Move That Bus!
(The End Of Time)
The Story – Chapter 31
Maple Grove we made it…! Chapter 31 of The Story has arrived.
WOW, it sure took a long time but we are finally here…
I MEAN – January 13 , is a long way back.
AND LISTEN – whether you were here when we started on this journey through God’s Word (Genesis-Revelation)… OR – you joined us somewhere along the way…
TODAY – we are all @ the place, the final chapter…
YES TODAY – we get to see how The Story (God’s Story, Our Story) ends… as we take a look at the very last book in the bible Revelation.
Prayer
On Thursday morning I was hanging out with a bunch of guys talking about Philippians chapter 2… We had a great discussion about the how we MUST, as Paul said in Philippians 2:5 “have the same attitude that Jesus had…”
It’s a great chapter and it was a great discussion, despite being 0600 in the morning…
AND - we spent most of the time talking about one of Jesus’ core attitudes (especially in Phil 2) was humility… NO JESUS – never demanded or clung to his rights (and as God you got a lot of rights)…
BUT INSTEAD – he constantly laid them down for the benefit of others… YEAH – Jesus was always thinking of others, putting them and their needs first… encouraging them, pouring life (not negativity) into them… what a great way to live, right?
AND – during the discussion the topic of realities shows came up and Bob said that he has no desire to watch those shows that are just full of people arguing, fighting, complaining – only looking out for themselves…
He said he would rather watch shows like… the one where a guy helps rebuild someone’s car that is in bad shape…
Yeah, I like those kind of shows too…
NOW - one of my favorites has always been Extreme Home Makeovers…YOU CAN’T – help but feel good after watching them, right? I MEAN - they come alongside a family who has really been through some difficult and is most of the time… still in the middle of them… AND - they give a new home and new hope…
AND – the high point of the show is when they bring the family back to see their new home… A huge cheering crowd is gathered and all that stands in the way of their new home is a what? A bus…
AND THEN - Ty Pennington asks them, “so, do you want to see your new home… then you know what to say…”
‘Move That Bus!’
I want to show a brief clip of what that looked for the Powell Family… A single mom of 4… who immigrated from Jamaica in order to give her children a better life… Working multiple jobs she eventually was able to buy a home in her city (Buffalo NY)… and once in the home she worked to not only fix up her home but the homes around her…
BUT – shortly after being there she finds out they she had been ripped off by the seller… her home is in really bad shape…
IN FACT – is was on a list to be demolished because so much was not up to code…
YOUTUBE VIDEO
Wow… is that some awesome stuff, or what?
Love it!
Man, the look on all of their faces? Wow!
AND MG – do you know what? I can’t wait to see the same thing happen to you. When your Heavenly Father ‘moves the bus’ and unveils to you for the very first time, the home (the forever) that He is right at this very moment preparing for you as a Jesus-Follower.
NOW – I am not sure if there is going to be an angel that is going to say, “Move That Bus!” BUT OH – the expression on our faces when you and I see it for the first time…
AND TIM/LAURIE…
LISTEN…
IN THAT MOMENT – every headache, heartache and hassle we have had in this life will melt like ice on a July sidewalk.
AND – it’s going all be MORE THAN worth it!
THIS – is the promise of the book of Revelation. The promise that in the end, God wins! AND THAT – as His people (in the end, when all is said and done)… we win too!
The message of Revelation is that…
• It’s tough now.
• It’s difficult now.
• It’s challenging now.
• It’s not fair now.
• There’s hunger now.
• There’s hurt now.
• There’s pain now.
• There’s disease now.
• There’s family break ups and conflict now
• There’s orphans now.
• There’s evil now.
• There’s sin now…
BUT – in the end God wins. IN – the end His followers (every one of them wins)
YES – this is the promise of the book of Revelation.
A PROMISE – that this desire that we all have to live in different place, a better place… a perfect home…
IS EXACTLY - what is going to happen.
Move That Bus!!!
AND LISTEN – wise and blessed are the Jesus-Followers who reflect and meditate often on this central promise of the book of Revelation…
NOW – I understand that for many of us… Revelation can be kind of scary and intimidating… IN FACT - of the 66 books in the Bible, The Book of Revelation is probably the one book the sets near the top of both the most avoided and the most abused books in the bible…
YOU SEE – many people avoid it because they are intimidated by it… it can be hard to understand…
AND OTHERS - abuse it… AS THEY - press every detail and dissect every image… looking for some secret dates about coming world event, and drawing charts….
