There we go. Good morning, everybody. Good morning and welcome to Old Providence Associate Reform Presbyterian Church. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And the Lord has made this day for you, giving you this opportunity to stop from life's regular labors and instead come together and worship him and be blessed. And so I welcome you, especially our visitors. We pray that today is a blessing for you and If you are visiting, I'd love to meet you if I haven't met you yet, or even if I have, I'd love to shake your hand. I'll be out under the portico right over here after the service. Now, today is different. We got some business to take care of before the service begins, so I'm gonna do that immediately. Let me call on Finley Lotz, our Congregational Chairman, to come forward. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. State purpose of today's meeting is to reject ruling elders. In your politics today, do you see a pattern? If you are a member, if you are a member of Old Boston Church, please say yes or no by raising your hand. We will mark those circles with your yes or no, and then fold your bowels and touch your feet out, and I'll ask each other to sit back and relax. Would you like to take one? There ain't a bullet in it, but if I leave one, you'll let me know when the system's full. Hey, camera. Okay, everybody do make sure church members vote on that and pass those to the inside and we will pick those up That concludes our meeting for today and let me thank Finley for taking care of that for us Our next meeting is going to be on November 10th to elect deacons and those men who are nominated will have their names listed in our bulletin on November the 3rd. Okay, so be in prayer for that whole process. Now, we have a full service ahead, but I've still got some announcements that I need to make. Let me point you to your bulletin, especially its flyers as they relate to the stuff going on, like the trunk or treat, for instance, that is coming up very quickly. One flyer that did not make it in your bulletin but is available throughout the sanctuary is for women's ministries fall meeting. If you need a ride, please see Sylvia and she can get that squared away. The playground committee is gonna be meeting immediately after, I'll say in the session room over here in the new part of the building. Let's see here. Oh, other things that are going on, youth group and children's church have been moved. Children's church is actually upstairs in our former preschool room, so a little bit easier to get to. Youth group is meeting next door now, downstairs in the basement in classroom one. Other things going on that are of importance. We are collecting winter clothes. No, I didn't clean out my closet. That's not what all the bags of clothes and things are for in Providence Hall. We're collecting especially warm clothes for hurricane and flood relief, but we need them by Thursday. Don't worry. If you go in Providence Hall, you will see where they should go. OK, there's plenty in there. And thank you all for your generosity on that. Later today, we're going to be praying for those who are mourning, especially the Lotz family. Finley's cousin Harold went home to be with the Lord. just yesterday evening. So do be in prayer for those who are mourning. Let me also say a big thank you to our ladies who worked so hard yesterday. We had a wonderful meal. Old Providence hosted the fall presbytery meeting of Virginia Presbytery. Will came under care as a student of theology, which is an important step in his seminary career, and we're delighted for that. But really, y'all, just a lot of things going on, and our ladies did such a wonderful job. So thank you for that. Now, I'm sure that I am forgetting something, but if I forget it, I promise you it's in your bulletin. And so let me encourage you to look for that. Monday, midday, things like that, lots of stuff is going on. Now, again, all of those things being said, welcome. We are delighted that we have this opportunity that the Lord has brought us here. Let's prepare our hearts for worship as Donna leads us in the prelude. For those of you who have been here with us for the last few weeks, you know that we've started something new on Sunday mornings, and that is we're going through the book of Revelation. And one of the faulty understandings of Revelation is that the world is just going to continue to fall apart and fall apart and fall apart. Everything's just going down, and so Jesus one day eventually just has to come back. And yet, that is not the story that we find in the book of Revelation. Instead, we find the Sovereign Lord. We find our King Jesus coming back triumphantly. And so in light of these things and encouraging psalm, A call to worship for us is the 47th Psalm, where it says, clap your hands, all you peoples. Shout to God with a jubilant cry, for the Lord, the Most High, is awe-inspiring. a great king over the whole earth. He subdues people under us and nations under our feet. He chooses for us our inheritance, the pride of Jacob, whom he loves. God ascends amid shouts of joy. The Lord, with the sound of a ram's horn, sing praise to God. Sing praise. Sing praise to our king. Sing praise. Sing a song of wisdom, for God is king of the whole earth. God reigns over the nations. God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the peoples have assembled with