Missions Paul

Can this be the prayer for 2023? Apart from the Lord’s Prayer it is one of the oldest prayers of the Christian Church for the Apostle Paul uses it in 1 Cor 16:22, “Come, Lord!”

“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22 v 20)

It was the prayer for John on the island of Patmos.

Is it okay to ask Jesus to come quickly? Is He dragging His feet?

We all need the emergency services and if we have never used them we accept life is better for having them there. If we ever used them we would be expected to use words of “come quickly”, if we said “whenever you’re ready, no need to rush” then everyone would know we are not in that place of great need.

But today wherever we look we have to say the world is in great need and the urgent prayer is: Come Lord Jesus. In carrying this prayer the Church recognises that the need of the world cannot be met by the programmes and the efforts of the believers though they must exist. We must be the witness to our world but we cannot save the world. This prayer keeps us focused on the reliance of the person Jesus Christ. The world needs Jesus. This prayer spurs the Church on to reach the lost people of the world. The prayer launches the gospel into the places where Jesus is not known. “Come Lord Jesus!”

At the start of a new year let us be reminded that the Message of the Bible is God’s Word. It isn’t our word it is His.

Moses had commanded that no one should add or subtract from the law God had given (Deuteronomy 4:2) and to do so would bring every curse within it down upon their heads (Deuteronomy 4:20). Why? Simply because it is the inspired Word from God. So when we read the following verses at the end of the Revelation we are not surprised.

^“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” (Revelation 22 v 18-19)

This is not the end of the prophetic or God speaking through dreams and visions. The canon is closed but not the Spirit. But why would anyone add or subtract from this Revelation (or the whole of the Bible actually)?

I guess the answer is if we don’t think the Revelation/Bible says enough or says too much. Our pre-conceived position and our convenience can sometimes be the guide of our life and not the Bible.

Let’s return for a moment to the seven churches it was originally given for:

Ephesus: Though they were hard working they had let go of the 2 greatest commandments of loving God and loving each other; Smyrna: Though there was no reprimand they were in danger of letting go of their faith under persecution and are encouraged to hold on; Pergamum: Though they held onto Christ they tolerated idolatry and heresy; Thyatira: Though they were in many ways a growing church they were tolerating false teaching; Sardis: Though a small number were still alive the rest had fallen asleep spiritually; Laodicea: Though they had evidence of Jesus in their life they had lost their eagerness for Him.

But I switched the list around so we purposely end with this last church.

Philadelphia: Though they were weakened by circumstance they have ‘kept my word’!

Let this year be the year when we keep to the Word of God and let the Bible direct our paths and inspire our decisions.

On this last day of 2022 I cannot think of a better title coming from an incredible verse. Tempted that I was to get to the end of the Revelation by the end of the year this one verse kept me back from that.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give youthis testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Revelation 22 v 16)

Yesterday I wrote of the Morning Star, Jesus, who enables us to keep going by the work of the Spirit. Today, is the wonderful declaration: I am the Root and the Offspring of David.

Every Jew knows Isaiah 11 v 1 where the promised Messiah is a branch from the Kingly line of David, the offspring. But here, in what is not surprising for the Revelation has continued to speak of the deity of Jesus’ throughout, Jesus declares, He is the Root. “I am more than the offspring, I am before David. I am the foundation of all the Jewish Kingly line, in fact without me there would be no line.” The Messiah is more than you can perceive. There is more than what you can see.

What kind of Messiah do you have and going into a new year what kind do you want? Whatever we can imagine, He is more than that.

This prophecy of the coming Messiah promised great things. Isaiah 61: 2 there would be a day of vengeance of God. In v4-11, there would be rebuilding and restoring places that had been occupied by the Gentiles. In v5-6 the Gentiles around them will be their servants and they will be fed on their wealth. In v7 there is the promise of a double portion. That was the Messiah, there was no doubt of the golden age He would bring. But that was not the Messiah. He was and is more than any generation can perceive. One of those settler towns that the Jews hoped to repossess at the time of Jesus was Nazareth. That in itself is quite amazing when you think the Messiah was raised there. But one day Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth and read from this very Scripture in Isaiah 61, the motivating prophecy of the golden age of the Messiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me …” But Jesus added a sentence from Isaiah 58 v 6, “to release the oppressed” and then tells 2 stories indicating who the oppressed were, the widow of Zaraphath and that of Naaman of Damascus and the Jewish crowd became furious with Jesus. To “release the oppressed” in 58:6 is used in the context of God not being impressed with empty religious gestures. This was not the Messiah they had in mind. He was their Messiah not the Gentiles.