AND UNDERSTAND - there is a very real danger… when people come to the book of Revelation that way…
THE DANGER…
OF - counting the raindrops and missing wonder of the rainbow. OF - focusing so intently on each brushstroke, and missing the sheer beauty of the painting itself…
THIS YEAR – the staff and I had the opportunity to go the NACC… The theme was ‘Victorious,’ (When life seems hopeless read the end of the story… the message of Revelation).
It was an amazing convention… some of the best preaching and teaching I have ever heard at any event…
AND – at the conference I heard several power statements… that really spoke to the need to NOT lose sight of the central message of the end of The Story)
LIKE…
The book of Revelation is not a crystal ball about dates and predictions… INSTEAD – it is a megaphone proclaiming the ultimate victory of God and His people.
Revelation was not written to reveal secret dates on a calendar… BUT - to encourage weary and struggling Jesus followers.
Revelation was not written so that we could make charts but so that we could make choices. Choices that lead to both holiness and hope.
Again I think far too many today, miss the wonder and beauty of rainbow because they are too busy counting raindrops.
AND – as a result they leave the book of Revelation NOT blessed and encouraged… BUT – confused or afraid.
Mark Moore in His devotional book about Revelation writes…
Revelation is often approached as a calendar. Some look at it as a history book that describes the Roman persecution of the first century. Others believe it tells primarily of yet future events. Both try to pin each symbol to a date on the calendar. That creates a problem, however. If this book is primarily about the past, then it is not very motivating for us today. If it is primarily about the present, then it was largely irrelevant to John’s original audience. Either way, most Christian throughout the history of the church who have applied Revelation to themselves have been mostly wrong.
But what if Revelation is not viewed as a calendar but as a template? What if we are able to lay it’s principles over any period of suffering? Then most Christians throughout the history of the church who have applied Revelation to themselves have been mostly right. That is not to say that John did not have a historical reality in mind when he wrote the book. It is to say, however, that like the prophecies of the OT, there are principles and metaphors imbedded in them that are contemporary and relevant for each generation.
That’s why this book has perpetual relevance. Wherever there is tragedy or suffering, persecuted Christians or rampant evil, this book weaves its way into the life of the church, reminding God’s people of their security in Christ, the seriousness of spiritual warfare, and the wondrous sovereignty of our mighty God.
- Mark Moore (How To Dodge A Dragon)
Amen…
UNDERSTAND - this book’s first audience, the people Jesus told John to write to, were a group of first-century believers under siege by the Roman Empire.
THEY WERE - a persecuted minority, a little band of soldiers surrounded by hostile forces. AND LISTEN - when you make an air drop to your troops behind enemy lines, you don’t send them crossword puzzles. You send survival supplies – food and maps and weapons to help them get out alive.”
AND THAT – is what John is doing in Revelation. YOU SEE – this book is not meant to be a Rubik’s Cube, a ‘last days puzzle’ to solve. INSTEAD – it is meant to be rescue gear, equipment, weapons, and instructions to get them and us out of this life alive and home safely.
I MEAN - can you imagine how the message and promise of this book (in the end God wins! And because you are His you win too!) must have encouraged it’s first readers and listeners?
AND – we have observed haven’t we in this journey through The Story that the Bible is best understood… when we try to understand what it meant to those who first heard the message. Through the eyes and minds of the original audience.
UNDERSTAND – in the final years of the first century the persecution of Christians went to new levels under the rule of the Roman Emperor Domitian.
Domitian hated Christianity and he saw Jesus-followers as a threat to both His empire and to his worship. AND - Domitian had only one goal when it came to the church… to turn this Movement into nothing more than a brief bloody smudge in the history books…
UNDERSTAND – while Christians had been occasionally persecuted before, under Domitian the persecution of Christian became official empire policy.
IF – you followed Jesus, you were suddenly at the top of The Empire’s hit list. AND – the Roman version of the F.B.I. could harass you, arrest you… even execute you. YES - to a Christian in the first century the Roman Empire became the most dangerous place in the World.