the people of the God of Abraham, for the leaders of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted, and indeed, my friends, he is. and it is God that has called you here to worship right now. So, with these things in mind, let's go to our Lord in prayer, after which we'll pray the Lord's Prayer and confess the Apostles' Creed together, but let's go to him now. Our God and our Father, we praise you that what we have just read is true, that you reign, that you are seated on high in all of your majesty and splendor, ordaining, maintaining all things, and you have made us your loyal subjects Oh, Father, what a blessing it is to be a part of your people and to have this time where you've called us out of just the daily routine of life. And you've given us this opportunity to stop and to focus on you and your greatness. And we pray that we would do these things, Father. But we can't do them alone. We need your Holy Spirit to illuminate the way forward, to guide us, to carry us as we worship you. Work in our hearts and in our minds as we pray, as we sing songs of praise, as we go to your word that this time would be pleasing to you most certainly, but at the same time that you would transform us as a result of it. Thank you, Father, for hearing our prayer. Thank you for providing for us in all ways, including bringing us to this place now. We pray these things in Christ's name and we also pray as he taught us to pray by saying, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Amen, indeed. And now as we say the Apostles' Creed together, let me ask you, Christian, and pay attention to this, what is it that you believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From this he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. ♪ This temple draw near ♪ ♪ Join me in glad adoration ♪ ♪ Praising the Lord through all things ♪ ♪ So wondrously graven ♪ ♪ Shelters me under his feet ♪ Our desire to fulfill, printing in one day. All right, everybody, you may be seated. Children, come on down for Children's Church And I want you guys to know, I told Mr. Will he has to sit down this time so he's not as scary when he stands in front of you. I know he's a big guy. All right. So come on down. There we go. That's very nice. Excellent. I don't think you're all going to fit. Gabe and Chloe. Chloe. Good girl. All right. Jeremiah. Oh, there we go. All righty. What y'all don't see is the look on the big sister Olivia's face when she's like, I don't know if I should leave her right there by herself. I catch that, Olivia. That's very good. All right, well. Good morning, guys. How are y'all? Good. So last week, we took a look at the catechism and that big, fancy word, and have the Bible, have the instructions for our life, how we're going to play a game, how we're going to build something that can work for one another and stuff. So this week, we're going to talk about glory. So, anyone else? Michael Jordan? I don't know who that is. So, people love to keep up with these famous people, whether it's through social media, watching everything they do, going to concerts. So, it's kind of safe to say that's kind of their moment of glory. scoring a big touchdown in the game, or a buzzer in the end, or a really great song in a concert. Does that glory last? Or do you go home, go to bed, and the next day you think, that was really cool that happened last night, but it doesn't have really that long-lasting effect that makes the next day even better. So when they stop acting or singing or playing violin or playing whatever sport they're known for, it's done. It's over. They're retired. But I ask you this because does God's glory ever stop? No, that's right. God does not retire. God does not stop you whenever he does. He doesn't do that ever. He will exist and be glorified forever. In fact, in 1 Chronicles 29, we get an idea about his glory. It says, yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all those in the heavens and all in the earth and the earth. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Now today, as you go to children's church, you're going to be learning about questions three through five of the catechism. and you'll learn about why God created you and how to live for His Lord. Shabbat shalom. Dear Father, we come before you today to glorify and to worship you. Lord, I pray for these children as they go to children's church, that they will have ears to hear and listen, heart to be stirred up and warmed by you, Father. Lord, we thank you and we love you. In your son's mighty name, we pray. Amen. Thank you very much, Will. As they're being dismissed, let's take this time to go to our Lord in silent prayer, remembering those things that we might bring before Him, and then I will lead us in the pastoral prayer. Let's go to Him now. Eternal God and Heavenly Father, we come to you now with grateful hearts because you are the eternal one, eternal in your perfection, eternal in your power, eternal in the way that you intervene in the course of human history on the grand scale. But, Father, you are just that as well. You are our Father, our perfect, loving, heavenly Father, our Father who does not count our iniquities, so that we could never stand before you. Our Father who forgives and loves to forgive, who is gracious and merciful. Our Father who provides in all ways, not just the things that we've got to have, but you give