In your Bibles tonight, Revelation chapter 22. Revelation chapter 22, that's significant because it's the very last chapter in God's Word. When we come to the last chapter of the book of Revelation, the first five verses really give us some more information and more description of heaven. And then here in verses 6 through 9, which is our text for tonight, it's almost like you're coming to a conclusion and there's a number of things that need to be dealt with. And I want to share with you tonight three truths to end on. Three truths to end on and some interesting things here, some emphasis that I know is important. to be emphasized in our Christian life. The Bible says in Revelation 22, beginning verse 6, And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I, John, saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel, which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book. Worship God. And we come to this text, and I'm just going to jump right in. Three truths to end on. The first thing that I want to emphasize, and I believe it's emphasized here in the passage of Scripture, is number one, Jesus is coming soon. This is a theme that needs to be rehearsed and reiterated and proclaimed and preached frequently from the pulpits of our church, because it is a recurring theme in the New Testament. Jesus is coming, and Jesus is coming soon. I can already hear the voice of the critic. That's what they've been saying for over 2,000 years. And I'm just going to tell you, the coming of the Lord Jesus is closer today than it's ever been. It's closer today than it was yesterday, and Jesus is coming soon. Don't forget it. Jesus is coming soon. Why do you think that that's important? I'm going to get into that in a moment, but I want you to see a few things in this text. Look with me in verse number 6. He said unto me, These sayings are faithful. and true. Now this is fun. I like this little phrase here as we begin. Verse 6, these sayings are faithful and true. And I don't know if it's relating back to the entire book of the Revelation or the recent sayings that he's heard about heaven. Either way, this statement is true. The Bible says that these sayings are faithful and true. I want you to know the glory of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is faithful. It's going to happen. And it's true. Sometimes we think about the coming of Christ. We think about the glories of eternity. We think about the promise of heaven, the promise of a new heaven, a new earth. We think about the glories of a new body. We think about the glories of being united with the people that we miss and love. And sometimes we think it's just some kind of pipe dream that some Christian person has dreamed up to make people feel better. But I want you to know something. It's in the Word of God. It's faithful and it's true. It's as true as I'm standing here today, as certain as I'm standing on this platform made of wood. I'm going to heaven one day and I'll spend eternity with Jesus and I'll be reunited with the people who've gone before me who know Christ by faith as Savior. It's faithful and true. Be sure of it. And it's sweet to know that a faithful and true statement is this, that Jesus is coming again. The Bible says in verse 6, it continues, these sayings are faithful and true and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angels to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. And when we look at the book of Revelation, all that's happening, the rapture of the church, the seven years of tribulation, and the establishment, the beginning of the millennium, and all these things, the Bible says it'll come to pass shortly. And I'm just telling you, I know that it's coming. It's coming. Jesus is coming again. It must be done shortly. It won't be long. Jesus is coming again. Verse number seven, behold, I come quickly. Behold, I come quickly. And I think that's to be understood, quickly. Now, an interesting idea about this word quickly. It says quickly, it means quickly, it is quickly. So, don't ever think that I doubt the word because I believe God's word is all inspired. The word quickly also has this idea of suddenly. Now, I want to remind you of something. Jesus is coming again. He can come back in any moment. He's going to come as a thief in the night, the Bible says. He's going to come and it's going to happen suddenly. And we need to remember this. He's coming quickly. In our text, Revelation chapter number 22, not just the verses we read tonight make this emphasis, but look in verse number 12. The Bible says in verse number 12, behold, I come quickly. Look at verse number 20. He which testified these things says, surely I come quickly. Amen. I want you to know something, Jesus is coming again. What's the significance of Jesus is coming soon? I'll tell you, when we think about the fact that Jesus is coming again, it gives us hope. There's hope in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's hope for today. What's hopeful about today? This could be the day that the Lord comes again. Today. I'll never forget. This being emphasized to me in shoe leather one day, I was talking to Mike Brown, Aaron, my best friend in college who was tragically killed with a group of college students in a quartet just before Ruth and I were to be married. Aaron instantly was taken out of here along with five of our dear friends and he's gone. The absence of a son in a father's heart is something I can't even imagine. I remember talking to Mike one day and he says, you know something that encourages me every day, Cody? I said, no, what is it? He says, I wake up every morning thinking that Jesus could come back today. He says, and I'm excited to see Christ. I really am. But every morning I wake up with joy in my heart to think that today I could see Aaron. You know what's sweet? It's sweet to know that Jesus is coming again. There's hope for today. There's hope for this reunion. Oh, how many times do we sing these great old hymns that, what a glad reunion day. Won't it be glory up there? Heaven sounding sweeter all the time. All these songs and all