Please turn to Revelation 22. And I will be reading verses 12-16. This is Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end. And John writes, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they might have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter by the city gates. Outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star." This Messiah, Jesus Christ, came the first time to pave a road so that all of His children could enter the New Jerusalem. This long-awaited prophet who was spoken of in Ezekiel 43 and 44, who would come from the east who would march through the eastern gate of Jerusalem. See, this is something that He has already done. This is something that He has already accomplished. He has entered through that gate. It is He who is going to return and bring His recompense. See, dispensationalists will argue that in the second advent, He's literally going to walk through a gate in Jerusalem. There's a gate that's known as the Golden Gate. It's a gate that was blocked up by the Turks about 500 years ago. And they have this belief, which is more a matter in Jewish superstition than Scripture, that in the second advent, the Messiah is going to walk through. See, but this is not what I'm speaking of. This is not what Ezekiel is speaking about. He's not talking about a literal gate on the eastern portion of Jerusalem. He's talking about the gate on the eastern side of Eden. This gate which has kept all humanity from walking with God in the garden. See, Jesus Christ came from the east. He walked through this eastern gate. Every son of Adam has been cut off from the gate. But every child of God has been granted access. Only those who are God's children will triumphantly walk into this city. See, Adam and Eve resided in Eden. They enjoyed the blessings of God in His garden. But on account of sin, they were cast out east of Eden. They were banished from paradise. And they were kept from going back through that entrance by a flaming sword. You see, this eastern gate has great richness in biblical theology. And it's a far cry from a literal gate. See, but here in Revelation 22 and in 21, we're talking about this new Jerusalem. This new Eden. Jonathan Edwards points out that Jesus did what Adam could not. He walked into the flaming sword of God's wrath. See, remember, at the eastern portion of Eden, at that gate, God had placed a flaming sword, the sword of God's wrath that awaited any sinner who sought after the tree of life. See, but Jesus Christ walked directly, face first, into that sword when He went upon the cross. He walked into that sword that kept humanity out of the garden And He came through the other side in paradise. See, remember, He told the thief on the cross, today you will be with Me in paradise. He is returning and He will lead all of His children through this gate. And there will be no sword awaiting His bride at this gate. Because our infinite Lord Jesus Christ has sufficiently endured God's infinite wrath sufficiently atoned for our sins. And He cleansed His children so that they may have a right to once more walk with God, so that they may live eternally and eat from this tree of life. They shall all enter this paradise that the first Adam had lost. Adam exited through this eastern gate, and therefore all of his posterity that came after him were born into sin. resided in this curse. They came out and they cursed creation. Cut off from these blessings that God had given them in Eden. But Jesus entered through this gate so that all of His posterity that followed behind Him would inherit His reward that is laid there in this new Eden, this new Jerusalem. The one that is greater than the first. This great redemptive narrative is even foreshadowed in the Israelites. Who, as you remember, did not even live up to their covenant on Mount Sinai. They were cast out of the promised land eastward. But by God's grace, they were brought back into the land. This is a foreshadowing of what Jesus would accomplish. See, but this new promised land is going to be better than the first. His people are going to be protected from the dangers on the outside. Because there is a wall. There is a wall that protects any serpent from coming in. And they're protected on the inside because they are all clothed in God's righteousness. But most of all in the New Jerusalem, you're going to be protected from sin. You will have as much ability to sin in the New Jerusalem as Jesus Christ Himself. because you will be fully wrapped in His righteousness. Consider what Ezekiel writes in 47 verses 8 through 9. And he said to me, this water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into Ereba and enters the sea. When the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live. and there will be many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh, so that everything will live where the river goes." The time that Jesus is bringing into existence is the very opposite of what happened previously. Previously in Eden, it was sin that flowed outward. Adam and Eve walked eastward and a river of sin followed behind them. They polluted everything. This tsunami of sin that corrupted the creation, and it even resulted in God judging the entire creation in a flood. And even at that, it's ultimately going to result in a judgment by fire in the future. See, but the opposite is going to happen on account of the second Adam, Jesus Christ. He's going to do the opposite of the first. Instead of a river of sin flowing out and corrupting everything that it touches, We now have a river that Stephen spoke of a couple weeks ago that flows out and it makes everything pure. This is the work of Jesus Christ in the life of a sinner who will ultimately be glorified and be free from sin. It is this great Messiah and this cleanser who will return. Isaiah writes in chapter 40, verse 10, Behold the Lord. God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense is before Him. Jesus will return, and those who have washed their robes in His blood are those who will enjoy