940 --> 00:36:16,140 It's about you and me. 486 00:36:16,140 --> 00:36:21,780 How are we walking this out under the Lordship of Christ? 487 00:36:21,780 --> 00:36:23,940 So what is our response? 488 00:36:23,940 --> 00:36:27,020 Our response to Christ doing the reaping? 489 00:36:27,020 --> 00:36:31,340 Don't be a grape, but that's not my application. 490 00:36:31,340 --> 00:36:36,980 Our response to Christ now determines our place in the final harvest. 491 00:36:36,980 --> 00:36:42,700 Let us live with eternal purpose, pursuing holiness and encouraging others to turn to 492 00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:46,660 God in repentance. 493 00:36:46,660 --> 00:36:49,060 How are you going to do that? 494 00:36:49,060 --> 00:36:53,580 That's another rhyme for another time because we have to live in the light of the final 495 00:36:53,580 --> 00:36:54,580 harvest. 496 00:36:54,580 --> 00:36:57,460 Two verses and 14. 497 00:36:57,460 --> 00:37:01,740 Here is the call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of 498 00:37:01,740 --> 00:37:04,300 God and their faith in Jesus. 499 00:37:04,300 --> 00:37:12,100 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this, blessed are the dead who die in the 500 00:37:12,100 --> 00:37:14,060 Lord from now on. 501 00:37:14,060 --> 00:37:20,480 Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors for their deeds 502 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:26,880 follow them. 503 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:35,220 The Trilla family and the Brummer family, though devastated, both heard that and are 504 00:37:35,220 --> 00:37:39,140 living that now. 505 00:37:39,140 --> 00:37:41,940 And that's what I want us to understand. 506 00:37:41,940 --> 00:37:47,140 I want us to understand blessed, go back to the Sermon on the Mount, I'm going to read 507 00:37:47,140 --> 00:37:48,820 this a different way. 508 00:37:48,820 --> 00:37:55,340 Congratulations to the dead who die in the Lord from now on. 509 00:37:55,340 --> 00:37:56,900 Okay? 510 00:37:56,900 --> 00:38:00,900 Congratulations indeed, says the Spirit. 511 00:38:00,900 --> 00:38:06,260 They may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them. 512 00:38:06,260 --> 00:38:14,180 If you think you can live a Christian life and not do things, I think you're doing it 513 00:38:14,180 --> 00:38:15,980 wrong. 514 00:38:15,980 --> 00:38:19,700 They rest from their labor. 515 00:38:19,700 --> 00:38:24,460 My challenge for you this week, what is your labor? 516 00:38:24,460 --> 00:38:27,140 Who are you laboring for? 517 00:38:27,140 --> 00:38:33,440 If it's for yourself or even through other people, you are a great servant, but if Christ 518 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:43,300 is not that first, you are a great servant on your way to bringing people to hell. 519 00:38:43,300 --> 00:38:46,260 Congratulations to your labor. 520 00:38:46,260 --> 00:38:48,740 We're already told that our labor is going to stink. 521 00:38:48,740 --> 00:38:50,340 Thanks Adam and Eve. 522 00:38:50,340 --> 00:38:55,420 Yeah, that's why perseverance and faith are so important. 523 00:38:55,420 --> 00:38:57,700 They're eternally important. 524 00:38:57,700 --> 00:39:00,620 Pastor, my labor right now is hard. 525 00:39:00,620 --> 00:39:05,660 Labor in my marriage, labor in my job, labor in all of these things, it's hard. 526 00:39:05,660 --> 00:39:07,460 Friend, keep going. 527 00:39:07,460 --> 00:39:09,180 Don't look for the shortcut. 528 00:39:09,180 --> 00:39:13,460 Wow, this is just hard, so I'm going to bounce. 529 00:39:13,460 --> 00:39:16,100 Did Jesus do that? 530 00:39:16,100 --> 00:39:19,020 We just celebrated this morning that He didn't. 531 00:39:19,020 --> 00:39:20,900 He doubled down on it. 532 00:39:20,900 --> 00:39:23,940 He said, do this in remembrance of me. 533 00:39:23,940 --> 00:39:25,900 When's the last time you shed your blood? 534 00:39:25,900 --> 00:39:28,860 I say that to the mirror first, this being a mirror. 535 00:39:28,860 --> 00:39:32,140 I've never shed blood for my faith. 