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Okay, thank you. Let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Revelation. The 22nd chapter, verse 20. Revelation chapter 22, verse 20. We'll speak on John's prayer. He had a special prayer. Just mentioned a few words. And, but he was sincere about it. Five words, a five-worded prayer. But it's a good one, the one we're praying today. And so, Revelation, the 22nd chapter, and verse 20. Let us read. He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. That's the Lord Jesus. I come quickly. And then John prayed, even so come Lord Jesus. He pleadingly prayed, even so come Lord Jesus. Let's bow our heads for prayer. Father, thank you we can be here today. Now Lord, this is a serious time. We ask that you enlighten us from your word. Reveal the word to us. And when we leave, may we understand spiritual truth that we did not know and had not considered in a long time. But dear Father, we are asking you to open up your word to us today that Jesus will be glorified in this place. Meet the need of every heart, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. John prayed, even so come Lord Jesus. With what is happening in this world and in this country, Christians are praying for the Lord to return. They believe it's the end time and Jesus could come at any time. I am one of those people. With that in mind, let us listen to this message and prepare ourselves to meet the Savior, should He come even today. You see, Jesus must come again. He must come again because He said that He would come again. Now, Jesus is God. God cannot lie, so He must come again. First, think of the way of His return. Jesus will come for us. That is known as the rapture. Now, the word rapture is not in the Bible, but it is a word used to describe a spiritual truth. It means a catching away, a snatching out. When Jesus comes for us, it will be quick, and he will come for us, and when he comes for us, we know it will be him when there's a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God. The shout is to awaken. And the voice of the archangel is announcing, he's coming, he's here. And then the trump of God means to assemble. And he's going to come and we're going to assemble with him in the air. He's going to catch us up. Now we look for the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and we look for him in the sky. We do not look for him in a parlor. Uh, someone's chamber on television. Listen, the rapture of the church is a way we go from here to where he is But jesus must come again because he said that he would come again now second Jesus comes with us the first time he comes. It's known as the rapture the next time he comes he's coming with us there is a Year a period of time of about seven years between the rapture and the time that he comes with us This is known as the revelation. The rapture is secret. The revelation of Christ is not secret Listen to Matthew the 24th chapter verse 27 far as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be and then Matthew 24 30 and Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth Mourn for they and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory now When he was on earth, he never really showed his great power, his great glory. But when he comes again, we're going to see his great glory. Mark the 13th chapter, verse 24 through 26. But in those days, after the tribulation, now Jesus comes with us after the tribulation. Tribulation has not happened yet. We're on the threshold of it. But after that tribulation the sun shall be darkened the moon shall not give her light and the stars of heaven shall fall the powers of heaven shall be shaken and Then shall they see Everyone on the earth shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory Listen Luke the 17th chapter verses 23 through 24 And they shall say to you see here Or see there? Go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning shineth out of the lightning that lighteth out of the one part under heaven, shineth under the other part under heaven, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. That's when he comes with us. He comes in his glory. Now, Jesus must come to fulfill all Old Testament prophecies. You see, all prophecy must be fulfilled. The prophecies of God are just as sure as the histories of God, and many prophecies were fulfilled at Jesus' first coming, but not all of the prophecies were fulfilled. Listen to Jude 114. And Enoch, also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. This is a revelation. People in the fifth chapter of the book of Genesis, that's where we find Enoch. People in the fifth chapter of the book of Genesis knew something of the second coming of Christ. Now, they did not know about the rapture because the church is like a parentheses in God's plan. They did not know about the church, but they knew the coming of the Messiah. They knew more than some pseudo-theologians know today. Listen to Job. The book of Job may be the oldest book in the Bible. And Job said in chapter 19 verse 25, for I know. Now Job knew something. He didn't just think something. Listen, he knew something down in his heart of hearts. He knew. three things. He said, I know that my Redeemer liveth, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. He didn't know Lord Jesus, those words, but he knew the Messiah would come. That his Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. Now that is the revelation. He'll stand on this earth. And the third thing Job knew, that though after my skin worms destroyed this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. He believed in a bodily resurrection. You see, Job said, whom I shall see for myself. Job knew he was gonna die, but he said, I'll be resurrected, and I will see him for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my mind be consumed within my body. Now, prophecy is the mold into which history is poured. And the prophecies of God are just as sure as the histories of God. All prophecy must be fulfilled. So, Jesus must come to fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies. And Jesus must come to save Israel. Today, there is a teaching called Replacement Theology. Replacement theology is a belief that the church replaces Israel. That God will never deal with Israel again. He's finished with them. That's what they teach. But this is an erroneous teaching and should be called a demonic theology. The Jewish people are God's timepiece. If you want to know what God's going to do next, just watch the Jews. You see, God chose that nation. In the book of Deuteronomy, He chose that nation, not to cast them away forever, but to receive glory through them. Now the glory the Lord will receive through Israel is future, and he's going to come back. We have this church age. I'll be the rapture. We'll be out of here. And then that tribulation period begins, about a seven-year period. In the tribulation, God deals with Israel. It's that time He deals with Israel, and He's going to bring them to their knees where they come back to Him. He is not finished with that nation. Zechariah 12, chapter verse 10, listen to it. God said, I will pour on the house of David. Wait, pour, that is a strong word. He did not say I'll dribble it on them, but he's going to pour upon the house of David, the house of David and the spiritual leaders of Israel, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. That means the Jews and all others that are in Jerusalem, and said the spirit of grace and of supplications And they're gonna pour that spirit of grace upon them. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Now, he's gonna pour this upon Israel, and they're going to look upon him, the one whom they have pierced. And they'll realize that they crucified their only Savior. And they shall mourn for him. They will mourn. That means godly sorrow where they beat upon the breast because they are so sorry of what happened. And they mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him. That is, they will have repentance in their heart for Him, for the Lord Jesus Messiah, their Savior, they will be in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. You see, they come to the altar and mourn for God. In the past, they have not done that. They have not done that in this church age. But in the future, they will. Said, for I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery. That's in Romans 11 chapter, verses 25 through 28, that you should be ignorant of this ministry, but you should be wise in your own, lest you be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in. You see, Israel is blind to the gospel. They still can be saved. There are Christians in Israel. We support a missionary in Israel. They are blind in part, but only until the fullness of the Gentiles become in. The Gentiles go from Nebuchadnezzar to Armageddon are blind. the revelation of Jesus and when he comes in the sky. Listen, the times of the Gentiles, remember, are from Nebuchadnezzar to Armageddon, the battle that's coming. And verse 26 says, and so all Israel, that means the whole nation, shall be saved." It does not say that every Jew will be saved, but it says the nation will be saved. And as it is written, they shall come out of Zion, they deliver, and shall turn away the ungodliness from Jacob. Listen, they are suffering now and they do not have a good standing in the world, but God's gonna turn that away from them. It's going to be different. He said, for this is my covenant unto them. God said, I have a covenant with Israel. He made the covenant with Israel. Israel didn't make the covenant with him, but God made the covenant with him. When I shall take away their sins as concerning the gospel, their enemies for your sake, Now, how could it be for our sake if they are an enemy? Well, God set them aside. He raised up the church so that the Gentiles could be saved. Now, Gentiles were saved in the Old Testament, but not like in the church age. This is our time. Listen, but as touching the election, their love for the Father's sake. You see, God never forgot them. They turned their backs on God. They did more than one time, but God has not turned His back on them. He is love for the Father's sake, and there's no replacement theology in these verses. God will save Israel for His own sake, for His own purpose. God has to save Israel. You see, he promised land and promised a throne to Israel. And the God who cannot lie must save Israel or lose his honor, and that will never happen. As a nation, Israel has not accepted Christ, but in the near future, they will. Jesus must come to take his bride, the church, home. Think about it, the church, that's us. In 2 Corinthians 11 to the apostle Paul wrote, for