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Assurance
from God
Have you noticed
that as we work our way through the book of Revelation we come across some
pretty scary stuff! Let’s face it, we do not like to see God angry
and judging the failures of mankind! We realize how often we come
short of God’s glory, and we want Him to go easy on us! Revelation
10:1 to 11:13 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets.
These two visions described are to provide consolation and assurance for
the apostle and for us, his fellow believers.
Life
is pretty stressful! We all have a lot of things to do. And
life is a real struggle financially for many people due to rising costs
and expenses. Much of it is our own fault, for some have forgotten
the simple pleasures of life and are in hot pursuit of "keeping up with
the Joneses" or whoever it is that sets the standard in our community.
God
understands this stress, but He does not want us to be "stressed out."
Stress causes ill health for many people. God will comfort us if
we will only let Him! In fact,God loves to spend time
with us. If He had His way we would spend time together every day.
The big question is this: Do we respond to Him?
Twila
Paris was the winner of the 1993 and 1994 Dove Award for Female Vocalist
of the Year. She credits her parents for giving her a sense of self-worth
and confidence. It's advice she likes to pass on to any parent:
| They
always answered my question 'Do you think I can do it?' with 'Of course
you can.' And they were never too busy doing God's work to give me
attention. Even as a teenager, I thought I must be the most entertaining
company in the world because my folks loved to be with me--and with each
of my siblings. It didn't occur to me until years later that they
CHOSE
to spend time with us.(Ramona
Cramer Tucker in Today's Christian Woman. Christian Reader, Vol.
33, no. 5.) |
Are
you spending time with God each day? I hope so!
Revelation
10:1-11
Then I saw another mighty
angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with
a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were
like fiery pillars.He was holding
a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right
foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout
like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders
spoke.And when the seven thunders
spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal
up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down."
Then
the
angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his
right hand to heaven.And he swore
by Him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that
is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is
in it, and said, "There will be no more delay!But
in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery
of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets."
Then
the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take
the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel
who is standing on the sea and on the land."So
I went to the angel and asked him to give
me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will
turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
I
took the little scroll from the angel's hand
and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had
eaten it, my stomach turned sour.Then
I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages
and kings." |
The smallness of the
little
scroll in contrasted with the mighty angel holding it.
The mighty angel is thought to be the Lord.
Matthew Henry states that it probably is the Lord while Finis Jennings
Dake argues very strongly that it is the Christ.
The
seven thunders that are mentioned in verse 3 signify certain aspects of
God’s wrath and judgment that will come in the future.However,
John
is not allowed to disclose the message of the seven peals of thunder.
Why? It appears that during the tribulation period there will be
some judgments that have not been revealed. If this is true, and
I believe it is, no one can know in advance everything that will happen.
It is imperative that we do not become dogmatic or legalistic about dating
all the events or trying to define the sequences of the events of Revelation.
Verse
6… no more delay in the accomplishment of God’s will. Verse 7 mentions
the mystery of God. Now all the prophecies concerning the final days
will come to pass. God’s purpose in Christ’s return to earth and the establishment
of His kingdom will be fulfilled.
The
"little scroll" tastes as sweet as honey but it turns sour in John’s stomach.
Now why would this happen? It refers to the scroll’s mixture of blessings
and curses. God’s word is sweet, both to hear and obey for His servants,
but it also pronounces the judgment on sin and evil that the unbelievers
must face. I’ve mentioned this a number of times, but it deserves
mention again: a then-local pastor several years ago was asked why
he did not preach the same things that Leon Seaton preaches. He responded,
"As long as there are good things in the Bible, I am not going to preach
the other stuff.
I’m
as stunned today by that ignorance as I was then… and that was in the early
1970s. Almost 30 years ago! That is one of the reasons that we are facing
an epidemic of AIDS today. The government told us that it was discrimination
against homosexuals to tell people that they had AIDS! Now many innocent
victims have the disease because the proper precautions were not taken!
In reality we feared the embarrassment and public shame of the disease
more than we feared the virus which caused the illness and ultimate death
of a lot of people. The thought was good, but wisdom was not found in it.
In
a similar vein, we need to fear the Lord. By “fearing the Lord”
we do not mean that we are to stand in God’s presence hopelessly frozen
by fear. No, not that! Rather we are to respect and honor our God.
We are to be fearful of offending Him. We are to love and honor
Him. And we are to obey Him. To fear the Lord can also be translated to
“reverence” the Lord.
Psalm
19: 9, 10
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They
are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than
honey, than honey from the comb.
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How
bold are we when it comes to sharing Christ – testifying, if you please
– to others? Yesterday Roberta and I went to a workshop on leadership.
It was specifically related to Toastmasters, but the topics related to
life in general. At one of the sessions the lady sitting next to
me remarked that it was her birthday … so we sang Happy Birthday to her.
Later she said that two other people were also having birthdays this week
and that they all get along well because they were born under Aquarius.
Whoopee! Well, being a preacher and all, I couldn’t let that pass
on by without some kind of comment, so I said< "Well, that’s nice.
But how are you and God getting along?"
Much
to my delight she responded, "Oh, He and I get along great! Life
wouldn’t be worthwhile without God! He is the real reason I get along
with people." Sometimes you just have to encourage people to say things
right!
Painter
Benjamin West tells how he loved to paint as a youngster. When his
mother left, he would pull out the oils and try to paint. One day
he pulled out all the paints and made quite a mess. He hoped to get
it all cleaned up before his mother came back. But she came in and discovered
the mess. West said what she did next completely surprised him. She
picked up his painting and said, "My, what a beautiful painting of your
sister." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away.
With that kiss, West says, he became a painter.
Every
day you and I are trying to paint the picture of Jesus in our lives through
what we say and do. But we make messes. The last thing we need is
for someone to come along and say, "What a mess!" What we need
is a kiss of encouragement. It's vital for life and for relationships.
Rod Cooper, "The Kiss of Encouragement," Preaching Today, Tape No.
141.
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We
all have times of discouragement… and we all need people to encourage us
at times. We have heard a lot about Martin Luther and all of the things
that he accomplished. But if God has given you a spouse, it pays to work
together as a team. We don’t hear much about Luther’s wife, but she must
have been a dynamic person.
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Martin
Luther was once so depressed over a prolonged period that his wife decided
to do something about it.
One
day she came downstairs wearing all black.
Martin
Luther said, "Who died?"
She
said, "God has."
He
said, "God hasn't died."
And
she said, "Well, live like it and act like it!"
-- Robert Russell,
"Releasing Resentment," Preaching Today, Tape No. 136. |
Think
about it this way: if you were on trial for being a Christian, would
there be enough evidence to convict you? If you're not sure, then
you need assurance from God Himself.
| Knowing
your sins are forgiven and you are ready for heaven is as simple as following
these steps:
A.
Admit you have sinned. "For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
B.
Believe in Jesus. "For God so loved
the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
C.
Confess and leave your sin. "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) |
Yes, there
are going to be some terrible judgments at the end of time as we know it.
Yes, God will be angry and the consequences will be terrible! But
for the redeemed – those who have committed their lives to God – it is
all going to work out OK. God is still in charge! He loves
and cares for His own.
Are
you one of them?
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