these ideas that we have about heaven, I want you to know something, when Jesus comes, The reality of eternity will begin. Jesus is coming soon, and God's people can rejoice in it. I remember as a teenager, kind of knowing that I should look to the coming of Christ, but thinking, there's a lot of things I want to do first. And the older I get, the more I realize why God's people yearn for Jesus to come again. And He's coming. Jesus is coming soon. It gives us hope. Hope for today. Hope for reunion. Hope for eternity. Jesus is coming again. You know what else it does? It gives us hope for relief. I want you to know God doesn't expect us to be comfortable in this sin-cursed world. And it's okay to be uncomfortable while we live in this house of clay, this world of sin. As a matter of fact, we should have a certain sense of uncomfort. We should be living uncomfortably, rich with the grace and peace that only God can give. There's hope for relief. And oh, when the song says, won't it be wonderful there, I look forward to Jesus coming again. And oh, how sweet it is. Until then, we'll keep rejoicing, we'll keep trusting, we'll keep depending on God's grace and faithfulness, but Jesus is coming again. The coming of Christ and Jesus is coming soon is something that gives us hope, but it also gives us motivation. I read a commentator as I was preparing this message talking about the coming of Christ and the reality that Jesus has been coming soon for more than 2,000 years. In my little short lifespan, 2,000 years is a long time, but when you're eternal God, 2,000 years just isn't very long. As I read this commentator, the interesting thought that he put along with the fact that The church, God's people, have been looking for the return of Jesus for more than 2,000 years. He made this observation that Christian people must live in expectation that Jesus could come any moment. Do you know what God wants us to do? He wants to motivate us to live with eternity in view. To live in light of the fact that our lives are very short. Many times throughout the eons, artists and writers have written poems and songs about if this was your last day. There's a recent song, it's titled something like this, Live Like You're Dying. You've never lived until you live like you're dying. And the emphasis and the spirit that God's people should live in is we should live motivated knowing that, hey, look, today could be the day that Jesus comes back. May he find me faithful. You see, the return of Christ and the fact that Jesus could come today, that's the next thing that's going to happen in God's prophetic calendars. The Trump will sound. The dead in Christ will rise first and we which are alive and remain shall be called up together to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. That motivates us to be ready. It motivates us to be faithful. It motivates us to be witnessing. You know, when we live in light of the fact that Jesus is coming quickly, It should motivate us to share the gospel with the lost. It should motivate us to make an emphasis on the most important message ever heard, preached, taught, and lived. The message that Jesus Christ came and lived a sinless life and paid the price for our sins. when he died on the cross of Calvary and defeated death, hell, and the grave, and ascended into heaven to prepare us a place. " Hey look, the coming of Christ should motivate us to be witnessing, to be faithful, to be ready. The return of Christ should motivate us to forgive. Now look, I want you to think for just a moment. If you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, who do you need to forgive? Who do you need to love? Who do you need to apologize to? What do you need to take care of? I want you to know that Jesus can come back tonight, tomorrow. He says, I come quickly. I'm coming soon. We should live every day in light of the fact that this could be the day. It should motivate us. Jesus is coming soon. Three truths to end on. Number one, Jesus is coming soon. Number two, obedience brings blessing. Obedience brings blessing. The Bible says in verse 7, Behold, I come quickly. Then it says, blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Let me just tell you what verse number 7 makes me want to do. The Bible says blessed. Anytime you see the word blessed, you should pay close attention because God is giving you some insight into something that you can do that will help you be happy. I know the word blessed is something that has the idea of happy. It's not just a happy that is rooted in, I just ate a cheeseburger from McDonald's and it made me happy. It's got more of a deep satisfaction and contentment. And God says that you can be happy, you can be blessed if you will key, the sayings, the prophecies of this book. When I read verse 17, you know what I want to do? I want to go back through it and I want to be looking through the book of Revelation. I want to look back through these prophecies and I want to look for things that I can obey God in. And most of the things that I can obey God in the book of Revelation is looking for His coming. Looking for His coming, looking for His coming. Now look, what does the scripture say? The scripture says, Is he that keepeth the signs of the prophecy of this book? I'll have you know something. If you'll become an obedient Bible Christian, you'll find out that God will make you a happy Christian. God's obedient children are happy. God's obedient children are happy. I remember growing up, it was really happy if you're obeying mom and dad. Things were good. You might have to do something occasionally that was a little uncomfortable or not what your flesh won't do, but when you're obeying mom and dad, things are really good. It's sweet. I'm going to tell you something, when you're obeying Father God and His Word, you're going to find out how to make you happy. The Bible says, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth and seetheth scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law doth he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the river's water. " Let me just tell you