Grace in Tullahoma

Revelation – Seeing Jesus – 2

Revelation 1:9-20

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

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What do you think the perfect life is? What would it be for you? (Most people would say no hardship or having everything you want) The perfect life is a life that follows Jesus. How that is played out is often in complete contradiction to the ways of the world and the American Dream. And that thought has crept into the church. The best life is the one that follows Jesus. But look what Jesus himself says about following Him:

Luke 9:23 – If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Following Jesus involves suffering and obedience. (9-11)

The apostle John, who is suffering, is writing to specific churches, who are suffering. Why is John suffering? He did nothing wrong. He is suffering simply for following Jesus. He is in his nineties and he is exiled on an island for criminals. John MacArthur tells us,

“According to the Roman historian Tacitus, exile to such islands was a common form of punishment in the first century. At about the same time that John was banished to Patmos, Emperor Domitian exiled his own niece, Flavia Domitilla, to another island. Unlike Flavia Domatilla, whose banishment was politically motivated, John was probably sent to Patmos as a criminal (as a Christian, he was a member of an illegal religious sect). If so, the conditions under which he lived would have been harsh. Exhausting labor under the watchful eye (and ready whip) of a Roman overseer, insufficient food and clothing, and having to sleep on the bare ground would have taken their toll on a ninety-year-old man. It was on the bleak, barren island, under those brutal conditions, that John received the most extensive revelation of the future ever given.”[1]

John is saying he is a brother and partner in tribulation. He has joined them and is with them amidst their hardship. And they can all make their way through it because Jesus is with them.

Your best life is not now. (9)

I love this about Revelation. It shows me the future. It shows me the destruction of everything that has destroyed me so many times. The destruction of worldly, enticing, sinful culture…the destruction of Satan…the destruction of sin…and ultimately the destruction

James 1:17-25

Revelation – Revealing Christ to Christians – 1

Revelation 1:1-8

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

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An apocalyptic event from history (September 11, 2001, or Pompeii).[1]

The city of Pompeii is famous because it was destroyed in 79 CE when a nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted, covering it in at least 19 feet of ash and other volcanic debris. The city’s quick burial preserved it for centuries before its ruins were discovered in the late 16th century.

What if you knew of the event one day before? What would you do? We should think of Revelation in this way. In movies where you have an apocalyptic event happen, they kinda allude to this. There’s always that old disheveled homeless-looking dude that is grungy and has a long beard who is holding a big cardboard sign, and what does the sign always have on it? Something like, “THE END IS NEAR.” I guess that’s how the world sees Christians, as some caricature. It’s probably because, if we’re honest, they don’t see actual Christians doing it. Proclaiming the end is near. Telling people they need to repent and believe. They know what Christians believe about this and how they should react, but we so often don’t act consistent with what we believe. We should view the book of Revelation and our response to it in the same manner as the homeless-looking dude on the street a day before Pompeii is covered with ash. What will help us get to this point is in realizing why this book of Revelation matters.

Why Revelation matters: It reveals. It reveals Christ. It reveals the way things are and will be.

We love when things are revealed. We don’t like things to be hidden…unless they are bad. Revealing can be good and it can be difficult. Two renovation shows that highlighted how celebratory revealing can be is Extreme Home Makeover and Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Fixer Upper. After the renovation in Extreme Home Makeover, a big bus would be in front of the house, obstructing your view of the renovations. Everyone would yell, “Move that bus!” Then the homeowners and viewers would get to see the house as it is now. It’s the same with Fixer Upper. They would have a huge picture of the old house obstructing your view, then they would wheel it apart, revealing the renovation. And what is always the response from the homeowner. They lady almost always immediately starts crying because she is overwhelmed with what she sees. This is how the revealing of Christ in Revelation should be for us. The curtain is being pulled back and we are seeing things as they are. Jesus is the only one worthy. And as John sees this, he can’t help but weep. And neither can we.

