CCF Weekly Services Podcast

John is shown a picture of those who will be saved through the ministry of the 144,000. The number is more than anyone could count. From this we conclude that while the Tribulation is a time of wrath, it is also a time of mercy. God will be continuing His work of salvation like He has from Genesis 3.

1. Heaven is being with Jesus.
2. Heaven is for people that have received mercy, not earned righteousness.
3. The Tribulation's purpose is as much to save souls as it is to judge sin."

Conflict in relationships is a guarantee. Resolution and restoration from those conflicts are what makes a relationship honoring to God. How we resolve these conflicts are a result of the people we allow to influence our lives and how we ultimately understand how God resolved His conflict with us.

1. Conflict resolution requires patience as much as personal vulnerability.
2. How we resolve conflict is influenced by the kind of people we surround ourselves with.
3. In order to properly resolve conflicts in earthly relationships, we first need to understand how God solved our heavenly conflict with Him.

Our relationship with God is based on His grace towards us. Our earthly relationships are meant to model this. We won't be perfect towards each other, nor can we be. What God intends for earthly relationships is the regular exchange of the grace we've been shown.

1. Romantic Relationships are fundamental to all society, which is why Satan attacks them so continuously.
2. We need to take the time to consider how much of our understanding of relationships comes from scripture and how much is handed to us by our culture.
3. The ideal relationship we have with God is based on His perfection. The ideal relationships we have with each other are based on grace.

The role sexuality plays in marital relationships is as much something God approves of as the relationship itself. A desire to be attractive to one another, A desire to be proactive in pursuing one another, and the desire to be desired are all things God honors when they're founded and defined on the basis of His character.

1. Loving relationships don't seek to repel one other, but inspire attraction to each other.
2. Loving relationships don't wait for their partner to pursue them, but proactively desiring each other.
3. Loving relationships aren't built on a need for someone else, but a desire and commitment to one another.

The Tribulation experiences a brief pause in judgments for the setting aside of God's people. The reason this passage is rightly understood as referring to 144,000 literal Jewish people is because it literally says so. The reasons given in opposition to that interpretation fall apart once the assumptions of antisemitism are taken away. The reality is that God isn't through with His chosen people. We trust the promises He's made to them for the same reason we trust the promises He's made to us. God either keeps His word or He abandons those He made promises to. There is no third option.

1. God's Wrath is as much to lead people to salvation as it is to punish those who utterly refuse it.
2. Antisemitism is the most direct manifestation of the heart of Satan possible on this earth.
3. We trust God's future plan for Israel for the same reason we trust His present promises towards us.

Jesus' earthly ministry is coming to an end. He spends this limited time investing in what's most important to Him; The Word of God and people. Inevitably opposition comes His way from unreasonable people. Instead of wasting time with them, He challenges their questions with even better questions in kind. This wasn't to dodge the issues they were presenting, but revealing they didn't care about the answers. His character was such that He had already given them every response they needed. What mattered most to Him was to invest as much as possible with those still capable of hearing Him.

1. Jesus invested more in the Word of God and People than anything else.
2. A well placed question accomplishes more than a direct answer.
3. You aren't obligated to entertain unreasonable people by answering questions they don't care about the answers to.

The sixth seal judgment will be horrifying, but nothing compared to what's coming next.

1. The Seal Judgments are the Wrath of God.
2. The world at the time of the Seal Judgments are aware of who Jesus is and that He is responsible for these plagues.
3. The purpose of the Tribulation is delaying ultimate judgment for the sake of those who can still be saved.