So we come to the end of this end-time discipleship Revelation and we find a declaration of Jesus that He is the Messiah, the Root and Offspring of David, but that He is more than what the Jews and even we can perceive. As we move into a new year here are perhaps some challenges for us:

1. Do not be so sure about God’s response to situations: Jesus took a text of judgment and turned it into a text of mercy. Mercy offends when you are banking on judgment.
2. Think less of yourself: The Jews thought the messianic age would be all about them. Jesus shifts the text from ‘Here is what you will receive” into “Here is what you are expected to give”.
3. Go with compassion: seek for justice amongst the downtrodden and the outcasts and open life to those who are bound.

You may have gone to bed so weighed down with the darkness of your situation and wondering if you can keep going.

But the day has broken, here you are, you begin again but who heralded that?

Remember how in 2:28 the church in Thyatira were promised the morning star? In these next verses we read who exactly the morning star is and of course, it is Jesus!

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give youthis testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22: 14-17)

Venus is known as the morning star as the first to appear after the sun sets or the last to disappear before the sun rises. It heralds of course a new day, hope and a new beginning.

At the moment when the night is at its darkest there is a belief that the morning will break soon and the morning star is that sign. His name is not Venus but Jesus!

Set in the context of washing of robes from the darkness we live in comes this promise.

The Morning Star, Jesus.

Can you still see the Morning Star? How is that possible in such darkness?

The answer is v17, the Spirit. (If you are looking for a chapter which reveals the Trinity then there is no greater one than this last one of the whole Bible).

It is the Spirit that enables us to live ready; to see the Morning Star/Jesus in the midst of the darkness; for the martyrs not to give up; for the intercessors to pray; everywhere in the world in church and chapel, in cathedrals and under trees, calling for Jesus to come. It is the Spirit in our homes; in that favourite place where we go to each morning to pray; in the cry for help; in the place where you cannot cope; when you feel alone; in the exiled island of Patmos; as you feel the whole of creation longing for respite for something to break; Come!

That’s our promise. The Spirit’s presence. Maybe you cannot muster hope today but you can acknowledge your helper. Maybe you’re not interested in enthusiastic plans for the future but you can welcome your helper into your today. Some mornings you simply need help for the morning to begin. And the helper will come and partner with you and together you will pray to Jesus, “Come!”

No doubt 2022 was another year of you trying your best. But it can feel like your best was not good enough. It didn’t produce the results you were looking for. You did good work and there is no doubt about it. However there isn’t much to show for your labour. Worse still there were times when it looked like no one even recognised what you did.

• These good things need to continue simply because these things are good. Quick rewards are not always the sign of value.

Maybe 2022 was a year you would rather forget. I know many who have been in a storm this year. Grief over what has been lost; fear over what may be; pain from walking the road of suffering; we know many who have remained the same loving person despite the battle they are going through. They have faced adversity with tears in their eyes and a smile on their face.

• Achievement is not always measured by attainment but by the ability to walk through unknown territory. The best rewards are sometimes for being and not doing.

These two life-lessons are given because of what we will read next.

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22 v 12-13)

In the context of ‘get ready!’ and an amazing ‘I am’ statement of Christ of which John personally knows several more! If you needed a proof-text that Jesus is God then here it is (1:8 and 21:6 the Alpha and Omega was applied to God and here it is Jesus saying it!)

In the context of saying that Jesus is the beginning, the middle and the end of your life. That when someone gives their life to Jesus then He is their story. There is never a moment when Jesus opts out of what is happening to your life, whether as a Pastor or Christian in one of the churches in Western Turkey or imprisoned on an island of Patmos.

In that context Jesus says “My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”

The word he uses is Misthos and it means reward and recompense.

• Keep doing the good, Jesus is coming and His misthos/reward will be given to you.
• Doing is perfected in the being. Keep being the good even in the place of difficulty for His misthos/recompense will be given to you.

It was the middle of August when I first started reading Revelation for my morning devotions. Since then I have heard and read on social media of many others reading John’s vision and beginning to teach their churches insights that they find and there are many. I have come to believe that this end-time book, relevant for every end-time generation, is where our discipleship should be focused.

¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22 v 10-11)

From these 2 verses only:-

The reason why this Revelation is so important is that the scroll is not sealed up. This Revelation is understandable, so long as we stop trying to work out what we cannot work out ie timelines and reading our own version of events into the prophecy that makes us look like we know more than we do. Yes there are things which we don’t know but it is okay to simply say that. There is enough in the Revelation to keep us following Jesus on the island of Patmos or wherever we find ourselves for the rest of our lives.

