A Message From the Trinity, "I Am Coming"

back when my football days at North Texas you know when the most fun time was it practice it was obviously at the end of practice but there was a reason it was when the coach he would he would do this and that meant he would go he'd blow it and say hey buddy up everybody up that meant the quarterbacks who were throwing the receivers who were catching the linemen who are working on picking up stunts firing out defensive backs they're doing their thing he blow that whistle everybody up because now you quit being your distinctive position and everybody was together now we were the mighty three and eight North Texas Eagles all right bar my senior year one in ten whichever you want her therapist and so that was my favorite time that's what the book of the Cleese I'm sorry we're not in Ecclesiastes the book of Revelation that's what the book of Revelation is everybody up every book of the New Testament has a particular flavor and a particular angle Romans difference from first Corinthians that differs from second Corinthians differs from Ephesians Galatians all the way to Jude the four Gospels are different because they're writing to a particular group and their particular digression and departure from the truth they're needing to be impacted in a particular aspect of the truth that's not revelation revelation is calling everybody together but everybody up we're all together on this as a matter of fact in the book of Revelation there really is just a smattering of material of God revealing to John what John wrote down about the thoughts he was having you see it in chapter 1 chapter 22 the rest of the time is a vision John is seeing something that hasn't happened and he is seeing it in symbols that are going to be fleshed out in reality it's like time travel it's out-of-body it's someplace that nobody has been and John is going to see it that's why the book of Revelation the word revelation Apocalypto apocalypse Kalu Pio means the covers a po means back the covers are pulled back this is you you could call it Apocalypse Now you're going to have the covers pulled back and you're gonna see the future now and he's going to do it within 22 chapters and everybody is going to be together no distinctiveness no particular country no particular race no particular place you're from at the end of the chapter two and three on the seven churches that represent all of us he will say he who has ears to hear let him see what he says to the churches this is all of us the churches well in Chapter 1 of Revelation and verse 1 2 and 3 he's going to begin with the books divine authority why this book is to be listened to and in the first verse it's the books origin it's declension from God to you the revelation of not meaning about but through the revelation that Jesus Christ makes which God gave him to show to his bond servants the things which must soon take place he sent and communicated it by his angel to his bond servant John here's the way it goes God gave to Jesus Jesus always carries out the Father's will I can do nothing of myself as the father speaks I do as I see I do there's a unity in the Trinity the Father dictates the son carries it out and it comes by his angel to John the Apostle to be given to his bond servants the father the son the angel John the bond servants and in verse 3 blessed is what's the pronoun he down to the individual God Angell John bondservants you and so that's the origin of the book its fountain is found in heaven the truth of God it's inspired its claim is in verse two John testified to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus even to all that he saw he calls the testimony of Jesus the Word of God that's its claim and in verse three this book expresses the unique ability of the Bible Psalm 1 how blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked stay in the path of sinners sit in the seat of scoffers his delight is in the law of the Lord and in that law he meditates day and night be like a tree planted yields its fruit dud and wither and whatever he does he prospers there's a blessing upon the Word of God often in the Proverbs first 10 chapters my son Solomon will say regard this more than than gold and silver because of its ability to guide you in life Jesus talking about whoever hears my word and acts on him a man builds his house on the rock man who doesn't built it on the sand the Bible has the unique billeted blessed when this rule goes into the promised land Joshua this book of the law will not depart from your heart you'll meditate on it day and night then you'll make your way prosperous then you'll have success if you do what is written in it and so this verse says blessed is he who reads those who hear the words of the prophecy I'm sorry here and who heed the things that are written in it for the time is near the book of Revelation gives its unique blessing to the reader who is affected by it it's interesting this is the one book it tells you to read this is the one book we don't because the blessing is when you read the book of Revelation you know where you are in history you know what God is doing you know what God is going to do you saw