this new Eden for eternity. But those who have not washed, those who stand before Him in garments stained by sin, will be cast out of this new Eden for eternity. Existing outside of those gates in darkness for all of eternity. And my first point is Jesus will return to reward and to punish. John writes in verse 12, Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. See, every major aspect in redemption has occurred at this point. We're merely waiting on His timing. We're merely waiting on Jesus to come back and bring the fruition of what He has declared. See, many become troubled by this wording in this text because He says, coming soon. Some have argued that John means that he thought Jesus was coming back in His lifetime. See, but remember, John's not writing here what he thought. Instead, he's writing here what Jesus said. The soonness in this sentence needs to be understood in reference of the one who said it. See, if you consider from an eternal perspective, Jesus' return is going to be a quick return. This is someone who has existed for all of eternity, who is telling people who will reside with him for all of eternity that he will come back soon. So even if he came back in 20,000 years, it would be quick. It would be soon in reference to eternity. See, it's either from his perspective or his audience's perspective. When you look at it from an eternal perspective, it is soon. Peter writes in 2 Peter 3, verses 7-9, But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction for the ungodly. But do not overlook this fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness. but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. So seriously, according to this passage, Jesus has basically gone away about two days ago. I mean, it hasn't even been a week. See, the analogy is even greater than that when you consider that a thousand years is symbolic for a very long period of time. So what is the purpose in our fretting over his return? According to the passage in second Peter, he is doing this so that people will repent. God has the people he desires to save, and he's not going to return until he saves them all. The longer he takes, the more people that he saves. And we who believe that we will exist with Him for eternity should not consider this to be long either. Because in looking at this from an eternal perspective, it's not. Consider Paul's perspective in Romans 8 verses 18. For I consider the sufferings in this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us. So in comparison with the glory that awaited him, his present sufferings are not even worth comparing. Basically, in light of eternity, he's saying what's going on isn't even a big deal. But temporarily, we knew, we know that it was a big deal. See, he was a man that at one point in Acts was beaten so bad that he was mistaken for dead. See, but in light of the glory that awaited, it's not even worth, he says, comparing. And this is an important aspect of Christ return. In our happiness and in our sufferings, we have to keep an eternal perspective. Ask yourself when you face a problem, how is this important in light of eternity? See, but this perspective is most difficult for us since we live lives which are such in such great ease and comfort. both in respect to almost everyone who has ever lived. Our lives are easier than pretty much anyone that has ever lived, and easier than almost anyone else that lives on the planet. Most of us live better than royalty lived in years past. Seeing all of our devices and our comforts create a great distraction from eternity. Jesus will return in His time, and when He does, God will judge. He will judge all men. He will judge all men for everything they have done. Every man, woman, and child of every ethnicity, of every religion, will stand before the Lamb of God and be judged. He will bring His recompense. And you will glorify this Lamb either through your salvation or through your punishment. So do not say things like hell is eternal separation from God. Because we talked about this before. That's just not biblical. Sure, you're separated from God's common grace. You're separated from God's love. But in hell, you will be fully united with God's wrath. See, God is a God who communicates himself with creation. And the Bible says that those who are tormented in hell are tormented before the Son and His angels for all of eternity. That is not separation. That is being fully united with God's wrath. And He does this. He does this on account of His holiness. Only on account of His holiness is He bringing this recompense. He is cleansing the land. He is the greater Joshua. No longer will sin reign. No longer will sin rule in His creation. And my second point is this. He is the beginning of everyone and everything. He is the end of everyone and everything. John writes in verse 13, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. This is the great I am, the one who is. He is the uncaused cause, the one whose very existence and the reason for his existence exists within himself. This is Jesus Christ, the one for which all was made. It was all made for him and by him in all will stand before him. See, but many live their lives as if there is no God. They live their lives as if there will be no judgment. How? How can you look into creation with all of its order, with all of its beauty and not see God? How can you look at all, all that is in existence and not see the work of a creator? When you look at the creation and do not praise God, you rob God of the praise that He rightly deserves. You see His handiwork down to protein synthesis, which occurs in a very small organelle in a cell called the mitochondria. And you see His glory in the supernova when you gaze into the galaxies. Why do humans spend so much time studying Why do we spend so much time seeking to discover? Because there's beauty. There's beauty in the creation to discover. We find beauty and amazement in almost every facet of this creation, from the depths of the sea all the way to the