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Run
the Race With Patience
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin, which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the
joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews
12:1, 2 (King James Version)
Revelation 14:6-13
Then I saw
another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to
proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe,
language and people. He
said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the
hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the
earth, the sea and the springs of water."
A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon
the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her
adulteries."
A third angel followed them and
said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image
and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will
drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength
into the cup of His wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in
the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their
torment rises forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those
who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark
of his name." This calls for patient endurance on the part of the
saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write:
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor,
for their deeds will follow them." |
Revelation 14 opens with a
description of the rewards awaiting those who persevere in their faith in Jesus.
The 144,000 symbolically represent the most consecrated and faithful of God’s
people of all time.
Today’s scripture opens with an
angel (or angels) proclaiming the gospel of Jesus to the entire world in
clarity, power and warning. It is a call to fear God, give Him glory, and
worship Him rather than worship the antichrist. At the present angels do
not proclaim the gospel – that is our job. Apparently during the last
half of the Tribulation God will allow the angels to step in and help the
saints.
There are four proclamations in
this section.
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All Christians, during the
time of trial, should be faithful to their Lord. Satan may tempt us to
blame God when things go wrong, but God is our source of strength!
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The gospel ("Good
News") is the method through which men, women and children are brought
to fear God, and to give glory to Him.
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The preaching of this
wonderful gospel will shake the very foundations of the antichrist in the
world, and hastens its downfall. Satan hates the gospel! If
anyone persists in walking in obedience to the beast, and in promoting his
cause, they should plan on spending eternity in hell!
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The believer may well have to
suffer for obeying the God’s commandments and for professing Jesus as
Lord.
The Bible teaches that all persons
everywhere are to fear God and worship Him. God the Redeemer is also our
Creator and Judge. Think for a minute about the awesomeness of
salvation. We dare not overlook the power and mystery of salvation.
Verse 8 tells us that "Babylon
is fallen." Babylon represents the political, religious and
commercial system of the whole world in the end time. God is foretelling
economic collapse. We will explore this more in chapters 17 and 18.
Money in the bank is wonderful – I certainly wish I had more there – but of
greater importance is your spiritual relationship with the living God.
When this life is all over eternity just begins in earnest!
Worship
of the beast and his image and receiving his mark will send you to eternal
persecution! Remember the three Hebrew
children in Daniel chapter 3? They refused to bow to the Image of Gold
that King Nebuchadnezzar made and got themselves tossed into a fiery
furnace. But they came out unharmed – not even smelling like smoke –
because the Lord protected them. God is fully able to get us out of
situations that He gets us into! You can trust him. And if He
chooses to let you be a martyr, you get to heaven sooner. Either way, we
win.
Revelation 14:12, This
calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s
commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Verse 13.
Then I heard a voice from heaven
say, "Write:
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes,"
says the Spirit, "they
will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
In writing about Revelation 14
Matthew Henry writes, "May God bestow His patience upon us."
Henry then describes those who are and will be blessed:
He continues,
"After death we rest from sin, temptation, sorrow, and persecution.
In heaven no one tempts us to sin, because the tempter is gone! Our works
follow us to heaven. Works do not precede us as a title, or purchase, but
follow us as proofs that we lived and died in the Lord. The remembrance of
our works will be pleasant, and the reward far above all their services and
sufferings. This is made sure by the testimony of the Holy Spirit."
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Probably no one in the
last 100 years has affected the world for God as Billy Graham has. When
Billy conducted his second crusade in Augusta, Georgia, he was just a
young fellow.
He told writer and
preacher Charles Allen, "I never dreamed God would give me the
ministry He's given me today. I just said, 'God I'm going to give
you all I have now. And you lead the way.' "
Charles Allen concluded,
"That's the way it works." |
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It is impossible
for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly
gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness
of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away,
to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are
crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public
disgrace.
Land that
drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful
to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But
land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of
being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
Even though we
speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your
case--things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; He will not
forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His
people and continue to help them.
We want each of you to show
this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through
faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Hebrews
6:4-12 |
Note especially verses 10-12.
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God will not forget your work
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God will not forget the love
you have shown Him as you help his people
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Be diligent
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Do not become lazy
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Imitate those who through
faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
As we conclude this message today
may I suggest we do a "check up from the neck up"? Is it well
with your soul? Is God first in your life?
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Therefore, since we have been justified through
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not
only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character,
hope.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has
poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has
given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans
5:1-6 |
God will not abandon us in our
time of trial, but He is diligently watching over us as we grow in our spiritual
strength. Louis Pasteur said, "Let me tell you the secret that has
led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity."
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I taught all my kids to enjoy running.
Then they taught me how not to enjoy it. While I could keep a pace ahead
of them, it was great. But when they began to haul me out of bed
early in the morning on a frosty morning to run, or when my daughter had
me running a 10,000-meter race, I started asking, "What in the
world am I doing?"
I asked the question even more when we got to
the start. There were 24,998 others. Being Milwaukee, some
of them were dressed as beer bottles. One guy dressed up as a
banana, another as a bunch of grapes. The gun went off, and
everybody was laughing and waving. The banana was shaking hands
with the crowd. And then it got rather interesting after about a
quarter of a mile. The banana and the beer bottle were hanging
over a garden fence--didn't look good at all.
After about a mile there was no chattering or
laughing. And after the second mile, the only sound was labored
breathing. After the fourth mile, it was so quiet you could hear
the birds singing. At 6.2 miles, people were dribbling in one at a
time, and not many of them. The moral of the story is this: You
get all kinds of people goofing off at the start, but that doesn't
count. To finish does, and disciples of Jesus Christ keep on
going.
Stuart Briscoe,
"Ordinary Folks Make Great Disciples," Preaching Today |
Remember,
we are to run our race with patience! ..... ..........
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