us so many good gifts. You're so kind to us and loving and generous. There's not enough time, Father, to praise you for who you are, for what you have done, And as we see today, what you will yet do. And even so, Father, we come praising you, thanking you for your provision, thanking you for your love. And Father, as we consider all the things that you are in all of your eternal perfection, we must admit that we are not perfect. No, Father, instead of doing that which you would have us do, We convince ourselves that we should do the thing that we want to do. We run after our own desires, our own plans, our own designs. And Father, it's so easy to forget about you. As the words to the great hymn say, we are prone to wander, and yet you hang on to us. And not only do you hang on to us, you draw us closer to yourself throughout life. So please, again, give us grateful hearts for this. And as we encounter challenges in our relationship with you, challenges to the life that we face, we pray that you would intervene and bring what's needed. As we think about those mentioned that are mourning today, we know that there are many. And we also know that mourning is not linear. As we talk about losing loved ones, certainly there are those in our midst that have lost loved ones recently, and that pain, that sting is real. And yet, Father, we know that the nature of this life and how our emotions work, we know that it might be quite some time since we've lost someone that means so much to us, and the pain is still very real, and it stings. So, Father, would you give grace and comfort and peace to those mourning the loss of loved ones, and for those mourning in other ways. For we mourn those things that we regret. We mourn over those things that we might believe are missed opportunities, the would of, coulda, shouldas of life. You know our hearts, heart. You know us better than we do, Father, so please give that comfort and that peace, that grace, that we need to make it through life. As we face things like medical challenges, and certainly we have those as well, and we pray that you'd bring healing. As we face relationship challenges, whether it's in the family, whether it's vocational, at work, our lives are made up of people, and we're all sinners, Father. And we don't handle things the way that we should, so it's our desire that you would come in, that you would mend brokenness, that you would strengthen that which is already there, and that, Father, you would do all of this for your own glory and for our good. And we know that those intersect perfectly in your will. We know that for us here at Old Providence. We know it for your church universal, those that we're united to in Christ that face problems that we can't even begin to understand, those believers that are in harm's way, those believers that are in the world around us that are seen as the lowest of the low for simply proclaiming Christ. And yet, Father, your promise remains the same, to persevere, to endure, for the crown of life awaits. Again, Father, it's not that we earn our way into your presence, earn our way into your favor, it's that you love us that much. So indeed, work in our hearts and our minds to that end. Draw us to yourself. And we pray these and all things in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Now let's take our green Bible song books as we continue our worship by turning to Bible song number 205 as we sing together. It's the 99th Psalm, but it's Bible song 205, the holiness of God. Please stand with me. His reign in Zion. O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, Let's go to our Lord, our Father. Indeed, faithful and holy are you. And now, as we come to this portion, where we, in our faithfulness, seeking to be faithful, we return to you. We pray that you would bless the gifts, that these would be used for your kingdom, for its furtherance. And we pray it all in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. The things that I love and hold dear to my heart ♪ At all ♪ ♪ Jesus, only let me in ♪ ♪ Stand out to brighten my life ♪ ♪ So remind me, remind me, Lord ♪ ♪ Roll back the curtain of every night left ♪ Show me where you brought me from, and where I could have been. Remember I'm human, and humans forget. So remind me, remind me, dear Lord. Nothing good have I done to deserve God's love. I'm unworthy of the scars in His hand. He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead. understand. Roll back the curtain of memories lost then. Show me where you found me strong, and where I couldn't been. Remember, I'm human, and it's forget, so remind me, remind me, dear Lord. Thank you so much for that, Randy and Donna. What a wonderful reminder that is. You know, so much, and this is not what the sermon is on, but read through the Old Testament, or as you read through the Old Testament, pay attention to how many times the Lord calls on his people to remember, right? To dwell on those good things that the Lord has done, not only for his people as a whole, but for us as individuals. So thank you so much for that, Randy. Well, I'm excited as we continue to make our way through our new series today. Perhaps you've noticed that we've only been at it for three sermons right now. I spent a lot of time focusing not only on what Revelation is, but what it's not. And for very good reason. We're in the very beginning. We're in the