ends of the universe. There is evidence of His work and His existence, even without a Bible. He is the uncaused cause that caused everything to come into existence. And His power is the foundation upon which everything sits. See, but many just knowingly deny this evidence. Bertrand Russell denied this logic. He argued that the existence of the universe is not evidence that there is a God. And he says this because while the universe just could have come into existence on its own, he also argued that it's possible that the universe had just always existed. But we need to remember this first off, when someone denies the existence of God, that men deny God's existence because it gives them comfort in their sins. It allows them to freely chase after their sinful desires without any concern of judgment. However, remember that when men do this, they are They are, according to Romans 1, they are suppressing the truth. They're denying a God that they know exists. They're denying clear evidence that rests and sits before them. You see, Bertrand Russell was smarter than this. He knew that energy within a physical universe could not be created or destroyed. Something that is not of this universe would have had to bring this universe into existence. It would have had to have been something from outside of this universe. Additionally, the idea that the universe had just always existed is completely untenable because of the law of entropy. The fact that things break down, something that is physical is not always going to exist. Time, space, and matter could not have brought time, space, and matter into existence. See, the existence of time, space, and matter necessitates the existence of another who is not bound by the constraints of time, space, and matter. John writes in chapter 1, verses 1 through 4, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that has been made. And it was life, and the life was the light of men." The mere existence of life itself is evidence that there had to be a first life giver. That is Jesus, the Alpha. He gives life, He sustains life, and it is Jesus who ultimately takes life away. He is the Omega. All of creation and everything's in its existence had its beginning in Jesus Christ. And everyone will have their end in Jesus Christ. Adam had his spiritual beginning in Christ, but he fell and therefore all of us had our spiritual beginning in Adam. See, but just like the universe needs a creator to come into existence, we need a recreator to become spiritually alive. All who are truly saved have their spiritual beginning in life. They do not just bring themselves into existence spiritually. How could a dead person make themselves alive? See, someone from outside, someone who has life within himself would have to bring life into that dead life. That's what Jesus does to all who are truly in him. They don't bring themselves to life because in their deadness, they have no life to bequeath to themselves. Just like the creation could not have been brought into existence in and of itself, it needed someone who was not bound by the law of time and space and matter. The dead man needs someone who is not under the curse of sin to bring him to life. The creation itself could not rest upon itself. It could not give itself energy that it did not have. Time could not have brought time into existence. That's paradoxical. It's unreasonable. And likewise, a dead man cannot resurrect himself because he's dead. He needs a life source outside of himself to give himself life. As the hymn writer states, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emanuel's vein. And all the sinners plunge beneath the flood, lose all their guilty stains. Only through the cleansing power of this blood can you have life. God said that life is in the blood and spiritual life for the dead person, for the spiritually dead person is in the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other source where you can be made whole. There's no other place where you can be regenerated. There's no other source whereby you can be saved. Only those who are washed in this precious blood can stand before the great life-giver, Jesus Christ. So my third point is this. Only those who are pure will stand before Him. Only His children are going to reside with Him in this great city. John writes in v. 14, Blessed are those who wash their robes so they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city gates How is it that so many believe that they will be able to stand before the clean in clothes that are defiled? How is it that so many have such little fear of standing before Him even though they're guilty? It is because natural men are naturally idolaters. How delusional we are as humans We, the created ones, the ones who have fallen into sin, go off and create a God that looks like us. A God who, like us, is all right with some sin. A God who may really, really hate the sins that we despise, but is easy on the ones that we cherish. Where is the atonement for sin in a God like this? You see, those who verbally profess a faith but lack it in their lives lack a saving faith as well. Why is it that people with a faith like this believe they will be saved? Why do you believe that your lives can be in such stark contrast to your words? See, if you told your boss that you appreciated your job, and you told him that you were thankful for it, but you always showed up to work late, you always left early, you spent the majority of your time distracting others and playing, would anyone believe you? If he said to you that you loved your children, however, you did not care for their needs, you did not care for their desires, if they were lacking clothes and starving, while you were well fed and well clothed, Would anyone believe that you loved your children? See, someone's going to naturally look at your actions to see what you believe. If someone says one thing and they do another, see, no one's going to believe what they say. Instead, they're just going to believe in their actions. They're going