something. Obedience brings blessing. He says, blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy. But he says it again, look at verse 14 in this text. In verse 14, the Bible says, blessed are they that do his commandments. Blessed are they that do his commandments. Obedience brings blessing. If you'll obey God and His Word, you're going to find out that you're going to have peace in your heart, peace with God. It'll make you happy. Something else that's wonderful about this little phrase. Some folks read the book of Revelation and they think it's just some kind of big story, big deal. But I want you to know something, when we read Revelation 22 and the Bible says, blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book, it gives us promise that it is a word to be kept and not just some story to be told. There's obedience that can be found as we study and apply The book of Revelation. Obedience brings blessing. Let me ask you a question. What is it that God has been stirring in your heart for you to obey that you will not? What is it? And I'm just going to tell you, perhaps you've not slowed down enough to even let the Holy Spirit show you the rebellion that's in your heart. But right now would be the perfect time. Lord, I want to be happy. I want to be blessed. I want to honor you. I want to encourage you right now. Lord, what is it in your word that I refuse to obey? And when the Holy Spirit shows you what it is, you know what you need to do? You need to repent of your sin, your pride, your rebellion, and ask your loving Father to forgive you and begin to obey. Because the Bible says obedience brings blessing. Let's obey Him. You'll be glad you did. Isn't it foolish to be that child that is constantly rebelling against the parents who love them dearly? And yet we do it to our Father who art in heaven. so frequently. Three truths to end on. Jesus is coming soon. Number two, obedience brings blessing. And finally, number three, worship God. Worship God. We should show worth. I love the word worship. Sometimes we get worship wrong. Sometimes worship is this warm, fuzzy feeling. That's your emotion. And it's okay to have emotion when you worship. But the Bible says we don't worship in feeling. The Bible says we worship Him in spirit and in truth. And so I want you to make sure that we have our worship right. And God says we should worship Him. We should show Him worth. We should praise Him. We should adore Him. And we should worship God and nothing or no one else. Look at this lesson, it's so fun. Here's poor John, the revelator. He's just been exposed to all this glorious truth that we find in the book of Revelation. And you know what he's going to do? He's going to get caught up in his emotion. He's going to do something wrong. You know what he's going to do? He's going to worship an angel. Let's read it together, look. Verse number 8. And I, John, saw these things and heard them. Can you imagine all he saw and heard? He saw them and heard them. It shook him so much that he's going to tell us again that he saw them and heard them. And he says in verse 8, I saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship. You're either like, wow, good job, John. But wait, there's more. I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel. which showed me these things. He's like, I've got to worship this angel. I'm going to worship the one that brought me the message. Verse 9, Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book. He says, whoa, don't do that. Don't you worship me! And the angel, this is kind of fun to think about, the angel says, John, whoa, hold on. You and I, we're like equal here. We're fellow servants. Don't worship me. And he ends this verse by saying something very plain. Worship God. You know something? All of us have that tendency that John the Baptist has. God will use some man to point us to some truth. The next thing you know we'll get caught up with worshipping that man. Don't you do it! will lead you astray. That man will fail you. We worship tradition, and I love tradition. I love tradition. I remember thinking when I was a boy, I would watch football games on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, especially on Thanksgiving Day, and I thought to myself, I could never be a professional football player. And there's lots of reasons why I couldn't be a professional football player, like height, size, speed, brains, and all those things I'm short on. But I thought when I was a kid, I was like, I could never be a professional football player because I could not stand the thoughts of being at a football game when My family was at Mammaw's for Thanksgiving. I'm that serious about it when I was a kid. I was like, I could never do that. I remember watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day. I'll never go to that because if I went to that, I couldn't be with my family on Thanksgiving. I love tradition, but I'm going to tell you something. If you get caught up in worshiping traditions, you're going to end up worshiping something that's going to lead you astray. We're not to worship Mary, we're not to worship preachers, we're not to worship angels, we're not to worship traditions, we're not to worship buildings, we're not to worship anything but God. You think it'd be simple when God says, thou shalt put no other gods before me. But I'm going to tell you something, we are all prone to idolatry. And most of the time, our idols are things that we deem good. But anytime something stands between you and God, and you get emotionally attacked, like John the Baptist, he just got ready to bow before this angel because he was worked up and emotional. It was precious to him. This thing that had happened was wonderful. And the angel says, whoa, don't do it. And he just says really plain, worship God. Worship God. Are you putting God first? It's so important that we do. Three truths to end on. One, Jesus is coming soon. Find hope and find motivation. Obedience brings blessing. What is it you need to obey God in? Do it. You'll be glad you did. And by all means, you worship God and nothing else.