prologue, as it were. of the book of Revelation. And you have to do that sometimes, you know. To see what something is, sometimes you have to find out what it isn't. And you really should do that with the book of Revelation because of the stuff that we've been talking about, right? The different things that are swirling out there. I'll say more on that in a minute. But when you're dealing with something that is mysterious, And let's just be honest about it. I mentioned this last week. Revelation is mysterious. But when you're dealing with the mysterious, it's so very easy to take off in one direction or in another, in an effort to find meaning, to ascribe meaning to that which is mysterious. And finding meaning can result sometimes in removing things that are very important. And at the same time, trying to find meaning can also result in adding things. And we need to be ever so careful about this because Revelation itself issues a warning about that, you know. If you skip way ahead in the book of Revelation, we're in chapter 1. There's only 22 chapters, but if you skip to, I think there's only 21 verses, but verses 18 and 19 of Revelation say this. It says, I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy in this book. If anyone adds to them, God will also add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book. Y'all, I've talked about this before. What's worse, adding to God's word or taking away from it? Yes, neither one are permissible. Okay. And certainly this applies to all of God's work, but there's a special poignancy in these verses as it relates to how we make our way through this book of revelation. That is mysterious. This book of revelation that has been misinterpreted now. I've said it before and I'll say it again now. As we make our way through, I do so with a sense of nervousness and healthy caution, okay? Caution because of those verses that I just read, but also a twinge of nervousness. And I'm stepping on some of this today, right? But a twinge of nervousness because of what baggage we bring to the book of Revelation. And what I preach that may very well be something that you find offensive. I'm still going to preach it, and you should know that by now. I've been here with you seven years. I'm still going to preach it, but it doesn't mean it doesn't make me nervous. People have really strong feelings about the book of Revelation, you know. Goodness, yes. As I warned about in my first sermon, there are many, many false teachers, self-proclaimed prophets, that alone makes them false prophets, who boldly preach revelation and declare that anyone who doesn't agree with them doesn't take the Bible seriously or doesn't accept the truth of God's Word. So the gauntlet is thrown down, and it looks like all sorts of things, like The storms like you too can survive the apocalypse, which means they don't understand it, but you can survive the apocalypse with 36 easy payments of $9.99 and you can invest in this, you know, who needs 25 pound bucket of macaroni and cheese? I guess people that listen to some of this stuff, right? But they're selling it, it's out there and it can make us very emotional. It can worry us as we come to God's word when instead what revelation ought to be doing with us is inspiring us, especially as we come to the subject that we face today. And so let me say right here at the start of this sermon that I'm aware of this, this emotional tie thing, and you should be too. But what I'm asking you to do, and forget about me because this is what God's word requires of you, is to set those things aside, right? And instead focus on what's in God's word. People ask me sometimes how I write sermons and devotionals and Wednesday nights and funerals and that kind of stuff. Y'all, my life is comprised of keyboards. Every once in a while, I'll get one, and a man will say, you just got another keyboard? Yeah, there's five broken ones in my office right now under my desk because I spend a lot of time writing. People say, how do you even begin? I begin with certain questions, but I'll tell you what the very first question is. kids, and adults. I've learned that some adults fill out the paper. Well done. Okay, but on the little bulletin handout thing right there, when we read the Bible, this is the first thing, when we read the Bible, the first question that we should ask is, what has been revealed? Not, what do I think about it? Not, how do I feel about this? Not, would so and so agree with it? Or this preacher or that preacher say about it? What does the Bible say? what has been revealed by God in His Word for His people. And y'all, if we keep this in mind, this principle in mind, it will serve us well because where we arrive today, as we finish up what's called the prologue, the very beginning of the book of Revelation, those first eight verses, what we come to today contains teaching that is absolutely crucial to the book of Revelation, yes, but the human existence and the history of history, this is central. It is central to life, to existence, to all things that have ever transpired or leading up to the subject that we come to today. So much so that this subject is the central focus of the entire book of Revelation. And as a result, this is a subject that people argue over. My goodness, there are some strong opinions about this subject that we come to today. So what is it, right? This central event of