in verse 1 it soon must take place that's the Greek word that we get the word tachometer it means quickly it means that there is nothing standing between this book and the rapture of the church and the subsequent Tribulation Period there's nothing standing there God needs to fulfill nothing this is an age of grace of his gathering in the elect and it will quickly take place like birth pangs upon a woman with child like a thief in the night it shall come the end of verse 3 the time is near the last thing on God's historic calendar is to save out the elect in a world that has renounced him that is called the church and then to catch them away and then to begin the Tribulation Period and so the blessing that comes from verse 3 is that the Christian is meant to know where he is who he is and what he is supposed to be doing the Christian doesn't drift in life he doesn't react to life merely it's not that we wake up and lay there and they what should I do a better get up why I got to go to work why don't I go to work because I need money why do I need money because I need bread because I'm hungry and so we just react to biological urges that's despairing no the Christian knows who he is and why God has left him here and that's to proclaim the name of Christ at the model him obey Him and to enjoy him and so there is the book's origin claim and it's unique blessing now in verse 4 John John is the last of the Apostles this book is written in 90-plus ad the temple and Jerusalem has fallen and 70 it's been 20 plus years the temple is gone judaism has in a sense true old testament judaism has now passed away and the greater substance and the son of the church the shadows are gone and so john is the last apostle he's the last credible author when he writes it the bow is put on the Bible and all the dangling ends of the Bible are brought together God's revelation of himself it's finishing of his word fulfillment of prophecy his purpose is with Israel purposes with the church purposes with Satan and the angels his judgment of the world all these dangling ends at the end of the New Testament they're brought together in the book of Revelation thus nobody can bike up to your house let me let me say that again nobody can come out of the woods and say I now have book 67 nobody can say that the last author has come and gone and there is no salvific moral or historic or prophetic need for anything it's finished we look past the trip the church aids to the tribulation to the Second Coming the judgment the kingdom final rebellion new heavens new earth they'll reign forever khv ensigns off and that's all no one can come up with any more Bible John the last apostle it's interesting James and John asked Jesus memory sick mama on him and said we want to sit at your right hand Jesus said can you drink my cup yeah we can drink your cup you'll drink it you'll drink it James was the first apostle to die in John chapter 12 I'm sorry acts 12 James was his brother John is the last to die and the book after the book of Revelation it's funny how God has different plans for different men different women and so in verse 4 John to the seven churches the word seven issues 54 times in this book and there's a reason how many days does it take to make creation six the seventh day is to worship what God has done the number of the creation the number of man is 6 that's man man is not meant to stand alone it is six plus one and that is the number of completeness of God and man man is alien from God but some day his will will be done on earth even as it is done in heaven and there will be the convergence of God ruling his creation in the kingdom of God and the church man is reconciled back to God we have begun that Kingdom even now and so there will be a seven and that number will occur 54 times everything is going to come together John to the seven churches that are in Asia that's western Turkey and we're gonna look at those seven churches in Chapter two and three and each one of them has a very clear message on what Jesus loves and what he hates and what he expects they are little sound bites that are prisms of pure light they're the most effective teaching tool of ecclesiology and all the Bible you can't argue with them I'm going to tell you something interesting about them the first of them is called Ephesus it's the church that has its truth right but begins to wander from the first love just like the first century church began to do by the end of the first century they have their apostolic doctrine down but they began to wander and then the next church is called Smyrna Smyrna means death because after the Apostolic Church you have ten Roman emperors that put the church to death and that's the church that suffers Smyrna matter of fact Jesus says you're going to suffer for ten days and then you have the first church that starts compromising called Pergamum you start allowing worldly ideas that's what happened in the early Middle Ages after Constantine and the church became accepted and now people didn't have to bear a cross to come in now it was there to their social political monetary advantage to be Christians after Constantine and then you got Thyatira the