to trust in what someone does and not in what someone says. So why is it that men say they can be saved by a profession of faith that is continually and habitually and regularly contradicted by their lives. See, in every other aspect of their life, they would be expected for their words to live up to their deeds. However, in their religion, they believe that it's reasonable. They believe it's acceptable to have this contradiction. And the reason is because they're idolaters. It's because they've created a God after their own desires. A God that accepts a profession that is a lie. So such a man will quote Romans 10 9. He will say, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, God raised him from the dead, that you will be saved. You say, I confess, I believe that God raised him from the dead. But sir, I ask you, is that what this passage means? Does this passage mean that I merely give a verbal and an intellectual assent to something, and just merely on account of that, that I'm saved? See, this passage in Revelation says that those who wash their robes will have a right to the tree of life, and they will be able to enter through the gates. It's only them that have eternal life in God's kingdom. But I ask you, Is this profession that is a contradiction, this profession that is a lie, synonymous with washing your robes? Is this someone who has washed their robes? If I say I washed my robes, does that mean that I did? Or rather, is this someone who is instead an idolater? Someone who worships a God after their own desires? A man who cherry picks through the pages of Scripture merely to see his own reflection? See, this is a man who desires to have peace with God, but at the same time, desires to have freedom in his sin. But don't say that. This is not the biblical account. The Bible says that you will always, you will always be a slave to something. The Bible says that you are always a slave and you are a slave to that which you desire most. Paul writes in Romans six verses 14 through 18 for sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under the law, but grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey? Either to have sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. See, there is no neutral ground. You're either a slave to sin or you are a slave to righteousness. Don't accept the lie that says that you can accept Jesus as your Savior at one point, and then later on, accept Him as Lord. That's not the biblical account of faith. Remember, Romans 10.9 says that if you confess Jesus as Lord... So am I to understand that you believe that you can confess Jesus as Lord, and not really believe that He is the Lord of your life. See, how is that a righteous confession? You're telling me that you're saved by a confession that you don't even really believe yourself. That doesn't sound like a biblical conversion. Additionally, sir, I have this question. What do you mean? What do you mean you make Him Lord of your life? See, it's hard for us to recognize this as Americans because we're so accustomed to voting on our leaders. See, put in a monarchy, a king is your king, and he's not your king because you make him king. His reign as king has nothing to do with you. He is your king if you live. He is also the king if you die. He is the king if you submit to him, and he is the king if you rebel. However, when you submit yourself to the king, it is your relationship to the king that changes. When you submit yourself to his authority, you cease to be in rebellion to his kingship. The king is king over you, whether you recognize that kingship or not. The difference is that when you submit to him, instead of being in rebellion, You're now a loyal subject instead of being a traitor. His disposition towards you has now changed and your disposition toward him is different. See, and the same is true with the Lord. You're not making Jesus Lord. You're submitting yourself to his lordship. There was significance in stating that Jesus is Lord. That was countercultural in Rome. In Rome, you said Caesar was Lord. Roman citizens were required to offer incense to Caesar and to declare him as Lord under penalty of death. Therefore, to say that Jesus is Lord is to deny everything that Rome stood for. It is to deny everything that this world stands for. And that is a far, far cry from just a mere verbal and a mere intellectual assent to a truth. It is those whose lives and confession agree that John is speaking of here in this verse. It is those whose lives and profession agree who are washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb. As it says earlier in Revelation 7.14, I said to him, Sir, you know, and he said to me, these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. So my question to you is this, are you making yourself ready for the return of Christ? Do you live in expectation of his return? Is his return something that you desire? Do you say, like Paul, like Paul said in Philippians 1.21, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. So in your life, if you live, it's your perspective that now I get to serve Christ. And if I die, now I get to be with Christ. See, this is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, which is the continual work of God in the life of the believer. God has saved you, and He's granted you faith and repentance, and you will continue in this faith and repentance until the end, if you are His. See, the gospel isn't just something that we say. The gospel isn't just something that we do so that we can go on to bigger and better things. The gospel is the means through which we are justified and the gospel is the means through which we are sanctified. The means through which you are saved and the means through which your life is made holy. Remember, He who began a good work in you will continue that work until the end. You will persevere as a Christian. See, this is not easily tied into the cliche, once saved, always saved. The Bible says that the Lord will preserve his children and those who are