AND – I am sure, that to many in the church…
IT SEEMED - at the time, like
• the devil was winning
• the dragon of Rome was winning
• the things coming against them were overwhelm and destroy them.
• they were about to be defeated
QUESTION – have you ever been there in your life? I know you have? Maybe you are there even now…
That’s why we all need the message of Revelation… which tells (and shows) quite emphatically… that things are not what they seem…
It’s the lower and upper story that we have been talking abouit since day one of this series…
The Lower story is the 6 foot horizontal view of life. It is what is going in the here and now… And sometimes it is not so pretty…
THE UPPER STORY…
• is God’s perfect unstoppable (will, plan, purpose and story) always being done.
• It’s God always being active and on the move - working though all of the junk in our lives.
• It’s how Our Sovereign King, in spite all of the calamities of our lives life and our own sinful choices, continues to weave it all together for His purposes and our good…
YES – it may seem like at times (as God’s people) that devastation and defeat are inevitable, unstoppable and on our doorsteps… BUT – that is not the case.
UNDERSTAND – the book of Revelation reveals to us that a day is coming when we will be rescued.
YES – the Savior will once again enter our world again…
AND THIS TIME – he will come not as a baby, but as a warrior. NOT – humbly on a donkey, BUT – triumphantly on a great white stallion (a warhorse)… NOT – to be delivered into the hands of His enemies… BUT – to deliver us from our enemies once and for all time.
MG - when Christ return he will return in glory and will be clothed in power... and all the earth will see Him (and on his robe and thigh he will have this name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And every knee in heaven and on earth will bow down and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
AND – He will set us free from captivity… HE WILL – release us from our circumstances and take us back with Him to a brighter and better world! WHAT - a day that will be.
YES – this is good news. The exact news that the believers (who first received this message) needed to hear.
I MEAN – this message of Revelation… shot (the spiritual adrenaline hope) through the veins of their weary souls.
They needed this Revelation… AND – so do we… (I, You)
That’s why Jesus showed up nearly 2000 years ago on the Island of Patmos… (a barren rock 37 miles from the mainland, it was the Roman version of Alcatraz) to give this Revelation to John who was in his 80’s and had been exiled there… because of the Word of the God and the testimony of Jesus… - Rev 1:9
NOW - the book of Revelation starts off with these 5 words…
The Revelation of Jesus Christ… - Revelation 1:1
AND - the word ‘revelation’ literally means to unveil.
UNDERSTAND – 2000 years ago God on the island of Patmos, pulls back the curtain and allows us to see the Glory of Jesus.
2000 years ago Jesus showed up and asked John, “So John, do you want to see your new home?” “Then you know what to say.”
Move That Bus!!!
NOW – obviously we do not have time… to talk about all that this book reveals… BUT – in our time remaining I want to talk about what I think 3 of the biggest reveals…
OKAY… let’s move that bus….!
Reveal #1…
II. Jesus Is GREATER THAN We’ve Ever Imagined…Trust Him
In his book ‘Victorious’ Matt Proctor writes…
Too often, the contemporary church suffers from a condition that someone dubbed J.D.D. Jesus Deficit Disorder. It’s not that we don’t think about Jesus; it’s that we don’t think big enough about Jesus. It’s like we are seeing Him through the wrong end of the telescope – he looks smaller than he really is. (M Proctor, collegepress.com)
I think… no… I know that he is right our Jesus is way too small.
A year or so back we did a sermon series at The Grove called ‘I Want To Know Christ.’ – and we discussed this exact thing of us making Jesus too small… small enough to fit into a box…
IF – you were at The Grove at the time you may remember I used a Jesus action figure to illustrate this… (actually a WWF action figure dressed up to look like Jesus…)
Anybody remember this Jesus?
This week… I went looking for him… (on my book shelves, in drawers, under paper)
QUESTION – what happens when your Jesus is too small?
ANSWER – Churches like the ones in Revelation 2-3.
UNDERSTAND – as you read through the letters to the 7 churches in Asia Minor you quickly discover that there are two crisis afflicting those churches…. Both of which are a direct result of their Jesus being too small…
The first is the crisis of familiarity…
UNDERSTAND - they were so familiar with Jesus…
THEY - had diminished and reduced Him to the point where he no longer left them awestruck.