church doesn't just tolerate they embrace Jezebel false teaching that's the church of the Middle Ages and then you get Sardis it's a word that means to escape and that's the church that it said you have a name that you're alive you're dead compromised corruption now we got a cadaver a dead church and now the good guys are those escaping that's called the Reformation and then you've got Philadelphia brotherly love phileo Dale fuss and that's the church that I give you the keys of the kingdom because you have a little power and you've kept my word and that's the church of the 17th 18th centuries 19th centuries that saw the outgoing of Protestantism and the Gospel message to the entire world and then you've got Laodicea lay ot lay a TDK it means that people run things and that's the church where's Christ revelation 3:20 behold I stand at the door Christ is trying to get in his church trying to get in because this is the church that is rich and doesn't need anything and that's the modern church so these seven churches are in a book of prophecy because they are a sketch of church history and that's something incidentally we're in Laodicea there ain't no eighth Church this is it verse four the seven churches that are in Asia that is where John worked around Ephesus is where he worked and he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos right off the Turkish coast that is where John died so this is nearby where John was by this time in ninety the Gospel message has moved from Jerusalem it has gone to Antioch and now the center of its activity is Western Asia Turkey well in verse four grace to you and peace and it's not just going to be from the Apostle Paul no this is grace to you and peace from the Trinity the Trinity is mentioned in verse four and in verse five it's always Grace and peace if you ask a man if you're going to heaven he says yes you say why because I've lived such a good life and I've tried to do my best and I hold to a standard what his gospel is is peace and grace I have worked to be at peace with God and now he shall award me grace the gospel isn't peace and grace right because if it is it's going to be peace no grace because nobody's good enough it is Grace and now we're at peace with God through Christ and so grace to you and peace and here is the father from him who is and was and who is to come present past and future God had a plan from eternity he was God is enacting it and saving out of people but he's not finished he will come and he will finish his plan the Bible says that the fool puts his hand in the dish and doesn't bring it to his mouth he doesn't finish what he starts not God he was he is he is to come grace was granted you and I from eternity in Christ all the father gives me will come to me and I will not cast him out I will raise him on the last day and I will come back past present and future and so the father says I am a God who does not change incidentally that's what his name Yahweh put the vowels in there Jehovah Jehovah that's what the name of Yahweh means it's a combination of the Hebrew words was is shall be Jehovah and it means that God is never a God that learns new things he always knows he never gets strong he's always omnipotent he doesn't forget anything he doesn't grow he doesn't expand he is infinitely perfect immutably always and that's why no one else gets that name Yahweh it's the perfect name for a true deity and so I was I am and I am coming and verse 4 and from the seven spirits that are before his throne most of you that word spirits as in capital it's not put there in the Greek but the English translator puts it there does it speak about angels that are called spirits or does it speak of we're gonna mention the Father and the next verse gonna mention the son is the spirit here the mentioning of the Holy Spirit grouped among the two other members of the Trinity I think it is and the reason it says the seven spirits that are before the throne they're going to be pictured these seven spirits throughout the book as flames of fire that bring light and burning and consumption just like the holy spirit and I'll tell you why it's believed that John speaks of the seven fold spirit of God if you'll keep your finger there and go back to Isaiah 11 in Isaiah 11 and verse 1 it speaks about the coming of the Messiah there were three individuals in the Old Testament that are anointed by the Holy Spirit to do a work a prophet a priest and a king well here is the ultimate prophet priest and King the Messiah and it says an eleven verse one then a shoot well tell you what if you want to go on up two verses into chapter 10 verse 33 says the Lord God of hosts will lop off the bowels with a terrible crash those who are tall in stature will be cut down for he will cut down the thickets have you ever cut a tree down and you got the stump left what comes out of the stump it's not a new tree doesn't someone come out it's called shoots little shoots come up like little branches out of it well when Israel and the Northern Kingdom of Israel the southern kingdom of Judea when they are cut down God's not going to be finished with them a shoot is going to come forth in verse 1 shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse meaning a Davidic King and a branch from his roots the word branch is the Hebrew word Nesser and that's where it's believed that we get a city called Nazareth and Nesser means a shoot that out of this cut down nation of Israel in the time of the Romans when they're underfoot there's going to be a branch life is going to come from this dead nation and he's going to go in Nazareth he's going to be of no comely appearance that we should worship Him he's going to be a little fellow child of Mary and Joseph the carpenter's son but in verse 2 incidentally if you want to name a kid a great name branch is a good name y'all heard of a guy named branch rickey he was the owner of the Brooklyn Don well general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who after World War 2 said it's wrong for a black man to go die overseas but he can't play ball in his own country he got a guy named Jackie Robinson and he pioneered that work and you know why I did that because he was a Christian his parents were Wesleyan Methodist from Ohio and they named him after Jesus Christ they named him Branch Rickey so don't name your kid branch unless he's really a stud because it's an embarrassment to have a little rotten branch that's when you say maybe I want to cut a branch off and just wear you out and in verse two this branch is going to bear fruit and the Spirit of the Lord number one will rest on him the spirit of wisdom that's to understanding that's three counsel that's four strength first five knowledge that's six the fear of the Lord that's seven the Sevenfold Spirit of God his job is to empower and then to glorify the Son of God both in his ministry and his illumination and the Word of God and his production in life on the heart of a believer and so grace to you and peace from the immutable God and the all-powerful all-knowing all-wise all presents Holy Ghost who is among us and in verse five and here's the son from Jesus Christ the faithful witness he is our prophet he tells us exactly who God is he that hath seen me hath seen the father I and the father are one he is the image of the invisible God no man hath seen God at any time the only begotten God in the bosom of the Father he has explained him the words that thou gave us me I have given to them and they have kept them and so he is our prophet we don't have to worry about not knowing what we need to know in life we know it for Jesus Christ the who became to us wisdom from God he is our prophet and he is the firstborn from the dead of all those that will rise from the dead and go to glory whoever the first one is probably some guy from Lubbock it'll be Texan all right that will come up first he's really number two who was raised first Christ you know what's interesting between Jesus and us you and I were raised because of a Savior Jesus had no Savior Jesus was judged by his work and his work was the perfection of God and death could not hold him in its power and so he is the first that is up from the grave that's the origin of the church is an empty tomb or a dead man rose so he is our priest who offers his life as our mediation before God he's our prophet he's our priest and he is the ruler of the kings of the earth he is our King now and someday he shall be king of all now what's interesting those three roles in Israel the Prophet the priests of the King nobody could hold all three of those jobs the prophets rose from Samuel than Elijah the priest came from Aaron the King came from David from Judea why can't you have one person with all three roles to be the philosopher the priest - in religion to bring you to God and the king in politics to rule you those are the three most important aspects of civilization truth religion and rule philosophy religion politics prophet priest King why can't you let one guy be the final teacher the final mediator and the final ruler absolute power does what corrupts absolutely you can't trust one man to have those things it's running 100 watts through a 40 watt bulb he'll pup he can't handle them only one guy gets to be prophet priest and King and that is the word of God the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah isn't that amazing I don't need to study philosophy unless just to study how people have messed it up I need to read my Bible I don't need to worry about working myself to God I need to embrace my priest I don't need to worry about what is right and wrong in life and letting society dictate I have my king and he has told me so it's the perfect system guy named Luke Ferry once wrote a book called a history of modern thought and he said the ultimate ideal thought is it is evangelical Christianity an infinite personal God who is Trinity that reveals himself shows me and the truth dies for him will return and rule he said it's the perfect system and then he wrote if only I could believe it and it is it's the perfect system and so grace to you and peace from the unchangeable father the in omnipotent Holy Spirit and from Christ our all in all now to him who loves us that's in present tense he loves us right now he loves us and here's how we know it because of three things that he did he