regenerated in the Holy Spirit will be saved. See, there's an eternal decree that occurs in the salvation of a sinner. You can't lose your salvation. You will persevere and God will preserve you. Remember, you were chosen from the foundation of the world. Your name was written in the Lamb's book of life. You were reborn. You were dead. Now you are alive. You had a heart of stone and now you have a heart of flesh. You were blind, but now you see. You were lost and now you are found. Therefore, I want to say it is impossible for one who is saved to lose that salvation. Consider this. If you were to lose your salvation, God would have to ratify a decree he made previously. He would have to unelect you. An angel would have to erase your name from the Lamb's Book of Life. You would have to go from being in a state of being spiritually alive to then being spiritually dead instead of a rebirth. You would have a re-death. Your heart would be changed from flesh to stone. Then instead of seeing, you would be made blind. Instead of being made, instead of being found, you would now be lost again. See, but that is not the case. Nothing can separate us from the love. Nothing can separate us from God's love in Jesus Christ as Paul writes in Romans 8 38 and 39 For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present or things to come Nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in the creation Will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I Jesus says no one can snatch you from his hand. John writes in John chapter 10 verses 27 through 30. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them from my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them from the Father's hand. I and the Father are one. This faith in Jesus Christ that secures you in Him, that preserves you, that leads you to persevere, is a far cry from just merely stating that you believe in Jesus. Remember this, please. Having faith in Jesus and saying that you have faith in Jesus are not the same. See, likewise, believing in His existence or believing the truth about Him does not equate to a saving faith. Remember, demons believe. Demons believe in shudder. A saving faith will be demonstrated by someone And they're washing their robes in the blood of the lamb. Someone who is seeking after holiness. Remember that river that Ezekiel talked about that flowed out and made everything pure. See, Jesus Christ is a river of life and drinking the water that he offers is going to sanctify and make holy those who drink. You are going to be a changed person if you are in Christ. See, he went forward to receive the wrath of God so that we could enter through the gate into fellowship with the Lord. That fellowship that Adam once enjoyed that was cut off from. Cut off from God's fellowship, it is now restored here in this new Eden. In this new Jerusalem. Those who wash their robes will be allowed to enter this city. This is where they were cut off. They were cut off from this paradise with God. But all who come, all who come in now will be regranted with this tree of life, this tree that sustains life, that Adam and Eve and all their posterity were cut off from. It's now open in this city. This book says that there are trees that bear fruit every month. No more are there seasons. No more are there weeds that stifle the growth. We will be fully sustained by God in this creation. If you have eaten from Jesus Christ. If you have eaten from the bread of life. John writes in 635, Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. Whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Only through the one who gives life can you have access to eternal life. Only through him can you have access to this tree of life. And the fourth point is this, all those who have not washed their robes in the blood of the lamb, They shall be cast out, they shall not eat, and they shall be banished. John writes in verse 15, outside of the dogs and sorcerers, the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood, can you imagine being cut off from God's love? See, God has shown his love and his creation through great blessings, blessings that are so commonplace in our lives that we just expect them. We become distraught or angry in life when we do not have the blessings that we think we deserve. But we need to keep perspective. We need to keep perspective on what we really deserve from God. But the thing is, God even blesses those who hate him. Those who turn away from Christ freely enjoy his blessings throughout this life. They take the blessings of God and they use those blessings that God has given them to then sin against God. Like a rebellious teenager who eats the food of his parents, who lives in his parents' house and freely enjoys the gifts of his parents, who then, when his parents are out of town, invites friends over and throws a party of great carnality, a party that he never would have even spoken of in front of his parents. Did he buy his own house for this party? Did he use his own money? No. He used that which his parents had blessed him with to sin against them. See, we sin in a very similar way toward God. Every time we sin, we are using the blessings that God has given us to sin against the one that has blessed us. And we use those gifts for a purpose that God has not intended. Just like parents who lavish blessings on their child do not do this so that their child can throw a drunken party. They do this for the blessing of their child and for their child's enjoyment. And when he uses those blessings in a way they were not intended, he's now sinning against his parents. So when you walk through any sin, you will see it is the absence of what should be. Sin is vacuous. It always uses something that God has given to the creation in a way that he has not desired. Every sin is going to fall into this category, misappropriating that which God has given. This is the idea of a steward. Remember, a steward is someone who has been given authority over a portion of the master's estate. However, the