Scripture Reading: Revelation 22:1-6, 12-20
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one 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 may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and 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 morning star.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Amen. Come Lord Jesus: Hope and Urgency in the Book of Revelation
So this morning, the sermon for this morning is on Revelation, chapter 22nd to 2022.
Introduction: Who Would You Dine With?
So let me ask you a question. If you can have dinner, lunch or breakfast or brunch with anybody? Any, anyone who will be that person. Will you pick up some your favorite, favorite actors for a movie? Or you might pick up somebody from your favorite music, maybe a hero from the Civil War? Maybe, maybe you might have a dinner again with your grandmom that passed away long ago, or one of your best friends who you haven't seen for a long time, or maybe one of the heroes from the Bible chapter 11 in Hebrews, you can find a lot of heroes.
So we would like to have dinner or breakfast or lunch with somebody. We desire to spend a long time. I if I can have somebody to dine with, Willie, my mom, she will cook for me. My Peacock, she was she was Dutch, not Mexican. My dad was Mexican. So nice cake every weekend. So or maybe she want to have dinner with Abraham and Sarah, who's at the age of 90 and 100 they have a baby. You have a you might have a lot of questions.
Understanding Revelation
This morning we read in the Book of Revelations, which, by the way, Revelations means to take this revelation is means this, you're blind, you can see. That's revelation. So we read this morning in Revelation. It's 22nd and one of the words that is repeated in the reading for this morning is come quickly, Lord Jesus come quickly. So Revelation, 22nd is the last chapter in the book of Revelation And the last chapter in the Bible.
And this book is like nothing else in the Bible. It's totally different. The apostle John, he was the youngest. He wrote this about 1990 about about 93 or 94 after Christ. This book has been possible many people for many years, even us Christians and even some people are afraid to read Revelation. Other has made revelation a book that says things that never been there.
The Simple Message of Revelation
But if we read this book carefully, and we understand what Jesus is saying to John when he wrote, it's in chapters. I mean in verse 17, when he reads, let the one who is thirsted come and let the one who is who wishes take the free gift from the water of life, come to Jesus. If we understand that, then we can understand the whole book of Revelation.
It's a very simple message. Jesus and His Church are victorious, and we are victorious over the devil and all those who do evil. And second, Jesus bring us into the winning side for free. You know that you have to pay for salvation. You probably heard that from Pastor James three times. It's free and T Jesus will take his people with him to heaven forever and ever, while the devil and those who reject Jesus. Will send to hell. Very simple message. Very simple. We believe we are with Christ. We don't believe we go to hell.
And that's why John wrote these words, he who testifies to these things say, Yes, I'm coming soon. Who is that one Jesus who says I'm coming to take my people with me and they will live with me forever, and those who reject me, I'm so sorry. Lo siento, Spanish.
Two Groups: The Blessed and the Outside
Meantime, we wait for him. When Jesus comes back, the Book of Revelations reveals that there will be two groups, one that are blessed because they were washed in the robe, the robes like this. It's talking about robes like this wash in the blood of the lamp, and they will be at the right hand of the throne and next to the tree of light. And May and they may go through the gates into the city. Otherwise, if we believe, we are privileged.
So that's why it says blessed are those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. They have washed their robes in Jesus again. What's a pot like this full of blood? You take your robe, put it in, take it out, put it back. And that's Jesus in you. You are covered with the blood of Jesus, and he says that we will enter heaven.
On the other hand, it says in chapter in verse 15, outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, sexual immorality, the murderers, the dollar indolaters, and everyone who loves and practice fatherhood. I think it's very clear what it says, right? I don't have to give too many explanations. Those outside the city of God are those who do not believe in Jesus Christ. They do all kind of evil things. We are not going to list them here, because it will take probably the whole until then. We still need more to write all the evil things people do in this society. But he says they go to hell.
Unfortunately, both groups will judge according to what they have done. Do you believe you go with Christ? You don't believe you don't go with Christ? You we will find, eventually, or in time, who belongs to each of the groups.
The Reality of Separation
The revelation is mentioned in this morning. In the future, there will be separation. When the final day comes, there will be separation between believers and unbelievers. But that separations has been always there, even when Jesus walked on Earth. Remember people rejected him. Remember, remember what we read this morning in, in one of the readings in the gospel and in and in the other epistle from Paul Judah, Judah to react to Jesus.
But more important than the separation that we will see in the future is that the one of the sides offers you and offers everybody, even those who are not here, even those who do evil, even those who reject Jesus, they still offering them forgiveness and life, forever, eternal life.
Our Desire to Know vs. God's Call to Share
Sometimes, very often, our desire is to see the future now and in perfect order to know who is going, where and how to. It, but that's not the case. We always want to see who is going to burn in heaven. I hope my neighbor who does a lot of noise, or maybe the one who scored the last goal against my favorite team, or maybe the last who hit the last one run, so we lost the World Series. No, that's not the case. We don't know who's going, where and how, but we know that we we share the gospel with the other people.
And the desire of God is that we do that we then God, will keep people with him, and he will bring them and giving them faith, hope, Grace, mercy and love through Jesus Christ, every time we have to communion, every Time to go in the church, and we see the baptismal font every time we open the Bible, every time we pray. That's a remind for us that what Jesus has saved us. And there are others that are not part of that group. And the Lord is saying, I'm coming soon. And coming quickly, fast, and I want them to be part of my group. That's our job, to share with them that message, Hope, Life, mercy, eternity, salvation, redemption, justification, whatever we call it.