released us from our sins by his blood the blood of Christ that was shed for my sin enabled the Justice of God to reach down to me and declare me righteous and God not compromise who he was Paul put it like this he delivered us from the domain of darkness and he transferred us into the kingdom of God's dear son and so he released me from all of the penalty of my sin my sin oh the Bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but in hole has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more it is well it is well with my soul and so he has released me from the penalty of sin the power of sin and some day even the presence of sin the Apostle Paul said in this earthly tent we groan longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven you all ever look at yourself in the mirror and groan say something I've learned through the years you can look at yourself in a mirror but never look at a picture of yourself see in a mirror you know the poses you could strike all right I mean be aramis you all have certain mirrors you avoid in your house see because you look at them and you go is that all me right there but there's some mirrors you kind of look good but if you're looking a picture of yourself that's subjective I have what's called a cell phone not a smartphone I got a cell phone and one of the girls on our staff last week said you know you have a camera on this I said thank you sir I've just figured out this voicemail stuff alright so you said there's a camera I said I didn't know that she said here smile she she I said that took a picture she said it did let me see and I went Jesus I thought I'd look like Don Johnson that was Lyndon Johnson I was looking at are y'all with me never look at a picture of yourself I told my wife I said my face looks like a spiral ham like a big spiral all right what am I talking about yeah hey released us from our sin the penalty of sin I don't bear the power of sin is broken in the very presence of sin someday it's gonna be the great getting up morning and we're gonna have a new tent perfect he loves us and in verse 6 he made us to be a kingdom he has put a new covenant in our hearts whereby we obey Him he has effected obedience in us by the rebirth we are now the children of God and we are his kingdom we now have a free will that we never had we never had a will that was free to obey God and seek God and want God because we didn't desire him you don't choose what you don't want God has opened our heart to where now I can desire the things of God and I can make choices I never have got to make before we're not absolutely free but we have a freed will that we never had and so he has made us his kingdom remember guy in the Old Testament named Daniel working under the Babylonians they said we want to give you a new name belch answer I'll take your name I'll give you a new job working for the King I'll take your job we want you to learn Babylonian I can learn the language we want you to what was the other day I won't teach of the literature do I have to yeah okay I have to and we want you to eat the food that's sacrificed to idols like the King his choice food I want you to bow down to this Idol remember what Daniel said nope I'll take your name take your job take your language take your education that I will not do because Daniel past-tense had made up his mind he would not defile himself with the Kings choice food a Christian has bright lines I will not go there because we're under the kingdom of God amen Shadrach Meshach and Abednego you're gonna be provincial leaders of our country great we'll be the best you got incidentally we need you to bow down to an image that we cannot do then I will toss you in the fire then you will have to toss me in the fire and if our God wants to he can deliver us anyway and he will but even if he don't we're still not going to bow down to your image well I'll heat the thing up seven times well heat it up because I'm not gonna be alone down there they threw him in so he says even if he doesn't we're not going to bow down Mordecai you will bow down to Haman no I won't and we'll kill all the Jews I hate to say that but I'm still not going to bow down there are certain things that I will not do I read in the paper this morning about a girl that was on the the American I believe was the Olympic soccer team she's not on it anymore because soccer team had to wear a Gay Pride t-shirt she said that I cannot do I got rules from my King and he tells me no I may be in the world but I'm not of it and my King says I can't do this you remember back a few years ago when the they made that ruling at the Supreme Court that the guy was wrong the woman was wrong for not being a florist for a gay wedding remember that was a landmark decision been appealed and down in Dallas TD jakes made an interesting statement to his congregation he simply said the world's got their rules we got ours if they want to decree that that's okay he said there's only one Court and that is God and so we'll do what we can and be the best of citizens pay our taxes we'll keep the speed laws at times when it's convenient we'll do all we can but are there some things we will not do and we