master expects him to use his estate in the way that he has prescribed, just like the parents expected their son to use their estate in the way that they had prescribed. All of us, like stewards, have been given a portion of the creation to use as God has commanded. So it's not a matter of how much that you're allotted, but rather it's a matter of how you use that which is allotted that matters. And this is the essence of this judgment. God has called you to act in a certain way in this creation. He has blessed you with life. He has blessed you with a certain portion of the creation. But all of these that John mentioned, are very similar to the ones that we dealt with in Revelation 21-8. All of them use things. All of them use blessings in a way that God has not intended. But I want us to consider this differently than we did when we considered the last sermon on the great divide. Instead, I want us to consider this from the angle of those who feel that they aren't guilty of most of these sins. Many of us, like the rich young ruler, feel that we're clear of these first few sins. Of course, none of us can actually be clear of these sins when you interpret them through the Sermon on the Mount. Because remember, God's going to judge you for every word, every thought, and every deed. So none of us have a clear conscience before the law. But some people look on to others and see their filth and they see their sin. And they see less of that in their own lives. And they feel they are justified. They justify themselves through comparison instead of comparing themselves to the lamb of God, Jesus Christ, to compare themselves with others and deem themselves just. These are those who are practicing falsehood. These are those who are not washing their robes. In the one I'm speaking here, I'm not just talking about someone who maybe spoke a lie. I'm talking about someone whose life is a lie. Those who Jesus would have called hypocrites, those who would have made it their first priority to justify themselves before man instead of God, Those who look out into the sea of people in the world and feel justified, not because their sin was covered by the blood of the lamb, but rather because they are so much better than so many other people. See, liars are those who maybe make an emotional profession that wasn't followed by faith and repentance. or those who sought after works righteousness, and sought them out with all their might, and sought to scrub the outside of the cup, but did not scour the inside." See, Jesus has no communion with those who merely clean the outside of the cup. He has no communion with those that merely believe with their lips and not their hearts. These are some of the most detestable. These are some of the most saddest people that you ever will meet. They look into the Scriptures and they don't see the glories of God, but rather they see a set of rules. They don't see the glories of God and His great works. When they look to the Scriptures, they see a list. A list which they make and they create, which are not prescribed in the Scriptures. They are those who make a profession that are lies, those who fooled their friends, those who fooled their co-workers and church members, but their own family sees them as Christ sees them. See, you can go through public in your lives, and you can put on a show, but you're not gonna fool those who know you most. You're not gonna fool your own family, because they know what is in your heart. Because you can't put on a show forever. It is the practice of those who are like the Pharisees, people who appear very holy, majoring in the minors of religion, holding others in judgment over laws that they have created, laws that God has not prescribed. But oftentimes such men hold others to such high standards and they themselves don't even take on the weightier issues of the faith. They don't remember Joel's words when he said to rend your hearts and not your garments. They spend their time working, focusing on dress or music and neglect the weight of your things. And at times you look so righteous because the externals are so well manicured. But in the end, you're missing what matters the most. You're missing the inside of the cup. the inside of the cup that is festering with filth. But remember, this is where the Lord looks. It is here, it is the inside that you should have sought cleansing first. It is the cleansing of the inside that is going to overflow and impact the outside. But the legalist is a legalist because his hope is not in Christ. His hope is not on that which was accomplished on the cross. He's not trusting in the work of the spirit, but rather he's trusting in his own wisdom and his own might. And he does this. He's able to do this because he's created a false standard of righteousness. He sees so many in the world that don't live up to his standard and he looks at himself and he walks away justified. We must not be like little Pharisees. This is a danger that every parent is going to wrestle with, because naturally, naturally we want obedience out of our children. When I was new to homeschooling, I would often ask people what kind of curriculum they used. And it was because I was new to it, I was still searching out what I would use. And what I found out was that almost everyone uses something different. And people not only use something different, but even amongst children, they use something different. And so I was talking to a veteran homeschooler one day about math curriculum, and I was discussing the one that I was using. And he told one that I should consider the one that he has. And I, I asked on it, well, tell me about it. And he said that the one that he had had character traits throughout the book. And he went on to tell me about the entire curriculum and how the entire curriculum had an integration of character traits throughout its studies. And as he began to talk on and on. In the same focus, the same words kept coming up, and I began to get the idea that he was almost telling me that if I