The reason is also because the time is near. Our discipleship and our churches need to live like the time is near. I wonder if there would be less fights if we did. What would be the point of division if Jesus was coming back tomorrow?

Thirdly the reason why this Revelation is important is that it shows how we should live in this world. We don’t become hermits. We engage with a fallen and sinful world who does wrong and who are vile and we do so as we commit to doing what is right and demonstrating holiness.

I love the days after Christmas don’t you? A time to relax, eat, walk and read books. As I come to the end of one of these books I will write a few notes down on what I have learnt as I seek to apply them to my life. Similarly in a few days I will have finished reading Revelation and I will do the same thing. I wonder how John felt though as he wrote down all that he saw and had learnt. He will soon come out of this most amazing vision that any other person has ever had. He will come out of the vision of the new heaven and new earth and he will go back into his situation of being a prisoner on the island of Patmos. His life has changed.

You may already have returned back into the busyness of life. Certainly in a few days our life will be back to normal, the decorations will come down, we will be back to our routines but how we make that return is the question.

⁶ The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” ⁷ “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” ⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. ⁹ But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” (Revelation 22 v 6-9)

We are at the end and yet it is similar to the beginning.

“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John” (1:1) and here in v6 “The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (1:3) and here in v7 “Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

Four times we are told in the Revelation that Jesus is coming soon. This gave the first century believers an expectancy that in their lifetime Jesus was coming back. That these wonderful happenings would indeed take place. Their suffering and oppression would be over. Jesus will be here soon.

Were they wrong?

No.

As we approach the end of a year and we make plans for 2023 we must do far more to live less in the now and more in the future. We must learn to wait.

In the waiting:

• We are understanding the times we live in;
• We are not giving-in to the temptation of Babylon nor the attacks of the dragon;
• We stand strong in the face of adversity;
• We hold on to the Revelation (and the whole Bible) as trustworthy and important to build our lives upon.
• We are not overwhelmed so that we worship other personalities than God.

Adam and Eve experienced the hidden face of God. Moses longed to see His face more than anything. The Aaronic blessing was for the face of God to shine upon the people of God. There are many references to prayers seeking the face of God.

Here it is. 

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:1-5)

In what is a perfecting of Eden, the garden has become a city and God is not hiding behind the trees. We have changed, been made holy, His character/nature/mark is on our lives and we will see Him! We will finally look upon God and live! We have tried all our lives to see God in all His fullness and have failed every time. But not now. His glory within us has changed us to become like Him so much so we will see His face!

Amen!

Today we look on a baby and celebrate the coming of God from heaven to earth. The good news is that He will come again and make all things new. John sees Heaven come down:-

^“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:22-27)

When He comes we won’t need what we once had:-

• A place of worship, a church building, a Temple, no sacred/secular divide, the whole place will be sacred.
• The best that creation can offer; the sun and the moon.
• Protection from our enemies; no need to close the gates.
• Cultural division; the splendour of different kings and the glory and honour of nations)
• The struggle to be holy; sin will not be there.

We won’t need this because He will be with us! Immanuel!

One day away from celebrating the Incarnation of Christ we are this morning reading the ultimate future reality of the presence of God coming down to earth where all things are made new. This time it will not be as a baby in a manger in a dirty and noisy stable. This time it will be glorious. We will see the bride of Christ, the people of God, coming down within Jerusalem; we will see this city significant because of the number 12; we will see every jewel imaginable which is reflecting His glory within the city; we will see that this city is big; and importantly we will see why this is significant for us today.

^“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. ¹⁶ The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. ¹⁷ The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. ¹⁸ The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” (Revelation 21: 9-21)

• The number 12 symbolises God’s total authority, power and completeness. It is done. Everything is fulfilled.
• The measurement of the city, 12,000 stadia x 12,000 x 12,000 creates a shape that is like the one found in the most important part of the Temple. “Solomon prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.” (1 Kings 6:19-20) That place of course is the Holy of Holies
• The 12 precious jewels are all reflecting the glory of God.

This city is perfect, it is the presence of God and it refracts the glory of God.

Around this present world we still see the mourning and the tears. The battle to be victorious is ever before us as we live with people who hate God’s world (the liars, idolaters, murderers etc.)  But if we listen to the command to ‘look’ and as we do that through our worship and our discipleship we find that in a small way we are already walking the streets of gold.

Babylon boasted of her city and how large and attractive it was. It pales into insignificance to the city of God. Liars tried to build a Tower of Babel to reach the heavens but the city of God fills the heaven and the earth. For those struggling in a persecuted place, feeling insignificant under the spirit of the world the bigness of God would empower them to continue the struggle as it does us today.