YOU SEE - their Jesus was not fearsome or dangerous he was just a nice guy to have around. I MEAN – they were apparently not the least bit uncomfortable in His presence. Their Jesus was tame and safe… AND LISTEN – when you declaw the Lion of Judah, when you turn Him into a warm and fuzzy house pet, THEN - who is going to stop you from living any way that you want.
UNDERSTAND – a low, small or diminished view of Jesus leads to a diminished church. A low view of Jesus produces a low life for Jesus.
AND THAT – is exactly what had happened in the churches in 5 of the 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3.
• EPHESUS – had lost it’s first love
• False teaching has infiltrated the church @ PERGAMUM
• Both PERGAMUM and THYATIRA have fallen into idol worship and sexual immorality…
• Sitting in the pews at SARDIS are full blown hypocrites, people who look spiritually alive but whose faith has no pulse.
• LAODICEA – is lukewarm – complacent and proudly self-sufficient.
NOW - these are some seriously messed up churches…
What happened? How did they get this way? ANSWER – they lost sight of Jesus. THEY had become so familiar with Him that they no longer saw Jesus for who He really is…
HOWEVER - in Revelation 1, Jesus takes care of that…
It’s Sunday morning and John is having his own worship service of the barren rock called Patmos… when suddenly a loud sound splits the air… AND THEN - John heard a deep thundering voice… so powerful that he could feel it rumble in his chest. And that voice commanded Him…
Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” - Rev 1:11
AND – when John turns toward the voice, who does he see? He sees what Jesus really looks like, in all his glory, splendor and majesty… yes, the bus has been moved.
When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lamp stands. And standing in the middle of the lamp stands was someone like the Son of Man.
(John is echoing the words of Daniel 7… a stunning vision of Jesus in all his glory and authority… whose reign and rule is everlasting and will never pass away)
He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.
This is the clothing of a king
His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow.
Not a sign of his age or frailty… but of deity, dignity and purity
And his eyes were like flames of fire.
Piercing through all of our shams, cover up and pretending… looking into our innermost selves.
His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace,
Representing his strength and stability… This Jesus will not trip. He will not stumble. He will not falter. He is solid, immovable. He stands firm.
and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand,
are you kidding me… this guy can hold stars in His hands…
and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
UNDERSTAND – this is not a Jesus in whose presence we can just casually stand around…. AND – what was John’s reaction (the guy whose was probably Jesus’ best friend when he wore human flesh and walked the earth, the guy who leaned against him at the last Supper)?
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead…
- Rev 1:12-16
UNDERSTAND – seeing Jesus in all of His power and Glory… seeing Jesus with the bus removed crashed over John and it knocks him to his knees. I MEAN - Jesus’ glory crushes Him like a Tsunami and leaves him fighting for his breath. John is terrified.
NO… THIS NOT – the gentle Jesus with children sitting on his lap. INSTEAD…
THIS JESUS – speaks with volcanic thunder.
HE – blazes bright with supernova brilliance.
THIS JESUS – is so huge, that He could play kick ball with our planet.
THIS JESUS – could with no more than a flick of his finger send the entire Milky Way Galaxy spinning off into space.
THIS – Jesus holds the oceans the palm of His hands.
THIS JESUS – is the God of Genesis chapter who created the world… WHO – took a handful of words and spoke millions of galaxies into existence…
AND WHO – with one more word could dissolve them all as if they had never even existed…
THIS JESUS – is before all things, over all things, He holds all things together… HE is clothed in (glory and splendor) – (strength and majesty) – (power and authority).
He reigns. He is supreme.
AND – He will tolerate no rivals…
UNDERSTAND – for the churches in Asia Minor, believers immersed in sin and worldliness… the point is clear: be warned!
Jesus is not a kindly Ms Rogers type who winks at our sin and let’s us live anyway that we want… ‘well, boys will be boys…’ INSTEAD – he is an all consuming fire… a towering and furious figure that we not be managed. He is Lord. He is in the midst of His people. He knows our sin and he is big enough to do something about it.
Jesus message to the churches… the next time you’re tempted to unholiness in your lifestyle, the next time you are tempted to laziness in your mission… Behold who I really am!
SO… what about us? What about our church? What about Maple Grove? What about me? What about you?
HAVE WE – grown too familiar with Jesus?