On the other hand, there are some things we don’t want revealed. Why do girls wear makeu

Connected – Week 6 – Strangers Matter

Luke 10:25-37

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

What is Jesus saying in this text? What point was Jesus trying to get across to this man?

Well, the man’s question was, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This man new the Law, the Old Testament Scriptures, so Jesus answered his question with a question and asked, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” The lawyer, who knew the law well, of course answered correctly. He said what we’ve been studying these two whole months: Love God, love others. Love God with my everything and love my neighbor as myself. Jesus said, well, yeah…that’s right. Do this and you will live.

Before the guy asked Jesus the question, he already knew the answer. He nailed the answer, spot on. So, why did the man ask another question in order to justify himself? If he knew the law, knew how to inherit eternal life…why was there need to ask, in order to justify himself, well, who is my neighbor?

What we see in this, before we ever get to the story of the Good Samaritan, is the most important part of this passage. And, honestly, it is almost always overlooked when people read, study, or preach this passage.

The initial question was “How can I have eternal life?” And, Jesus answers. Follow the Law. But here’s the thing…We can’t perfectly obey the law. We don’t. Jesus sent the man back to the law, not because the law saves us but because the law shows us that we need to be saved.

Galatians 2:16 – yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:21 – I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 3:21 – Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.

There is no real conversion without conviction, and the law is what God uses to convict sinners.

Romans 3:20 – For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

That’s the whole reason this guy asked the next question about who my neighbor is…he wanted to justify himself. He wanted to be right, but he knew that he doesn’t love his neighbor as hi

James 1:13-16

John 1

James 1:9-11

Connected – Week 5 – Enemies Matter

Matthew 5:43-48

I want to tell you a story about a man. This man was an amazing man. He was known as a man full of grace and power. He loved on people and preached the Word of God boldly, and it is written about him that he did many mighty wonders and signs. When He spoke, he spoke with such wisdom and full of the Spirit. Nobody could argue with him. He always won the arguments in showing people who Christ really was. This made a lot of these people mad, so they made up lies to get him arrested. After he was arrested, as he was standing before the council, they asked him about the accusations made against him, saying, “Are these things so?” And the way he answered them was with one of the best sermons ever preached, proclaiming God’s deliverance through Jesus, and shouting to them that they are stiff-necked people who always resist the Holy Spirit. When he finished his sermon, they were furious! They dragged him off to outside the city and grabbed handfuls of stones and they started heaving them at him, striking him in the face and head and all over. They were killing him. His life on earth was almost over, and as he fell to his knees, too weak to stand, he shouted his last words…a prayer…one of the most powerful prayers to ever have been prayed. He said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Right as he prayed this, he died.

Now, why was this one of the most powerful prayers to ever have been prayed? It’s because the man that was standing there, happy about and approving of them stoning this man…he ended up getting saved. Not only that, but he ended up becoming a preacher. Not only that, because of him…this man that was happy and approving of this execution…because of him, millions have come to faith in Jesus.

The man that gave his life was a man named Stephen, and one of the men that Stephen prayed for, for God to not hold the sin against him…one of the men that was killing him…one of the men that was in charge of all these people killing him…a man that was zealous and happy about these people killing him…His name was Saul. And He became Paul. And God did not hold this sin against him.

Now, how can anyone pray such a prayer?

We’ve been in a series called Connected. We’ve been looking at relationships. And, it’s all based off Matthew 22:36-40. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

* Summarize the series up to this point *

Tonight, we are going to look at the hardest relationship that we will have to deal with – Enemies.

Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, he talked about this, in His sermon on the mount. Turn to Matthew 5:43-48.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Here, Jesus is quoting the same verse of Leviticus 19:18 that He did in our Matthew 22 passage. But He’s clearing something up – He’s clearing up a common misconception…one that we have as well.

He’s saying that your neighbor does not only include your friends, your parents, your loved ones, or strangers (which we will look at next time), but it involves someone else…your enemies. It’s easy to seek a good re

James 1:5-8