APRIL 25, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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Gospel Renewal Part 1: The Great Renovation
Transcription
We are entering into the LAST chapter of the Gospel Story:
Creation
Rebellion
Promise
Redemption
Movement
Renewal
I have to accomplish two things this week:
Overview of the book of Revelation
Cover chapters 1-3
We can’t read all of this so I would encourage you to read the book over the next month (about 5-6 chapters a week)
Phases of service in New Orleans:
Demolition (Sledge Hammer)
Mudding
Gutting
Everything had to be bones so it could be sanitized from the mold
Rebuilding (Normal Hammer)
Rewiring
Drywall
...all the steps down to the…
Finishing touches
In some cases the homeowner took the opportunity to upgrade since it had to be redone anyways.
To some extent it was a way of creating a silver lining in all of the terrible mess of they had walked through
Maybe you have done something like this to your house? Made some upgrades, additions, updates etc. If you’ve never done it, it’s likely we have all seen one of the different shows:
Fixer Upper
Love it or list it
The one with the twins
Good bones in INDY
They take portions of the existing structure and they make it better than it was before...this process is called renovation!
As we shift into the next phase, GOSPEL RENEWAL, I want you to think of it like that - a Great Renovation!!
Often we think about the place we go next, after this life is over, as an ethereal place we exist, WELL, you tell me what you think of for our first Discussion and Reflection time...
<CUE VIDEO!!>
“Heaven” has been caricatured over and over again: walking on clouds, balls of light, angels playing harps, etc.
But, what we see in scripture is a little different, we find the New Heaven and the New Earth is OUR Earth,
like the one I’m standing on right now,
the THIRD planet from the sun
...but it’s been transformed or RENEWED and THAT’S what this last chapter is about or at least where it ends.
The good news of the Gospel isn’t that God will give us an escape pod as we watch the planet explode behind us as we travel to a new planet called Heaven!
...it’s that He will fulfil the promise He made to restore the paradise of EDEN that was lost,
bring back the ordering that he originally intended which was thriving and teeming with life but, NOW, with us all on it as a renewed people...
in other words, the King RETURNS to RULE and REIGN on Earth as it is in heaven!!
It’s beautiful, actually, and we can read about the conclusion of history through a vision that God gave John in the book of REVELATION. Let’s turn there now...Revelation 1:1
You may have noticed: the book of Revelation is often obsessed over or avoided because it’s confusing or even weird (so if you’re into dragons and end times prophecies) some of us are embarrassed by this book…so there’s lots of misconceptions about the book.
We aren’t going to read it all in this series because we aren’t doing a study on the book but, rather, point out how it connects to the broader Gospel Story that we have been studying.
Today, in fact, we are only reading a few verses as a springboard and I will summarize due to time.
But I do encourage you to read it all over the next month
...even these first few verses set us up with a few things:
REVELATION 1
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[a] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Jesus’ friend, John (who is exiled on a small island), is writing a letter to a community of churches in Asia Minor (the cities are in modern day Turkey some just off the coast of modern-day Turkey and others further inland). One observation: John can see the coast of Turkey!
In this opening part of the book, John tells us some very important things:
First, he calls this a “revelation” or “apocalypse”
which just means something revealed but does not necessarily refer to a “doomsday moment.”
Apocalyptic Literature was a common type of writing in the Jewish culture at that time
It usually included symbolic visions that revealed a heavenly reality or perspective (he is borrowing heavily from symbols in OT books of Daniel & Ezekiel)
WHY SYMBOLS instead of FACTS (western idea)??? I have a couple answers for this...
Metaphor? To enliven our emotions and excite us by dramatizing the story?
It communicates well through pictures, especially to those who are illiterate to understand
Unseen realities behind that which is taking place behind the material world.
Second, he says that this letter contains a “prophecy”
Which is a message from God to his people through a prophet
Usually to warn them or to comfort them in a time of crisis.
He is letting them know that He is like coming to them in the same tradition as the OT prophets to tell them the conclusions to the Prophecies of the Old Testament.
NOW, the reason for this is that, knowing the endgame allows the reader to live their life in view of that final outcome:
inspire hope (not sure if the video clip did that but...)
It is similar to watching a movie that you know the ending to…
A few things I want you to know as a sort of “corrective lens” to help with our caricatured version of the letter:
What this book is NOT supposed to do:
Create fear in you (Late Great Planet Earth, Left Behind Series).
Create confusion or
Stir in you an unhealthy obsession with end-times theories and da vinci code like riddles or Calculate the day/time of the end of the earth.
There are lots of theories and interpretations about this book that you can explore but we do not consider it a primary issue so we do not have a position on it at CGNE. I want to read what our statement of faith says:
2ND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
The return of Jesus is to be eagerly anticipated. Godly men and women hold a number of views concerning the return of Jesus Christ. These are matters of scriptural interpretation and should not be used as a test of faith or fellowship.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:20-28
THE ETERNAL STATE
Those who are “in Christ” have already been raised with Christ and are seated in the heavenly place where Christ is. Eternity is already under way, and we are awaiting the time when Jesus will return to finish what He started and make all things new. Those who have trusted Jesus and died before Christ’s return will be raised back to life and given new bodies that are equipped for their eternal existence in this new creation. Those who have rejected Jesus in this age will spend eternity apart from Him.
I Corinthians 15:20-28; Hebrews 9:27-28; II Corinthians 5:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-10
Again, with so much ambiguity revolving around these concepts, we have taken a position of non-position on this topic.
We often think about Revelation as only an ending but even the writer refrains from adding a full conclusion and instead says “come quickly” because it’s also a beginning. The beginning of the New Heavens and Earth for the rest of eternity!!
What benefit is there to studying Revelation and the End Times?
Reveals more of Jesus to us
Helps us to evaluate our present (circumstances) in light of the end game.
Inspire hope.
Grow deep roots of faith so that you do not falter in potential trials and persecution.
Stir you to action and motivate you to anticipate the second coming of Jesus
Create a daily posture of expectation and readiness that Jesus could come back any time.
Complete the Gospel Story.
Overview of Revelation Chapters 1-3 (as it relates to the Gospel Story) is about these 3 things:
As John is exiled, he is visited (reunited) with friend Yeshua. Consider the relational implications of this!
His last encounter with Yeshua (Jesus) was when He went us into the air at the end of the Gospels and an Angel askes: “what are you looking at?”
John is commissioned to receive and communicate - distribute - a special message from God.
We have the letter today for our study but It was written as a letter (just like Philippians, or Corinthians)
to 7 ACTUAL churches that were given TO THEM for THEIR time and their place when the letter was written.
These 7 churches in modern day Turkey.
Emphasis on knowing Jesus instead of events - It further reveals the person and character of Jesus Christ to us as we read about the Lion who is the lamb (focus on this next week). In fact there are 7 depictions of Jesus in the book
How does knowing the endgame inspire you to live today??
The writer, John, who has been exiled on the Island of Patmos, is visited by Jesus, who gives Him a prophetic glimpse of the future return of Christ as King. John is commissioned to record the events and seven warnings are issued to the seven Churches. This introduces the final plot tension of the last chapter...will God’s people endure and inherit the new world God has prepared?
This is what I think revelation has to offer us here and now:
Be inspired by it
Get to know Jesus through it
This Renovating God is renovating you. He is allowing the old to die and making you something new!!
Learn what it means to be a renewer and a renovator as you read about the process and way in which the renewal takes place!!
AND cultivate a sense of readiness and expectation that Jesus could come any time.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SAVE THE DATE: The 2020 Marriage Retreat is scheduled to be Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and November 8!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.