QUESTION – when walked into the church this morning did our pulse quicken? Did we catch our breath? Did our palms begin to sweat? Did we get a little nervous?
We should. I MEAN – we are in the presence of the most important person in the Cosmos! None other than Sovereign King of the Universe… The Creator and sustainer of all we see.
WHEN… our Jesus is too small it’s leads to… at least 2 crisis
#1 – a crisis of familiarity and
#2…
A Crisis Of Fear
UNDERSTAND – while some of the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 were caught up in sin and worldliness… Others were taking a stand for Christ – striving to be obedient (to His word and call) and they were getting beat up for it…
Family rejection.
Jobs lost.
Lives threatened.
Believers murdered.
AND – the results… These persecuted believers had ‘little strength’ left (Rev 3:8)… and they were afraid of what they were about to suffer… (Rev 2:10)
SO – Jesus words to John at the end of Revelation chapter 1 are exactly what they needed to hear…
YOU SEE – right after John falls to his knees… in terror at the sight of the glorified Christ… Jesus reaches down and puts a hand on his shoulder and says...
“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. – Rev 1:18
AWESOME STUFF!
YEAH – this great big Jesus is terrifying… BUT – He is also very comforting… UNDERSTAND – to these suffering believers, this vision reminds them that Jesus is bigger and more powerful than any problem they will ever encounter. He is stronger then and enemy they will ever face.
YES – when they hear these words of Jesus to John, they take heart. We are going to be okay… JESUS the mighty God is with us.
I love how John Ortberg describes this encounter…
Hey John, don’t be afraid. It’s me! Jesus! The one you loved. You already know me. I’m your old friend. Don’t be afraid. The Son of Man, the Ancient of Days, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the ruler of the kings of the earth, the one who went to the cross. It’s me! It’s Jesus!
By the way do you remember death and Hades? The ultimate enemies of humankind that have kept them locked in a prison of fear and aloneness from birth? Here are the keys. Got’em from my dad. No one who follows me is going to be trapped by death-not one of my friends. I’ve got the keys. Death? It’s no big deal. I’ve been dead, and it hasn’t slowed me down at all.
MAYBE…
THAT’S – the word you need to hear this morning…
IF – you are afraid, here is the good news… it’s not a small, declawed, flannel board Jesus that is looking out for you.
YEAH – I know a small (Mr. Rogers type Jesus) makes it a lot more convenient for us to sin and live any way that we want… BUT – on the other hand he is not much help in a fight….
Jesus Is GREATER THAN We’ve Ever Imagined… Trust Him
Next – when the bus is moved we also see that…
Reveal #2
II. Jesus Is Committed To The Church…Listen To Him
NOW – I am going to have to hit these next two point pretty fast… We just don’t have much time… But next year after Easter we are going to do an entire series on Revelation…
HEY – did you notice where Jesus was standing when John saw him in Revelation 1? he saw him standing among the lamp stands… AND – when Jesus spoke to John he told him that the lamp stands are the seven churches…
UNDERSTAND… Those struggling believers may have felt like Jesus had forgotten them… didn’t know, see or care about what theyw ere going through….
BUT – such was not the case.
Jesus was standing among them
Paying attention to them
Even writing a letter to them
AND – Revelation 2 and 3…. We see Jesus doing 3 things with His words…
A) Jesus Affirms The Church
Jesus says hey guys, I am paying attention I see what you are going through. I know your situation.
And then Christ affirms some qualities that he sees in them
To the church in…
EPHESUS – I see your untiring labor
SMYRNA – I see your brave suffering
PERGAMUM – I see your faithful witness
THYATIRA – I see your growing devotion
PHILADELPHIA - I see your steadfast endurance
How awesome to know that Jesus sees what we are going through, that he knows our situation and that he applauds our efforts for Him..
B) Jesus Confronts The Church
NOW – while some churches were threatened by physical persecution others are in danger of cultural seduction…
SO – to each church in Asia Minor (except Smyrna and Philadelphia)… Jesus also gives a word of correction.
“I have this against you…”
Pretty bold, right… BUT – don’t mistake His directness for hostility… Jesus is speaking out of love and concern…
AND - He is calling them out because He still believes them…
THIS – is tough love… But tough love is better than no love…
AS… Randy Paush writes…
When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you. - Randy Paush
NOW JESUS – calls out five sinful patterns that these churches have been seduced into embracing… Do any sound familiar?