know what those are and we will not do them why because I'm an American secondarily I am a Christian primarily someday this country will die and I will die but my King and I will live on and so we make that hard call where his kingdom today and the world can look at us and say so that's what the people of God look like yeah that's them we want to be seeker aware but we're not that seeker sensitive they're lost they need to be like us and our King not us like them I go where they go I speak where they can understand it but I'm Who I am and I'm not gonna change that either you neither are we and in verse six he's not only made us a kingdom his people but he's made us priests to his God what's a priest it's the man in the middle and he teaches men about God and brings men to God he represents God to men and men to God the words of a priest should preserve knowledge men should seek instruction from his lips he's the mediator of the Lord of Hosts Malachi it means that if you want to know who God is I'll tell you what would you like to know would you like to know about how he made things would you like to know about law how about the Savior would you like to know that how about marriage Song of Solomon you ever read that would you like to know about wisdom we got a book called proverbs we got Psalms about worship we got little epistles little letters they'll tell you every way you're supposed to live and we can tell people that and that right we're priests and we also bring men to God a priest offered sacrifice we bring men to the cross and then we say are you washed in the blood yes I am welcome into heaven and so incidentally in the book of Exodus chapter 19 verse 6 God says to Moses I have made Israel a kingdom of priests now did Israel have a distinct tribe that was a priesthood yes Levi the ironic line but in that sense the whole nation is a priesthood it's called the holy land the beautiful land and so Israel got to be the one nation that if you wanted to know God they said come here come here I'll show you who he is they dropped the ball and now God gave it to somebody else Jesus said the kingdom is taken away from you and given to a people producing the fruit John quoted Exodus 19:6 right here Paul quoted it and Titus 2 Peter quoted it in 1st Peter chapter 2 now that's important that Peter Paul and John would take that verse and apply it to the church we get to be the people that represent God to a dying world and we give men the chance to stand before a holy God when I was in seminary y'all familiar with dr. Anthony Evans yeah y'all liked him so much all right when I was in seminary Tony was speaking one day and this was in the day when the Dallas Cowboys had a quarterback named Danny white and they had to receive her name Tony Hill and they had a running back named Tony Dorsett and so a lot of you have no clue what I'm talking about and that's why your life is struggling okay but Tony was speaking to the seminary and he says let me tell you what the church looks like he says Danny white drops back to pass Tony Hill runs down the sideline on a fly route he's going to throw it and he's going to drop it in the endzone for a touchdown but just before he gets ready to throw here comes a satanic blitz God took Israel and handed them his word handed them his priesthood but hair came Calvary and they got to the quarterback and they killed him but just before Danny white goes down he looks off to the side and there's Tony Dorsett and he flips the ball out to Dorsett the Satanic linebacker hits Danny white and down he goes but Tony Dorsett has got it and now he is going to do through nifty Ness all right what Tony Hill would have done through speed and he looks at the church and he says Christ is the quarterback Israel is Tony Hill Satan is the linebacker you are Tony Dorsett and that good in ain't that good but but it's real good you and I get to be a kingdom of priests Wow well and verse six to him this kingdom is never going to end never gonna end the glory and the Dominion forever our king will not sin and be judged by another nation we will reign forever that's how God has loved us that he has died for us released us made us his people and put us to work there's an old African curse that says may you be idle forever isn't that terrible that was when I got saved that was why I got saved you know that I didn't know you got heaven out of the deal I was just tired of reacting in life and responding to biological urges with no ultimate purpose you all remember the 60s doing your own thing I was tired of my own thing it was because everybody else was doing my thing we were all just puppets when I found out you could be saved and have purpose in life to communicate what no human could or even knew about the most vital thing in the life salvation reconciliation to God and the most important thing in the universe and that's a human soul I said I could die for that I can fail at doing that that's the greatest thing in the world and then I found out you got to go to heaven on top of it and so he has made us a kingdom where his people but I'm gonna put you to work if I'd have been God I said I'm gonna save you now don't tell anybody