would use this homeschool curriculum, if I would use this one that he had, that my kids were going to be all right. There was almost a trust. It was almost a trust in the sanctifying work of this curriculum. And as he sold this curriculum to me, I became less and less interested. And it's not that I was against character studies in math, but it was the trust that this man had in all of these character studies. If he had just mentioned them and then talked about other positive aspects of the curriculum, it wouldn't have been such a red flag. See, but that was the thesis of his homeschooling. That was the thesis of his curriculum. It had character traits in every aspect of the curriculum. And he even had another book that he said that he used to teach character traits. We can put our hope in our own means. We can put our hope in our own efforts. And we can do that and then just tag Jesus on the end and still fall into legality. See, because our hope isn't on the cross. Our hope isn't what Christ accomplished, but rather it's in our ability to conform these externals. So your fear, mother, and your fear, father, should be that in focusing on externals more than internals, that you teach your child to watch the outside of the club and neglect the inside. You teach children that what is most important Is that what you emphasize? If you emphasize the outside of the cup more than the inside, it is that which they will learn is most important. And you should fear that although you are saved yourself, that you may be so poorly communicating salvation that your children merely become a Pharisee themselves. Because they see righteousness in the fact that they're different from others. They justify themselves through comparison. How sad that would be of all you should have taught. Most of all, you should have pointed them to the cross. You should have spoken of how far off for the mark that they really stand. So to the wind with our trust in moralistic manmade principles, they have no root in grace. So why do we say this? Why is it that we do these things? Why do we trust in that which is not Christ? It's because Jesus is not sufficient for us. We're not content in Christ, we desire more. And we become so distracted with all these rules that we miss that which is most important. It is Christ that should reign as the most importance. The aim of our hope, the aim of our trust, It is Jesus Christ, the greater King David. And point five is this, we know this is true because of the one who testifies. John writes in verse 16, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. Jesus is the star that came from Jacob. This was prophesied in Numbers 24, 17. I see him, but not now I behold him, but not near a star come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. See, we talk about people being stars and that is an imagery that we have here because this is the greatest of all stars. The route through which David came and also a part of David's lineage. This great prophesied Messiah from the line of David, ponder on this wording, the root and the descendant of David. See, David had greatness only through Jesus Christ, only on account of the work that God did in his life, only on account of God's calling. David was not a great man on account of the world standards. Remember, he was the youngest and he was the smallest. We have a tendency to look at the story of David and Goliath and think that it was David's skill, that it was David's skill with the slingshot that led to their victory. But we so miss the point when we do this. The point is not David's skill, but rather the point is God who provides and God who protects. I mean, should we also look at Jericho as a reason? And should we also look at the shouts that occurred outside of the walls of Jericho for the reason that the walls fell? No, that's silly. Walls do not fall because you shout. The walls fell because God took them down. See, I've even heard Sunday school lessons on David and Goliath and how they talk about how David would have become Ray did a slingshot because of all the practice that he received as a shepherd. Years of striking wolves to perfect his sheep would have made him a great marksman. But this misses the point. He was fighting the great warrior, the Philistines, a warrior who was clad with armor, who fought with a great sword and a spear. And up against this warrior, stood a shepherd boy without armor, holding only a slingshot and five smooth stones. That would be like taking one of the top Navy SEALs who was wearing body armor, holding an AR-15 in a 1911, a man thoroughly trained in warfare, who had shown himself to be the best of the best, And then putting that Navy seal up against a 15-year-old farm boy who was wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, armed only with a pellet gun. A young man who maybe had experience shooting at coyotes, but who had no real formal military training. Seriously, would he have any reasonable chance of success? No, not without a miracle. The truth is that David in and of himself had no chance against Goliath. David believed in a promise. He knew that God had promised to his people and he knew for them to be defeated by the Philistines would have been contrary to that promise. David's root was in the promise of God. Jesus was the root of David. David had his power and his strength, not because he had followed certain principles, but rather because he was firmly rooted in Jesus Christ. What a paradox, what a paradox this verse is. The one through which David came is the one who will come from David. Listen, John said that he is the root and the offspring of David. How can this be? How could he be the one who created and sustained David and the one who descended from David? Well, this is the dual nature of Christ. He is fully God and he is fully man. As God, he is the root of David. And as man, he is a descendant of David. John writes in John 1 14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory glorious of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. Jesus, the