Lost Passion – the church in Ephesus had lost her first love
False Teaching – Pergamum and Thyatira embraced false teaching that led to idol worship
Sexual Immorality – in Pergamum and Thyatira sexual sin had crept into the church… and to this day this remains one of satan’s most effective strategies… adultery, pre-marital sex, pornography, sexual abuse
Spiritual Hypocrisy - Now the church @ Sardis had a reputation for being spiritually on fire…
BUT - it was all image and no substance… they were dead on the inside…
These people could curse out their family on Saturday and sing praises on Sunday morning…
Materialism… the church of Laodicea was Lukewarm… because they were trying to break Jesus’ universal law that you cannot serve Him and money at the same time.
NOW – I am confident that these churches (these believers) did not begin this way…
C) Jesus Encourages The Church
HOW… BY – telling them that it’s not too late…
That he has not given up on them…
That there is still time…
IN FACT - all they need to do, is REPENT…
And then Jesus he takes His encouragement up several notches as he reminds of the great rewards that await those who overcome…
He who overcomes, WILL…
• eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God
• wear the crown of life in heaven
• remain untouched by the second death
• receive a new name given to them by Jesus
• eat some of heaven’s hidden manna
• be given the morning star
• wear white robes and walk with Jesus
• hear their names spoken to Jesus before the Father
• gain a permanent place in the temple of God, and
• sit on Christ’s throne with Him
Wow!
R U kidding me!
QUESTION – do you think this was an encouragement to these struggling churches and Jesus-followers?
Is it encouraging to you?
JUST
One more final reveal….
III. God Is Always On The Throne… Worship Him
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
– Revelation 4:1-6
When we feel like worshipping the least is when we need to worship the most.
At the center of the Universe our God sits on the throne. He is the one who is calling the shots. Not Rome. Not Washington. Not the evil one.
In worship we see the throne and the One who sits upon it, and in the wonder of His power and majesty, everything in life that comes and stands against us, assumes it’s proper size.
The worship scene in Revelation 4 declares…
• be encouraged small, persecuted church…
• be warned haughty Roman empire
• tremble with fear, satan and your host of darkness
GOD is on his throne!
He reigns… He is Sovereign
AND – throughout the book Revelation… that all who try to come against Him and the people His Son bought with His blood…
The beast from the sea
The dragon
Ungodly governments
Famine
Disease
ALL – will be defeated by God and His Lamb….
Jesus is GREATER
Jesus is COMMITTED
Missionary Gregory Fisher writes:
What will He say when He shouts?
The question took me by surprise. I had already found that West African Bible College Students can ask some of the most penetrating questions about minute details of scripture.
“Pastor, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that Christ will descend from heaven with a loud command. I would like to know what that command will be.”
I wanted to leave the question unanswered, to tell him that we must not go past what Scripture has reveled, but my mind wandered to an encounter I had earlier in the day with a refugee from the Liberian civil war.
The man, a high school principal, told me how he was apprehended by a 2 man death squad. After several hours of terror, as the men described how they would torture and kill him, he narrowly escaped. After hiding in the bush for 2 days, he was able to find his family and escape to a neighboring country. The escape cost him dearly: 2 of his children lost their lives.
I also saw flashbacks of the beggars that I pass each morning on my way to the office. Every day I see how poverty destroys dignity, robs men of the best of what it means to be human, and sometimes substitutes the worst of what it means to be an animal. I am haunted by the vacant eyes of people who have lost hope.
“Pastor, you have not given me an answer. What will He say?” The question hadn’t gone away. “Enough,” I said, “He will shout, “Enough! When he returns” The student had a look of surprise on his face, “What do you mean, enough?”
Enough suffering.
Enough starvation.
Enough terror.
Enough death.
Enough indignity.
Enough lives trapped in hopelessness.
Enough sickness and disease.
Enough heartache & sorrow.
Enough pain and broken families.
ENOUGH!!!!”
John in his Revelation says this about our new home....
Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear, from their eyes... - Rev 7:16,17
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.....Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.... Rev 21:4,8
“All their life in this world… had only been the cover and title page:
now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has ever read:
which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
- CS Lewis ‘The Last Battle’