who you are God says I'm gonna put you to work and verse 7 this king is coming behold he is coming with the clouds that's from Daniel chapter 7 they asked Jesus who he was he said I am he said are you the Christ the Son of the Blessed one he said I am and you'll see me coming in the clouds of goo he's quoting that verse Daniel seven and they said that is blasphemy what need have we have witnesses that man must die John takes that verse and says that's who he is are y'all noticing that our boy John won't back up one inch on inerrancy the Trinity the atonement the deity of Christ the sovereignty of God salvation by faith John won't yield an inch that's why he's on an island verse seven he's coming with the clouds and every eye will see him jesus said when I come you're not going to have to go say hey he's in the desert or he's in this in the closet he's in this room he said as the lightning flashes from the east to the west every eye will see me don't try to think what that will be like we have no paradigm the closest we have is the rising of the Sun that everything now is showered with it and that's the way he's going to be even those who pierced him who pierced him Israel Israel was now sent into exile you know john is saying when he returns they'll be here that sounded ridiculous until it happened we now have an Israel and the tribes of the earth will mourn you know why they'll mourn because when he comes it's too late he does not come for grace the ax is laid at the root of the tree and those that do not bear fruit are cut down and now lost men are irrevocably in that place save men that during the tribulation are looking forward to him their Redemption now draweth nigh but the the nations will mourn that's interesting if you ask a guy today what is the worst thing that could happen to him it would be to be regarded as a believer in the Bible when you ask him in that day what is the worst thing ever happened to you not to be a believer in the Bible if only I had another chance the door is closed like on the ark when Christ comes the door is closed and verse seven so it is to be what's your last word in verse seven main is an Aramaic word and it means I believe this we believe in the Trinity and the Word of God that shows us last things we believe in a Christ who died in a mighty Holy Spirit and a God who is all powerful and immutable and does not change we believe in a God that would free us from our sin give us a new nature make us his creation make us his priests and we believe in a God who not only died but he's see verse 6 he died our verse 5 verse 7 he's coming back y'all believe this he's coming back Christ rose into the clouds the disciples were looking an angel spoke up and said gentlemen what are you staring at get to work this same Jesus you saw depart from you is coming the same way as he lived get ready he's coming Jesus said I'm coming why because in verse 8 God does not change I am the Alpha I started this thing as creator and I am the Omega I am the final letter of an alphabet that communicates truth I'm the Alpha and the Omega Genesis and revelation and I'm coming he is the Omega man says the Lord God and the Old Testament that would be pronounced Yahweh Elohim who is who was and who is to come that he is Yahweh the unchangeable and he is the Almighty in Hebrew that would be el shad I shad is the Hebrew word for the mountain and he is the god of the mountain who does not change and that is why we look forward to him you know this that I'm teaching you we're going to look at the 70th week of Daniel the tribulation in the return of Christ and we're going to interpret it literally and the first century that was the way that eschatology was interpreted the church knew they were being punished and they were dying and they were by the hordes they had no notions that they were the finality of God's kingdom nor that they were going to set up the final kingdom they were just trying to stay alive and so they were premillennial they were pessimistic about man they were optimistic about God and they were looking for the coming that was the early church one of their signals and signs was the Alpha and the Omega he's coming once we got into Constantine and following and now the church had the upper hand now we got to start persecuting people and so from about the fourth century on the church is now thanks to Constantine Theodosius and those guys no longer do you become a Christian to get killed you become a Christian so you stay alive what happens when you start lowering the standard you get corruption and that ended up in the early Middle Ages and you know what they did now they got very optimistic they thought the church was the kingdom of God and they got into what was called replacement theology they didn't study the Old Testament in care about Israel we were now Israel your Old Testament was thrown away they didn't do real well matter of fact we had to have a Reformation and the Reformation now the Protestants took over and they had a gospel of grace and they also had a lot of other wonderful things in the 16th 17th 18th 19th centuries the great centuries of Protestantism they took the gospel and not just the