revelation, the absolute pinnacle of all the existence of existence. I'll tell you right now, it's Jesus' return. That's what is central. That moment that is coming when Jesus comes back. And the final judgment takes place, the devil is dealt with, and praise God, Jesus makes all things new. It just so happens that this central moment is in the center, but it's also in the beginning because the central moment is where the book of Revelation really begins. And given that idea of the preconceived notions that we bring, the strong opinions we have about what Jesus' return is going to be like, what we find today might just surprise you. It may even go against an opinion you bring with you to the text that happens to be a very popular opinion, really one of the main opinions of the last hundred years or so. Are you sufficiently intrigued now? Good. We're going to start reading in Revelation chapter 1, verse 1. But before we read anything, we need to stop and pray because we need help. So let's go to the Lord. Our Father, would you be with us now and guide us as we come to your word? Your word is such a gift. It's such a blessing as we've seen. It's given for grace and peace. And yet this subject that we come to today often evokes fear and terror and misunderstanding. And it's been exploited. And Father, without you, There's no way we will go forward well. We need your Holy Spirit again to illuminate, to turn the lights on so that we can see the truth of your word. So please guide us now and we pray it all in Christ's name. Revelation 1, beginning in verse 1, hear now the word of the Lord. It says, the revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near. John, to the seven churches in Asia, grace and peace to you from the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before the throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. Look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is, who was, and who is to come. the Almighty. And we're going to stop reading right there. May God bless the reading of His holy, inerrant, and infallible word. Amen and amen. Well, my friends, we have made it to the first five verses in the time that we've had together, the short time we've had together in the book of Revelation. And I know, I know this much time on five verses, but realize it's the beginning. And what's said here is so foundational to the rest of Revelation that if we miss this stuff, we're not going to get the rest. Okay, you got to start at the start, but I promise we will move much quicker as we go along. Nevertheless, we've covered most of the first five verses with the exception of the very end of verse 5. I didn't get to it like I wanted to, but it just so happens that it sets everything up for today. But at the end of verse 5, verse 5b, we just read it again, but I'm going to read it now. John, we find, is in the midst of giving us this greeting, this prologue. We get the Trinitarian blessing, like we talked about last week from Revelation 1. We get this promise. of grace and peace from the one who is and was and is to come. That's God the Father. We saw the promise of grace and peace from the seven spirits. We talked about what the seven spirits are, that it's the Holy Spirit, okay? We also talked about the number 7 and its significance. We'll do that more as we go along. In verse 5, we see that promise of grace and peace is from Jesus. But look at the end of verse 5. It begins with a blessing here, a doxology, a moment of praise in light of everything that's been written. I got to ask, do you take the time to praise? You know, we Presbyterians are really good at knowing things, right? We know stuff, and it's good to know stuff. But if you don't take the time to stop and praise him for those things that you know, to remember, right, as Randy just lifted up, you got to do that. But this begins this section of doxology where we read, to him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by his blood. Y'all, before going a step further, do you realize that this is what Jesus has done? Do you realize that this is why Jesus came? On the paper, the next thing that's on there, why did God send Jesus? Why did God send his one and only son? God sent Jesus so that you and I could be free from sin. That means sin's bondage in this life. It means their ultimate consequence in hell being separated from God. That means that Jesus came to do what he said he came to do. John 10.10, he said, look, the thief only comes to steal and kill in this world. I've come that they may have life and have it to the full. But what does this life look like? Verse 6 tells us. and continues by saying, not only is Jesus set us free from our sins, it says, Jesus has set us free from our sins, verse six, and made us a kingdom, priest to his God and father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. Now, as we read that, it's like, okay, yeah, that's great, but really, a kingdom, priest, what is he talking about? Interestingly enough, this is actually a quote, You can find it in Exodus chapter 19 verse 6 when God reckons the people of Israel for himself. And in Exodus 19, he's restating again who they're supposed to be and what they're supposed to do. And you find this statement, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And what we find here, that's at the beginning of Israel being a nation. What we find here, at the