I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. Not the kind that does harm, but a godly jealousy wanting the best for them. For I have espoused you to one husband, that's Christ, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. See, the Lord is not coming for some old harlot church that's been prostituting with this world system. He is coming for a bride that's chaste and pure. She's chaste, she's virtuous, she's faithful. and pure, she's clean, untainted, not polluted. The harlot church can be found in the 17th chapter of the book of Revelation. Now you read Ephesians 5, verse 27, that he, Jesus, might present the church to himself. A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it, but that the church should be holy and without blemish. Jesus is going to catch this church up. We're going up to meet him and he's going to present the church to himself. And it's going to be a glorious church. It's not going to be the harlot church. It will be a glorious church when we meet Him. Listen, if you think you're holy by your own power and abilities, get under the searchlight of God's Word. But God's Word reveals how unholy we are. And it reveals that Jesus is our holiness. Let me say that again. Jesus is our holiness. In Him, we do not have one spot or wrinkle. You see, Jesus took care of our sins on the cross. And in His resurrection, He took care of us. And now He is making one new man that does not have one flaw. Jesus is the head, the church is His body, perfected. We will fellowship with Him for eternity and eternity without end. Romans 14, chapter verse 10 through 12, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Not the great white throne, we will not judge but there, we will not be there, but we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. These are not one and the same judgment. They are different. This is the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God, so then every one of us shall give an account of himself, herself to God. This is a shocking thought. We're going to give an account of our life here after we're saved. And after the judgment seat of Christ is the marriage of Christ. Think about it. And this, there will be a marriage of Christ and his church. This is after the rapture and before the revelation. Let's read it, Revelation 19, chapter verses six through nine. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude. There are three voices in this verse of scripture. The voice of a great multitude. A great multitude, that's a lot of people. Listen, there's going to be a lot of people in heaven. Not everyone will be there. Probably most people are not going to be there. But the Bible says a great multitude. and as the voice of many waters, many waters. Oh, that's, you could hear a waterfall a long ways. I'll tell you, this is a celebration. This marriage is celebrated as no marriage has ever been celebrated. A great multitude, a voice of many waters, and the voice of mighty thundering, saying hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reign. If they're not going to be quiet, they're going to be having a great time at this wedding. So let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, to Jesus, For the marriage of the lamb is come, and his wife, the church, hath made herself ready. How did we make ourself ready for that wedding? We came to Jesus and we were saved. We surrendered to him, and then he makes us. Oh, listen, it's a wonderful thing. Said to her, his wife, the church, was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. All the Christians are there. They're in the wedding. They're there. Who did he call? Old Testament saints. Called them to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and he said unto me, these are the true saints of God. Listen, we will be decorated for that ceremony. Listen to Isaiah 61 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. Those garments are without spot or wrinkle. He clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath, he hath again, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments and the bride adorneth herself with the jewels. I'm telling you, it's going to be a great time. Don't miss the wedding. Be there. And we do that by coming to Christ and being saved. It will be a grand and glorious time in the heavens. First, there will be the rapture. Second, there'll be the rewarding. Then there will be the marriage. And God gave us a foresight of a marriage on earth. Listen to it. The Lord told the husband to love the wife. He told the wife to submit to the husband. Now, when a wife is in submission to a loving husband, there is a beautiful, beautiful relationship. Now, Jesus has perfect love for the church. One day the church will be called up, glorified. We will be in perfect obedience to a loving Lord. And through the eons of eternity, there will be a beautiful relationship with Jesus. Oh, will you be there? Make sure that your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life. Jesus must come again to bring righteous judgment and set up a righteous kingdom here on this earth. Hebrews 1a says, but under the sun he saith, thy throne, O God. Now this verse is a great verse on the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, under the sun. And then he says, thy throne, O God. The heavenly father calls him God. They are God, the two are one, that is God. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness, is a scepter of thy kingdom. Now, a scepter was a staff borne by a ruler, a king, as a badge of his authority. In some cases, a scepter was a strong rod about the height of a man, and kings and chiefs carried that as a badge. representative of their superpower. There was a missionary by the name of Stanley who worked with David Livingston. But he was on his own, too, and he wanted to go into some villages in Africa where there'd never been no one ever taking the gospel. He wanted to go into those villages. So he went to the king of that area and told him the burden of his heart and what he wanted to do. The king said to him, said, now, you have goats. And he said, yes, sir, I have some goats. But he depended on those goats for his livelihood, the milk, the meat. And the king said to him, I'll grant your request, but I want those goats in exchange. And so Stanley said, yes, he made the agreement. He gave him his goats. And in return, the king gave him a stick, so tall. And Stanley took it and went on his way, going to the first village. And he was kindly upset inside. He said, I just lost all of my goats, my milk, my meat, they're gone. All I got was this stick. But he went on. He came to the first village, and the watchman for that village is sitting watching the roads, should someone come. And he saw him coming, and he saw the stick. And he ran through that village saying, bow the knee, bow the knee, bow the knee. He recognized the stick as being the scepter that the king had given him. He had authority to come. But the scepter of Jesus' kingdom will not be a scepter carried in his hand. It will be that which he is, righteousness. Listen, Jesus' kingdom will be here when righteousness cover the earth as waters cover the sea. His kingdom will be a kingdom of righteousness. Jesus' righteousness proves that He is genuine. It proves, makes Him superior to all other rulers. Jesus' righteousness makes Him worthy to take the title deed to the earth. Being a righteous, all-powerful king, Jesus is capable and qualified to rule the earth. And his throne has been established, his kingdom will be established, and before Jesus sets up his kingdom, there will be a horrible, shocking, unspeakable, inexpressible judgment on this earth. Second Peter 3 12 says it like this looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat There's coming a time of trouble such as never was listen. That is not the rapture we are already with the Lord Jesus the marriage has been and And now, it's the day of God, and he's coming. And when he comes, even the heavens will be on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. And 2 Thessalonians, the first chapter, verses seven through 10. And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. When he's revealed, that's when he comes with us. in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, they had opportunity to be saved. The gospel was preached, but they rejected it. During the tribulation, there'll be 144,000 Jewish evangelists, like the many Billy Graham's in the world, preaching the gospel. There will be an angel in the sky, of preaching the gospel as he flies around. And there'll be others telling the story of Jesus, but they know not God. People didn't get it, didn't get it, and they can sit in church all their life and never get it. It's amazing. Listen, they know not God and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, separated from all of that, for in the world is not worth it. We need Christ. Think what's going to happen for the Christian man. from those who reject Him will be separated from the presence of the Lord, from the glorious power, and when He shall come to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Listen, the righteous one will bring a righteous judgment. Revelation 1-7. Behold, he cometh with clouds. That's a reference to the revelation, not the rapture. He's coming with clouds, clouds of believers. And every eye shall see him, and they, the Jews, also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth, that's the Gentiles, shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. Revelation 19-11. John wrote, and I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And then Revelation 20, chapter verses one through four. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. and cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he'll be loose for a little season." The scholars tell us a little season, probably about three, three and a half years. Verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ, A thousand years. During the thousand years, there will be peace. That is the time that we will have world peace, not until. His kingdom, when Jesus sets up His kingdom, peace will reign. Now, inwardly, we can have peace now. Jesus is our peace. And during the thousand years, there will be plenty. During that time, every man will eat of his own vine. The plowman will overtake the reaper. A man is plowing, trying to plant, and look, there's a reaper. He's still reaping the crop. Oh, how abundant it will be. And mountain vineyards shall drop sweet wine. All the hills shall melt. And during the thousand years, there will be safety, there will be protection. The young child shall play on the cockathrice den. The cockathrice den. Oh, that's an adder, a dangerous snake. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like an ox. The cow and the bear shall feed together, and their young one shall lie down together. But this will not happen until Jesus comes in righteous judgment. Oh, somebody say, even so come, Lord Jesus. Listen. All Christians all over the world are crying for Jesus to come. Listen, the pastor's crying for Jesus to come. Christians want to be delivered from the world. It's a wicked world system. Want to be delivered from the flesh, the sin natures. struggles within Christians to make us ineffective in God's will for our lives. And Christians want to be delivered from the devil. He is a wicked devil. And we look forward to the time that we will walk by sight and not by faith. We will know even as we are known and that time is coming. We will look upon the face of the one who saved us by his grace. The creation is crying for Jesus to return. Listen to Romans 8, chapter verse 19. For the earnest expectation of the creature, or the creation, waited for the manifestation, the revelation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, because the creature, the creation itself, also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the child of God. The king is coming. He has unfinished business on this earth. But until he comes, we should be looking for him. And how much we look for him is a testimony of how much we love him and want to be with him. Suppose a soldier has been away in combat. The war ends, and the soldier writes to his family. and says, I'll be home on a certain date. And he is excited about coming home to his loved ones. He comes and he knocks on the door. No one came. He opened the door and walked in. The family was there and they looked at him in amazement. You see, they were not looking for his return. And how insulting would that be for one who had been in harm's way for them. Jesus is coming, Hebrews 9, 28. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Verse John 2, 28, and our little children abide in Him, live in Him, and when He shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him that is coming. Philippians 3, 20, 21, for our conversation, our citizenship is in heaven. For whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like in his glorious body. according to the work whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself, to subdue, to bring into subjection. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing." They're waiting for him, looking for him. The first time Jesus came as our sin barrier, The second time, Jesus comes to redeem the body. Christians should be looking for Jesus. And he says to the saved person, take my yoke upon you, learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest until your soul look to him. we find rest in the Word of God and in full surrender to the Lord Jesus. And to the unsaved, let's say, if you're not looking and longing for Jesus to return, you need to know him as your Lord and Savior. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Jesus is the truth who will set us free. Now, we're on the threshold of salvation. Some person here needs to be saved today. Acts 20, 21 tells us how to be saved. Testifying to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. You're on the threshold of it. Don't turn away from your only Savior. In Matthew, the 11th chapter, verse 28, 29, the Savior says, come unto me. He is, that's an invitation. We're a wide invitation for anyone to come. No one is so bad that they cannot come and be saved. Listen, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That's what Jesus promised us. If we don't come, he cannot give us rest. But if we come, he promised to give us rest. That is, he'll give us salvation. We'll have confidence in Him. And one day the shout will be and we'll be caught up to beat Him in the air. And then we'll be with Him for a period of time, a rewarding for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Then we will come back with Him glorified. He's coming in His glory. And we're going to be in the glory with Him. But we also, we will be glorified. We'll have glorified bodies coming back to this earth. Listen, be saved. Don't miss that. Let's stand with our heads bowed. We stand with our heads bowed. Don't miss heaven. Don't miss heaven. The other place is a bad place. Don't you miss it. Don't miss it. I think one of the saddest things in a preacher's life is to know the gospel went forth. And then people just rejected it and left. Just left. Never thought about it. Never gave it a second thought. Just left. I've seen it. I know members of my own family did it. It's a sad time. Friend, you could be saved right here this morning. All you have to do is come to Christ. Come with penance in your heart. Trust him. Don't trust denomination, trust Jesus. He is the one who died on the cross, and the one who says, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, our heavenly Father, as we come to the close of this service. And the invitation is given. Don't let anyone say no to Jesus, but on their hearts to come this morning to Christ to be saved. Come to Christ. Simple faith in the living Savior. Help them, Father. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
John's Prayer
Sermon ID | 88242111526467 |
Duration | 38:51 |
Date | |
Category | Sunday Service |
Bible Text | Revelation 22:20 |
Language | English |
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