Difference between revisions of "Sermon for May 12th, 2013"

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Daniel 12:1-9

‘At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.’

5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others appeared, one standing on this bank of the stream and one on the other. 6One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was upstream, ‘How long shall it be until the end of these wonders?’ 7The man clothed in linen, who was upstream, raised his right hand and his left hand towards heaven. And I heard him swear by the one who lives for ever that it would be for a time, two times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things would be accomplished. 8I heard but could not understand; so I said, ‘My lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?’ 9He said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end.

Revelation 22:8-11, 18-21

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow-servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’ 10 And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; 19if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. 20 The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

Conclusion: Uses, Abuses & Timeless Truth of Revelation

What in the world does the book of Revelation have to do with Mother's Day? Well, to be honest...not much. I have a really great sermon planned for later this month on the female personification of wisdom in the book of Proverbs--THAT would have been a great mother's day sermon, but when I contacted Hallmark, they weren't willing to change the date of mother's day to accommodate my sermon schedule. I will offer this, though: As a special gift to all the mothers out there today, I promise this will be my LAST sermon on the Book of Revelation for awhile. After six weeks, some of you are probably tired of hearing me talk about Revelation...actually, I'm kind of tired of hearing me talk about Revelation. But I do hope that today I can wrap up neatly some of the things we've been talking about for the past six weeks, and put some perspective on how this fascinating book can be used, some ways that maybe it shouldn't be used, and where it intersects with the message of Faith, Hope, and Love.

I've taken the liberty of putting them into a Dave Letterman-style Top Ten list. So here are the "Top Ten Things To Keep in Mind when Considering the Book of Revelation:"

10. Stephen King didn't write it. John did.

"I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things." John was a man who lived in the first century, which was, in a few ways, like the 21st century, but in most ways very different. John had his own experiences, passions, personality, his own agenda, axes to grind, and his own way of understanding how God was speaking to him. He didn't write the book to be an international best-seller, or to scare small children into accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There are monsters and scary things in the book of Revelation, but that's because there were some scary things going on in John's world. Revelation is not about monsters...it's about a lamb. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

9. When it comes to predicting your future... consider contacting a Certified Financial Planner instead.

Despite some very detailed timelines I've seen published in popular Christian bookstores, I don't think the Book of Revelation was ever intended to be a road-map through the 21st century end-times. John did consider himself a prophet, but not the way we think of prophets. A Biblical prophet doesn't predict the future--a biblical prophet speaks out God's message to powerful people, on behalf of the oppressed. In John's case, that meant speaking out against the Roman Empire on behalf of the persecuted Christians. The only prediction John really makes is that in the end, good will triumph over evil, and God will prevail. In other words, your *eternal* retirement is in good hands, but for this life, you might want to contact that CFP. I know a good one in our congregation I can recommend.

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3. Faith

2. Hope

1. Love

John considered himself a prophet, but not the way we think of prophets.