beginning of the end of all things, which is really the beginning of all things, You find this same promise here. Now, the Jews of the Old Testament rejected this, of course. Remember, we talked about that we have no king but Caesar thing in John 19 when Pilate offered to release Christ. We know that that's going on, but instead, because of Christ and because of how God's covenant works, we see from Galatians 3.28 that there is neither Jew nor Greek, a slave nor free, male nor female. You're all one in Christ Jesus. And it's in Christ that we've been made into this kingdom. But not just any kingdom. A kingdom of priests. And y'all, that's what full life looks like. It looks like those who have access to God and the right to call on him because Jesus is our high priest. You ever wonder what Jesus is doing? I've said this to y'all several times. If anybody says, I wonder what Jesus is doing? Romans 8, 34 tells you what Jesus is doing. Christ, that's the question. First, who is he to condemn? Then it says Christ Jesus is the one who died, more than that, who was raised. He's at the right hand of God, and he's interceding for us. And y'all, in Jesus interceding for us, we have access. That's how we become these priests. That's how we're a kingdom of priests. We're called on to be his representatives. We're called on to call on the name of the Lord. And instead of finding a sacrifice to offer, Jesus is our final sacrifice, but in this calling that we've received, we're also the sacrifices as we do what Jesus said, which is lay aside ourselves and live for Him. And so with this calling in mind, John ends his greeting by praising God. At the end of verse 6, we're called to be that light on the hill, but he says to Him, be glory and dominion forever and ever. Now, who is the hymn? It's to Christ, the substance of this reckoning that we're a part of. To Christ be the glory. Now, as soon as the greeting and the blessing and the praising is over, what do we find? Well, after this moment in verse six, John zooms way out, okay? It's almost like the niceties are over with you. I know, people write letters sometimes still, right, and you have, General salutations and that sort of thing, but it's almost like those are done in verse 6 and then John zooms way out He climbs up to 10,000 feet and he tells you exactly what the whole of the book of Revelation is really all about He tells us what Revelation centers on I've already said what it is. It's Jesus return, but y'all it's interesting how he does this and I wonder, have you ever read a book or seen a movie that sort of starts in the middle and then goes back and fills in the blanks and then we find the conclusion? You all probably know by now that I'm a great lover of literature, okay, and there's some notable examples of this. It's called in media res, that's a Latin phrase. It means in the midst of things, okay? I'll give you an example. Take Shakespeare's Hamlet, right? Hamlet. It begins with Hamlet mourning the death of his father and then he figures out what's going on and then... Not Shakespeare fans, huh? Okay, I see some of the looks on your face. All right, how about this? Homer's Odyssey, right? It begins with Homer. He's already imprisoned, right, by Calypso and suitors have shown up to get his wife's hand. Not Homer fans, all right, I'll skip the Iliad altogether. You ever seen Forrest Gump? All right, now we're in business, okay. If you've seen Forrest Gump, then you know that right at the beginning, where do you find Forrest? He's on the bench, right, and he's got the box of chocolates that life is like apparently, you know, and don't worry, I'm not even going to try the impression, okay, I'm not going to go there. Nevertheless, it starts with him there on his way to go find Jenny again. Jenny, one of the worst villains in movie cinematic history. And I know that's a hot take and we can argue about it later. But nevertheless, it starts with him. It's right in the middle there. And then after we find him on the park bench, he's having the conversation, it goes back to the beginning. Right? And you find the thing. It's in Meteor Rest. It goes back to the beginning. It gives you the story, building up to how he got on the park bench. Then he finds Jenny, and then the story picks up, and then the story completes, right? That's how that movie works. That's in Meteor Rest. Y'all, that's how Revelation works, too. We started with the preliminary stuff, the who, the what, the when. We started with the dynamics of the book of Revelation. But right after this blessing of peace and grace, right after this moment of doxology, we pick up with the middle of everything that's about to be revealed. The focus of the whole book of Revelation. And what do we find? We find this zooming out where the author, where John points us to this. the recorder and he says, look, he is coming with the clouds. He being Jesus, he's coming with the clouds and every, I will see him, even those who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen. By the way, side note, you know, amen has been in there over and over and over again. You know what amen means? It means so let it be. So be it right. Let the Lord let it happen. And then it says, I'm the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Now it's after this that the book of Revelation then goes back to the beginning. We get the letters to the