There are so many words for that, even even in some of the readings in the in, in the Bible, in, in Acts, chapter, chapter 16, Paul, who was doing missionary work. He was in South Turkey, and then he had a revelation that he needs to start what he's doing and going somewhere, another part in an island. And then got to Macedonia, which is north Jerusalem, and it starts preaching the gospel because there was a general from the Romans who needs to hear the Word of God that gives us the sense that Paul was oops. It's time to share this message that I got from Jesus with others.
The Urgency of Christ's Coming
Quickly the Lord comes. Maybe can come tonight, maybe in 100 years, in 1000 years. That's not to us to Josh. What we know is that the Lord is One us to bring others to Christ and to share with them. That's the mission of the church while we're waiting for the Lord is to serve share the message of Jesus Christ, that he's coming and giving free and complete forgiveness to the people and life, or eagerness, eagerness to share this with other people is sometimes tested by Time and consequences and and other things around us.
Sometimes we think that the people that is there is our enemy, and we believe that by giving to them the hard part, that's the way to do it. It's hard for them to understand why we give them the hard part, another, another easy part, which is the gospel. It's very simple. The Gospel, it's sometimes our actions or love for people shine like whoo, but sometimes they dwindle so much that, like the famous, the famous politician from India, I forgot, I forgot to roll that. But he said, I I like your Christ. I don't like the Christians. They damaged me too much.
Overcoming Obstacles to Sharing the Gospel
But that doesn't stop us. That should not stop us for sharing that good news that is in our. Hearts and minds that is in the Bible, that is in the songs that we sing every Sunday, that is in the readings that we read every Sunday, all at home, in our devotionals. That doesn't stop us for sharing that God comes to us through wine and bread to water, although sometimes cars belong. Collapses is or mines, you know, it's like the construction workers. They get all those things, you know, my hands are soft, but they are like but when they touch something hot, doesn't feel anything. If I touch something cold, sometimes our hearts and minds become like that. But the Lord says, I'm coming quickly. I can quickly, please, forget about yourself and share the Gospel.
This word, this society, tests us every day with temptations and the stations that try to twist in our minds, our hearts, what is the mission of the church? God came in human form to die and resurrected for even for me, that's a very precious gift.
The Gospel is Not Ours to Keep
You know, my favorite, my favorite gift at home is a Star Wars that it looks like a Mexican punch. Oh, Mexican, Mexican mariachi. I will not give it to anybody. I will hold it to me. But the gospel is not like that. The gospel is like actually, it's not yours. It's not mine. That's why Jesus transformed you and me into something new in Romans, chapter six says we die every day and born again to be a new person, not the selfish person who doesn't like my brother or sister, but the one Who loves others and is willing and eager to share the good news.
The Urgency in Early Christianity
In a reading for today in Revelation, it talks about that urgency. You know, when the disciple disciples in the first century, they heard that the Lord will come back soon. Guess what they did? They went out boom. And even Paul, who was enemy of the church, becomes one of the greatest missionaries. He said, The Lord is coming. The Lord is here. Let's proclaim Him.
Revelation: A Book of Joy, Not Fear
This Book of Revelation should not be a scary book, but a book that gives us joys, that the victories already paid, that the victory is already conquered by Jesus. Jesus was betrayed by Judah. But you know what? Jesus is still love those who stay the other 11 disciples, and he, he said, I'm praying in the gospel that we read. Read this morning, I'm praying. My prayer is not for them alone, not only for the disciples 11, but I pray also for those who will believe in me to their message.
Jesus was praying for you and for me long time ago, and he now is still watching over us. And he said, I have made note to them, to the disciples, the 11 ones that stay safe for Judas, that he will come soon. And now he tell us the same in Revelation.
Jesus: The Alpha and Omega
He said, I'm the Savior. He said many times, I'm the rock, I'm the door, I'm the vine, I'm the lamb. You can read John, it's fabulous. Of the way they put it, I am, I am, I am. And finally, he says in the Book of Revelation, I am, what the Alpha and the Omega? What is alpha and omega? Alpha is the first letter of the alphabet in Greek, and omega is the last word of the alphabet in Greek, like a and z in English, he says, I am. I am who fulfilled the promises and the prophecies.
Our Response: Come Quickly, Lord Jesus
So we should pray more often to Jesus, Lord, come quickly. Please come quickly, because that will move us to share the gospel. That will move us to love those in need, that will move us to wash our robes, but also invite others. Let me ask you a question, how many rods can be washed in the blood of Jesus? 100 200 to give the number, I believe millions and millions.
Our hearts were thirsted. Hungry for the Word of God. We are filled now. Now it's time to invite others to the eternal banquet in heaven. So we will have dreams and desires with whom we want to dine or to eat breakfast or lunch.
Conclusion: Invitation to the Eternal Banquet
I would like to have breakfast with Jesus. I would like to have dinner with him. I would like my friends to have dinner with Jesus. I would like my enemies, even those who cause damage to me, come Lord quickly help me to bring them to you. And the Lord says, I'm coming quickly, and we, as Christians, reply, let us pray. Pray in response to Jesus, words come quickly, Lord Jesus come Amen.
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