gospel that Western civilization to Africa in India and China and all kind of places and so we got to thinking now that the church was going to establish the perfect utopia and at the end of which Christ would come so early on we were Premal we held to the coming of Christ literally we interpreted literally then we got to be our mill that there was no kingdom literal we were the kingdom and you interpreted in Revelation allegorically in the church and then the Protestants they felt well the guys from the 19th century before they felt the church was going to establish utopia they felt that the leader in that had a manifest destiny it was a country called the United States and so it became post-millennial he'll come after the church establishes a perfect society that belief the pilgrims held to it Puritans hills of it it had a little problem in the twentieth century we had what was called World War one and World War two which is really world war one be where you had Christian nations Germany Italy America France England even Russia and Russian orthodoxy and we were killing each other to a rate that had never occurred in history of man and then we found a way to harness the enemy now we can kill you from a distance and we could evaporate you and so out of the 20th century we weren't optimistic anymore man is not going to establish his kingdom we are not the finality and then there was an event that took place that all of a sudden the eschatological view went from post mill and a mill back to pre mill that Christ will return before a literal second coming and we interpreted the book of Revelation literally can you guess what the event was I'll give you a hint if you're going to take revelation as literally the word Church isn't mentioned revelation 6 through 19 Israel is sinner most so if you're going to take revelation literally what are you going to need Israel can you guess what event place that flipped everything to pre-meal 1948 you we in this church take a literal view if I'm going to take the first coming of Christ as literal I can't allegorize the second one and so we take it literal it's the simplest way the easiest way and it's the most affable way to my soul because if the Puritans couldn't do it me and Joel ain't gonna pull it off you know and establish in the kingdom my king is going to have to come and I don't think his kingdom is just gonna be in symbolic terms I think he's gonna make it time and space so we are pre-millennial plus I paid good money to be premillennial attended Dallas the Elijah's in there I thought of him we could sing after this Kendall won't let me he won't he said you know though he said that the the tunes alright but the words are bad he goes bad boy bad boy what you gonna do what you're gonna do when it comes for you bad boy the disciples used to sing that around the campfire but mom I got a great hymn you ever heard to him hiding in the if you haven't you love it pray with me Father in Heaven thank you for eight verses of the eschaton beginning this book from the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to be read by those who have known his kingdom and have known his new life and known his his new office that they have been given who looked forward confidently to their prophet priest and King who has established philosophy religion and politics this king pin this cotter pin of all history how wonderful how full of wonder to be a Christian how awful to live in the notion of peace and grace how marvelous to be extended grace and peace and so Lord bless us as we depart and as we study this in these weeks to come in Jesus name Amen we got a good hem right here do you remember whenever Moses said I want to see your face and God said you can't no man can look at me at live what I will do is I'll place you in the rock and I'll cover you with my hand and I'll pass by and you'll see my back and that's the safest place you can be is then the cleft of the rock covered by the hand of God we get to look at him in the Old Testament as he passed and the New Testament we behold his face and that is the face of Jesus for the glories of God our resident Nate give me something y'all know this [Music] Oh save to the rock that is hi [Music] my soul in its conflicts with song bro would fly so sinful so soon [Music] loud blasts Rock of Ages [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] let's go up [Music] in the car [Music] in times when 10 a stone [Music] in the ten best of it's last [Music] how rest I fled [Music] [Music] [Music] that was written by an IRA sinky the the musician and song leader of dwight L Moody could we have a hand for mr. sankyou father in heaven we are so thankful for what we sing in this tune thou blessed rock of eternity I am hiding in the cleft that is rent for me thou blessed Rock of Ages we hide in thee through Christ our Lord we pray amen you

Channel: Denton Bible Media Ministry

Views: 7,990

Rating: 4.7586207 out of 5

Keywords: Denton Bible Church, Tommy Nelson, Sermon, Song of Solomon, Church, Pastor, Denton, Bible, Denton Bible Media, Media Ministry

Id: 01fVKfPQIdo

Length: 57min 4sec (3424 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 04 2018