seven churches, right? And we get all the preparation leading up to Jesus's return. And then after Jesus's return, we see the consummation of the kingdom of God in all its fullness. What happens for eternity in the devil and all of those different things. But it starts in the middle, you see. Kids on your paper and everybody else, what's the whole focus of Revelation, the fill in the blank? Revelation focuses on Christ's return. The whole business of Revelation is about Jesus coming back because, again, His return is the central event for not only Revelation, it's the central event for the history of history over the entire course of human existence. Every single thing in history is building up to that moment that we just read about in verses 7 and 8. That moment when Jesus comes back ushering in the Kingdom of God in all of its fullness. And then after He comes back, you find the rest of eternity forever and ever. And we're going to talk about these things, yes, but y'all, when Jesus comes back, think about the promises I'm sure you're familiar with, that every tear, every eye will be dried. There's not going to be any disappointment. We find that promise from Christ that He makes all things new. Think about the busted stuff in life. Things like the nature of the bodies that we have, how we face ailments. I don't know what everybody has going on. I know what a few of you have going on. And I know you're going through a difficult time. It's all going to be made new. Think about relationships. You know, one of the biggest struggles in life is knowing and being known. But a time is coming when all of that is fixed, y'all. A time is coming where there's no more disappointment. A time is coming of true freedom and liberty. And you know what that consists of? It was St. Augustine that actually talked about this. He said that true freedom is being free from the temptation of sin. A time is coming when all of that is dealt with. Do you take the time to dwell on that? I hope so. Because what we find at the very beginning after all the introductory stuff is done is this grand proclamation about what Jesus' return is gonna be like. And what do we see about it? What has been, now that question, what has been revealed? Well, we see a lot of things and we're gonna talk about these as we flesh this out more as we go on. But at first glance, we see the ushering in of the kingdom of God in its grandeur. We don't see everything just falling apart. We don't see a Savior that returns to just turn the lights out? My goodness, no. It's not just what we see here and every eye seeing and every ear hearing. It's not just the glory that we see. It's also what we don't see. I don't know about you, but this sure doesn't sound like some secret event to me. Allow me to go from preaching to meddling a little bit. There's no scenes on airplanes where people wake up and find sets of empty clothing beside them. If you know what I'm talking about, then you probably read the Left Behind series of books. While they are witty and I enjoy them, there's no need for those bumper stickers that talk about some secret rapture that all of a sudden the car is going to be unmanned. Some people need that just because of the way they drive in general, but nevertheless, you know, it's witty and I get it, but the idea that Jesus' return is going to be secret, that nobody's going to know except for a few, And the reason for this is that Revelation 1 verse 7 very clearly speaks about Jesus' return as a public event that everybody is going to know about. And not only will they witness the event, they're going to know what's going on. You ever wonder why, and I didn't put it up here, I should have, but when we hear in Philippians that one day is coming where every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. You know, we think about that in terms of maybe everybody's going to become a Christian in the earth and under the earth. Y'all, there's a day that's coming when everybody even in hell is going to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. And the terror of it will be that they will be separated from him forever. So not only will people know when Jesus comes back, they will understand in y'all that phrase, Every eye will see him. Interestingly enough, the idea that the world would continue in ignorance when Jesus comes back and descend further into darkness and then you get, you know, some Antichrist figure and people will be deceived. How does that match up with verse seven? Again, read it. Look, he's coming with the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him, so it is to be, amen. There's no room for that other stuff. Every person, every person will see. But what's fascinating here is those are described as those who will mourn instantly. Why? Because at that moment, those who see and know will know it is too late. It's too late to place your faith in him once he's come back. Why? Because Jesus comes back to judge. When Jesus comes back, it's all over and it's all beginning. Everything is done because everything is beginning again because of that making all things new. When Jesus returns, he's going to judge with equity and should this surprise us? It shouldn't if we listen to what he says. Think about his parables. He comes back to what? Do you ever read a parable about somebody coming to take the sheep back in secret and then the goats are