creator of all in the root of David, took flesh and became a son of David. He is the greater David who has secured the city for his people in the new Jerusalem. And don't take the statement that he is a descendant of David very lightly. The fact that he is a descendant of David has great significance in biblical theology. You see, Christianity is distinct as a religion in that it is rooted in history. In most religions, you have a man or you have a woman who just show up and they just come out of nowhere and they declare they're from God. They have no history. They just show up. It's very common in most religions for someone just to come up one day and say that they're a prophet from God. They show up, they deny everything that came before them, and they claim that they have something new from God. See, Muhammad and Joseph Smith are two great examples of this. Muhammad shows up and claims that he has a revelation from God. An entire new religion exists based on this one man's writings. Where was he prophesied before? Who said that he was coming? Who said he was going to come around and change everything? How does anything that he writes add to what is already in existence? It doesn't. It actually contradicts what came before. And many times, what Muhammad writes doesn't even seem as though he has much understanding of the contents that are even in the Bible. or even the doctrines that are in Christianity. And that leaves someone with two options, to accept the teachings of Muhammad and deny the teachings of the Bible, or to deny the teachings of Muhammad and accept the teachings of the Bible. The teachings are way too contrary to accept both. But even if you accept the teachings of Muhammad and deny the teachings of the Bible, You still have a problem. You have a very big problem. Where did Mohammed come from? What was his root? What is his line? Where was he prophesied that he would come about and set up this religion? The thing is, he wasn't. He just showed up. Joseph Smith is very similar in this way. He claimed that God gave him the Book of Mormon. There were no prophecies that predicted his coming. He claimed that the church was not in existence since the last apostle died. And he claimed that God had sent him and called him to set up the church again with apostles. However, once again. His books are very contrary to scripture, and although they've made thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, there's still great inconsistencies. His coming brings more questions than it does answers. Why would God allow the church to fall apart? Why would God allow the church to fall apart when Jesus said that it would continue to the end? Why was the Holy Spirit not sufficient to hold together the work that Jesus Christ accomplished for the church? Why all the stark changes in the religion? There's no holy places in Christianity, but now they have holy places in Mormonism. There's no secret rituals in Christianity, but now Mormonism has all kinds of secret rituals. No, there's no cohesiveness between the Bible and Mormonism. And there's no prophecies that predicted this great change. Joseph Smith just showed up and said, everything's wrong and I have the answer. But this was not the case with Jesus Christ. Only God could have accomplished what he did through the first advent of Christ. Why do you think we have so many genealogies in the Bible? I know you find them tedious when you read through them, especially when you're in Chronicles and you see five or six chapters in a row. I know you're tempted just to skip over them. But I want to tell you, you shouldn't. See, Luke and Matthew have these genealogies, and these genealogies show that Jesus is the seed of David. The Christian religion has its roots in history. Jesus was spoken of long before he came. Even as early as Genesis chapter three, we see his coming foretold. Jesus Christ didn't just show up out of the clear blue and claim that everything before him was wrong. He didn't contradict what came before him. Instead, Jesus fulfilled it. Jesus Christ gives evidences that these words are trustworthy and true. He didn't just show up out of nowhere. And say those that came before him are wrong. Instead, he's been the author of history. There is beauty in the fact that none of the books in the Bible were written by Jesus because you see his effects upon the world through the writing of his disciples. He didn't just write a bunch of stuff down and tell everyone to follow it. He influenced people in such a way that they wrote about him. You can trust in these words based upon the one who has spoken them. which is the one who spoke all of creation into existence. And everyone, everyone is going to stand before him one day. Are you ready? Are you ready to stand before the king, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the righteous lamb of God who brought all of creation into existence, the righteous one who died as a propitiation for sins, he will judge his creation. Are you ready to stand before Him? Have you washed your robe in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washing your robe in the blood of the Lamb? Is He making you holy? Are you being sanctified by His Spirit? If you have washed your robes in His blood, you have a great hope awaiting you in glory. Those who have not washed their robe have no hope. They have no hope either in this life or in the life that is to come. Those who seek to cleanse their robes with their own hands and with their own detergent shall not be cleansed, because every time they scrub, they merely defile the robe all the more with the filth of their hands. The only hope is to come to Jesus to rest in Jesus, to rest in His works, to rest in His works and not your own. In closing with Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 and 29, Jesus gives us this call. He says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. take my yoke upon me and lean from me. And I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."