536 00:39:32,140 --> 00:39:33,700 Maybe I've been hurt for my faith. 537 00:39:33,700 --> 00:39:35,940 I've been lied to. 538 00:39:35,940 --> 00:39:38,180 Maybe I've been backstabbed for my faith. 539 00:39:38,180 --> 00:39:42,540 Maybe it's been the church, but we labor on. 540 00:39:42,540 --> 00:39:45,580 I can't believe we sung that song, I'm out. 541 00:39:45,580 --> 00:39:46,580 Really? 542 00:39:46,580 --> 00:39:48,420 That's the commitment to the faith? 543 00:39:48,420 --> 00:39:50,220 Oh, so and so. 544 00:39:50,220 --> 00:39:53,420 Man, the chili at the couples club just wrecked my insides. 545 00:39:53,420 --> 00:39:55,220 God's not real. 546 00:39:55,220 --> 00:39:56,780 Really? 547 00:39:56,780 --> 00:40:01,980 I make light of those things, but don't we live in a world that does that? 548 00:40:01,980 --> 00:40:06,940 Man, someone said something really mean to me because of the faith. 549 00:40:06,940 --> 00:40:10,180 Maybe God isn't real. 550 00:40:10,180 --> 00:40:11,620 Go back. 551 00:40:11,620 --> 00:40:15,420 Congratulations for your labor. 552 00:40:15,420 --> 00:40:21,100 It's going to be hard, but I think the payoff is worth it. 553 00:40:21,100 --> 00:40:30,460 But I want my payoff now because we act like little children when we don't get our way. 554 00:40:30,460 --> 00:40:36,300 Hang in there because the labor is hard. 555 00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:42,100 This passage concludes with encouragement, which I think we need. 556 00:40:42,100 --> 00:40:47,020 Those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus, the blessing is for 557 00:40:47,020 --> 00:40:50,300 the faithful who die in the Lord. 558 00:40:50,300 --> 00:40:56,180 That will be declared to the Chorilla family tomorrow at Calumet Park. 559 00:40:56,180 --> 00:40:59,580 That will be declared to the Brummel family when we do that graveside. 560 00:40:59,580 --> 00:41:06,940 Because as they say their final earthly goodbye to their loved one, we take rest and we take 561 00:41:06,940 --> 00:41:12,500 peace in the fact that they're done laboring. 562 00:41:12,500 --> 00:41:15,580 They've been given their reward. 563 00:41:15,580 --> 00:41:18,420 All right. 564 00:41:18,420 --> 00:41:20,180 I think we're done. 565 00:41:20,180 --> 00:41:25,060 Let's put these practical points up as we go into our week, as we go into yet another 566 00:41:25,060 --> 00:41:28,260 fun set of passages next week. 567 00:41:28,260 --> 00:41:32,940 First, embrace your identity in Christ. 568 00:41:32,940 --> 00:41:39,860 As 144,000 marked by God, let us live confidently as people secured by His grace. 569 00:41:39,860 --> 00:41:43,500 It probably means we should show grace to others. 570 00:41:43,500 --> 00:41:47,460 Reflect on ways to deepen our relationship with Christ and understand your place in His 571 00:41:47,460 --> 00:41:48,460 family. 572 00:41:48,460 --> 00:41:53,020 Second, respond to the gospel's call with faithfulness. 573 00:41:53,020 --> 00:41:58,380 Just as the angels call people to repent and avoid false worship, we must remain vigilant 574 00:41:58,380 --> 00:42:02,060 to our allegiance to God alone. 575 00:42:02,060 --> 00:42:06,100 That is not a political statement. 576 00:42:06,100 --> 00:42:15,500 Identify areas in your life where you can reject worldly values that compete for your 577 00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:16,500 heart. 578 00:42:16,500 --> 00:42:19,740 Third, live in readiness for the final harvest. 579 00:42:19,740 --> 00:42:25,380 The two-fold nature of the harvest reminds us that both salvation and judgment are coming. 580 00:42:25,380 --> 00:42:30,940 Pursue a life of holiness, knowing that every decision you make shapes your eternal destiny. 581 00:42:30,940 --> 00:42:35,060 And finally, preserve and hope of eternal rest. 582 00:42:35,060 --> 00:42:40,980 The promise of rest encourage us to endure in faith in times of trial, focus on God's 583 00:42:40,980 --> 00:42:48,260 eternal reward, and find ways to encourage others who may be struggling in their walk. 584 00:42:48,260 --> 00:42:49,660 Until next week, let's pray.