Higher Aim with Dr. Curt Dodd

Many of us have tried to align God with where we want to go. Nothing will put you upside down in your life more than when you try to squeeze God into where you want to go. On the other hand, nothing is more powerful in your life than when you allow your life to be aligned with the Throne Room of God. That's why this chapter in Revelation is so critical. We have been spending much time in chapter five so that you can align with what is happening in heaven right now. We can experience God's will in our lives by lining up with what is happening in heaven right now. When we align with heaven, God will give us unbelievable peace in the midst of whatever storms we are going through. So let’s continue our study of Revelation chapter 5 and see what we need to do to align ourselves with the Throne Room of God.

We have been taking our time walking step-by-step through John chapter five, to see where John is focused. Today, we are going to talk specifically about how John is in the presence of the Father in the throne room of heaven and how he focused on a sacred sermon. Through this study of Scripture, we are going learn that we should never discount how God can use each of us personally to impact someone else’s life. You might have a sacred sermon God wants you to share, so why not share it and see how God works? Our job is solely to be the messenger, delivering the good news of Jesus Christ. We can trust God to take care of everything else.

What’s so cool about Revelation 5 is that it’s a picture of what is happening in heaven. If we could join heaven right now, we would probably be living different lives and have a different attitude and focus. But even though that’s true, we also need to focus right now on the fact that the King is coming! He is coming back for His people, and the reason He is coming is because He owns it all. He is coming for you who know Him, and that means He will not leave you in the situation where you are forever. God has a plan, not just for eternity, but for right now as well. So as you strive to live out that plan you need to realize that His timing is perfect. And although we might not understand it, we can trust it.

One of the greatest gifts we can pull from the book of Revelation is the picture we get of heaven. I truly believe we would be so much better off if we wouldn’t get so bogged down with everything that’s happening in the present and instead fix our eyes on eternity. If we would get our focus right, and get aligned with heaven, the living here would be a lot easier. There will be more peace, confidence, and stability in your life when you are aligned with heaven. Regardless of what happens around you, you will not be shaken. And isn’t that what we all want? So this week, we’re going to continue looking at Revelation chapter 5 and see what we can learn about heaven from the Word of God.

The fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation are really one unit. And so over the new few weeks, we’re going to focus on their contents in hopes of gaining a clearer picture of what heaven is going to be like. It’s one thing to listen to what other people say about heaven and what they think it will entail, but it’s another to dive into the Word of God and look at what God reveals to us about where we will spend eternity as His children. Specifically this week, we are going to take a look at the scroll that John talks about in today’s key passages and what we can learn from reading about this scroll.

Today’s key passage speaks of the battle of Armageddon. Taking a step back, John sees it all happening before him. These are the verses he uses to describe where the forces of the Antichrist and the False Prophet bring the entire world together in battle. They meet Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who is coming to take back His throne. We’re going to continue studying what Scripture has to say about this battle in today’s message. We’ll review what we talked about last week, and we’ll cover some new topics as well.

It is important to understand a basic truth. Before the worst of the worst is poured out upon an unbelieving mankind, we should grasp the reason for God’s wrath, and that is this: God is just! Many of us struggle with questions like, “Is it fair? Does it make sense? Why should I have to go through this?” The answer is simply this, especially for those going through the Great Tribulation, God is just! That truth is what we’re going to unpack in this message.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the Great Tribulation and all of the horrible and devastating things that will happen in the end times. But today, I want us to look at what we have to look forward to in eternity and all the wonderful things we can praise the Lord for!

As we read today’s key passage and continue our study of the book of Revelation, it is very clear that God is describing the judgment, the ruin, and the smashing of the World System, Babylon. It will all come down in one hour. The judgment of God will finally fall. This will be happening at the end of the Great Tribulation. As believers, we will not be here. Accordingly, while you are here, you can make a difference for the Kingdom of God before the judgment of God falls on this planet. This passage exists to motivate you, to give you insight and a mental picture of what will happen to our world. You can either say, “I don't believe that,” and find yourself at odds with the Word of God, or you can take this and realize that God's Word is true. God has always kept His Word and His Word now tells us what will happen.

You and I are caught between this world and heaven right now, but one day we will finally be home. Remember, according to Scripture, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are a citizen of heaven. God already sees you seated in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus. With many of us, we wrestle with living for heaven and living in the world at the same time. This is exactly where we are going today. So let’s dive into what we need to remember as we wrestle with being in the in-between.