left looking at each other saying, I wonder what happened to all the sheep? No! Matthew 25, he comes back and immediately he starts sorting between the sheep and the goats. It's over! There's no secret roundup. And that's not the only one. Matthew 13, right? When he comes back, it's time to separate the wheat from the tares. The wheat is taken into the harvest. The tares are cast into the fire. There's no waiting period. There's no harvesting the wheat, and then the field is overrun by the tares for a thousand years or whatever it is, and maybe some tares get transformed into wheat. That's preposterous, especially if you start with the question, what has been revealed? And if you ask that of verse 7, you find triumph. You find glory. You find something beautiful and wonderful that is the promise for God's people. People who, if you accept the date that I gave for the book of Revelation in the 60s, as in AD, people that are going through what can really be described as hell on earth, Families being fed to lions for public entertainment. Christians being used as garden torches for Nero's parties. And to hear about this time that's coming where everybody knows, everybody sees. It's a time of rejoicing for some and a time of sorrow and mourning for others. What a blessing it is. But you got to start with that question, what has been revealed? If you just ask that question, you're honest, right here, front and center at the very start, we see that Jesus only comes back once. And when he comes back, his kingdom comes with it in all of its fullness. And yes, I know this is contrary to the most predominant view that's out there. A view that we're going to talk more about as we come to it, but a view that does not line up with what we read here in the scriptures. Now again, we're gonna talk about that doctrine and the secret rapture left behind business when we get to it, but for right now, we got another question to ask, and that's so what? Hopefully you get it by now. It's an important question. So what? Take our passage for what it is, that it is an encouragement and a warning. And as these are the last verses before Revelation really digs in to tell you about the things that are gonna happen, What more fitting thing could you find than an encouragement and a warning? And they're both about the same thing. Jesus is coming back. And when he comes back, you will either go with him to glory or he will say to you, as he said to all those who don't know him, it's it's maybe the scariest passage in all of God's Word. Matthew 7, 23, when Jesus says, I never knew you depart from me. What makes this so scary is the context of it. Beginning in verse 21, this is Jesus speaking. He says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. And then when he says on that day, side note, pause, what day do you think he's talking about? He's talking about the day that we just read about in Revelation 1, 7, and 8 when Jesus comes back. On that day, that day of judgment, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do miracles in your name? And then I will announce to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreaker. Now, my friends, the so what of today's message is that revelation starts with Jesus' return because it is central to the entire book, yes, but to your and my entire existence. And so do you know him? This is inevitable. Do you know Jesus Christ? And either he's coming back or he's gonna call you and either you'll face judgment when he calls you or he'll return and let it be the second. Please, Lord. But if you know Him, take heart. He is returning and every eye will see Him. Rejoice and pray for His return. But if you don't know Him, If you know you don't know him, if you are not trusting in him alone for your salvation, receive the free offer of the gospel. Turn to Christ and he will forgive you of your sins. Come and see me, come and get me. I love you all, but if I'm talking to somebody, you grab me and we will go and talk because this is the most important thing ever, y'all. Just like I said, if you know him, be encouraged. Every eye will see him. If you don't know him, every eye will see him, including yours. So do not wait. As we go through Revelation, we will continue to see encouragement, we will see wonder, we will see triumph and victory. But my friends, that is for those who know and belong to Jesus Christ. If you know Him, bask in that greatness. If you don't, turn to Him. Let's pray. Our Father, we praise you for this time that you have given to us and I pray that your word would advance, that my words would pass away, that yours would continue forever and ever. And I pray this knowing that they will. But Father, please see to it. For those here that know you, encourage us that you reign, that you return in triumph. For those that do not know you, please work in their hearts now that they would seek your face. And I pray it in Christ's name. Amen. And now let's close our time together by taking our hymnals. We're going to turn to number 140 and rejoice in the kingship of Christ. Rejoice, the Lord is King. Please stand with me. Hymn number 140. He's the best. When we get to heaven, we'll know what seraphic joy is, a seraphic seraphim, yeah? And also, we'll be able to hit the high notes, I guarantee. Receive the benediction. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace, both now and forevermore. Amen.