An End-Times VISION & The End SOUND for Old Year's Eve 2019
Notes
Transcript
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
As the song puts it: another year over, anew one begun. Every New Year’s is kind of like the Roman god - Janus - god of god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. And its impossible for me in this practice of celebrating New Years, especially with a service for Old Years, and one for New, not to think that we are to look in the rear view mirror of our lives, and then do some hoping, planning, dedicating as we look ahead. But like the depressed writer of Ecclesiastes, can’t also help but feel like a middle-aged man looking back on how we keep making an d then breaking the same old resolutions, life under the sun seems trapped in meaningless cycle, that each new year, is like a skipping record. That this Janus fellow is just linking up a past that slips away and a present that will to be a former, passing thing. And as a Christian this time of year has me aching for the stuff that doesn’t pass away. Imagine their is a well of youth - drink of it - actually live forever, imagine friendships that out last the grave, imagine creating beauty that won’t fade, or a justice a community that you will be a member of forever?
And unlike Janus with a spinning cycle of year after year - we are to look this night, beyond the spanning circles, to the Final End, and He who is there. Listen to him in
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Think of the former things that pass away , every last tear, every suffering, death, think of our section in the old serpent will be cast out and bound. And now think of what remains and is new and remains new through out eternity tonight: A new song, a new heaven, a new earth, the new Jerusalem - As this year passes into the next, we are to lean into the New Realities that Jesus is working. We are to kiss good bye the passing, and remember in the present that the suffering, sinning, it won’t last, but we do have the beginning of that which is eternal in Christ, and we are to kiss the passing things good bye tonight and orientate our present to that which alone will remain.
And Jesus gives this vision and a sound to His church to comfort us, but also to inspire us with new vision of hope in the midst of the sinning and suffering of this world.
Key Truth: Begin the new decade with the character of citizens of the future Zion and singers of the New Song.
A. Looking Back, Understand Satan’s Beastly Work in this World & Your Life
This is the hard work of taking stock of where we are at. This takes calculating with wisdom what your past world is really like. draw a picture of a world where Christ is at work as well as His people - but it also paints a picture that as soon as the woman gives birth to her child, the dragon, seeks to destroy the child and his people the church. They retreat into the desert, but God upholds the child and He defeats the dragon and his angels, and the dragon is thrown down to earth - where Satan though defeated still makes war against Christ’s church. It’s the time we live in now, where those accused by Satan - by the gospel find salvation, and Satan can no longer keep us in captivity if we are in Christ. Look at this incredibly good news, this advance in the world by the church of
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
Now standing at the turning of a year, we should be able to look back and say Yes the salvation and power of your kingdom, the authority of Christ - I’ve experienced that this past year, But looking back with we must also see that in our world, this dragon, furious at this defeat - makes war - two beasts from the see, representing the havock Satan seeks to work in the church on one hand and in the world on the other, and the climax of ch 13 is this sign of the beast, that in 15 we see both great and small identifying with in order to buy and sell, And in the loud blasphemies and constant churning of conflict, - we are to look back and see yes, the work of Satan - who deceives people to ignore God - that has been in my year and even influencing my life.
Have you struggled with temptation, have you been sideswiped by suffering, has our world erupted in turmoil in Hong Kong, are oppressive governments forbidding . Is the pursuit of luxury wreaking havoc among the poor and our environment., are people in response worshipping creation not the Creator, nor acting as stewards!
But this is the turning of the year, and acknowledging both the advance of the gospel, and the growth of Satan’s work anti-Christ in our world and even influencing Christ’s church, . We are to stop and pause. God knows it is hard to hold to the testimony of Jesus, gospel grace, and to the commandments of God - in this world, he knows tempted to give up.
So he calls a time out, in the middle of the circle of years, and says Look up, I want you to see something, and I want you to hear something tonight. Kind of like when I was a kid - friends had those stereoscopic slide projectors things. Like virtual reality - God says - get a load of this, and let that comfort and inspire you!
B. Looking Up, Take Hold of the Comfort of Your Future Citizenship in Zion
B.
Before you strain your ears to hear a song from your future, you are to fill the eys of your soul, the expanse of your mind with this dominating, vision, that will reoirentate and re-organize everything, It iwill put everything in perspective.
It isn’t Jesus standing on a mountain top of earthly Jerusalem, but it is this vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, Mount Zion, and even more importantly that LAMB of God, even our Lord Jesus Christ, in heaven. And though in chapter 7, we had a vision of these 144,000 on earth in their suffering, now God gives John a vision for the churches, that fasts forwards to the end of time. Zion is coming down from above, and now the 144,000 that symbolic number of completeness and of the 12 tribes and twelve apostles, the OT people of God and the New Testament people of God, they are with the Lamb.
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
DO you understand the contrast, their are those on earth both small and great… deceived and what’s on their foreheads = re-created and made and having the design and motivation and goal and purpose of and owned by whom
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
On their hand so in the doing of life, most practical part of the body - ultimately not serving God but deceived to be going against the grain and flowing and belonging to anti-God, anti-Christ, Devil
In contrast where is the Father’s name written on believers, all of them small great, rich poor slave and free - flowing form their thinking feeling nerve centre of their lives, stamped with MADE BY GOD< RE-CREATED and belonging to the LORD. The beast tried to forge such a name but it’s a God-given supernatural sign that only those who have been redeemed and have died and risen with Jesus can have. And that sign angels as it were inscribe already in our hearts and minds - as a pledge of the new creation of the future.
i.e Stratavarious at an auction - realize stamped with …
And Jesus is saying, exactly 144,000 the complete number, not one missing throughall the suffering, trials, and temptation. Spurgeon imagines it as God saysin: Is fearful sage? Is Ready-to-halt safe, is Despondency safe Yes O king they all are present and acocunted for.
Do you here the comfort in these words, not one missing, and those who have the sign in this lif, lived not for the beast, but for Christ, redeeemed - look what they are
It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
Christ’s salvation in this life, through the trials and the suffering, even their struggle with sin, they have become the first fruits of the harvest. The picture isn’t that one part of the people of God has made it through and the rest will be the erst of the harvest. Tat’s used sometimes, but no the picture is that every child of God, is the first fruits to the Lord. The picture is form the OT, sheaf offering for first fruits. Before any of the harvest could be used, had to wave and present a sheaf of wheat, and with it a certain percentage of the harvest before the res came in - it belonging to the LORD> And from all the lost humanity, those elected and then having given themselves sin faith to the LORD< they have become the LORD’s. The harvest of God and the Lamb. That was what the Early Church felt about themselves: “Of His own will God begat us with the Word of truth, that we should be a ind of first-fruits of His Creatures.”
And the last detail we must note from this vision in the turning of our year, is where this Zion is - the Lamb is there, the complete numbers of God’s pepole there, but
and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
There is a real headquarters invisible to this world of the universe, and there is a real headquarters to your life and mine, and what is it on the otherside of the veil, whwere God has chosen to pitch his tent of glory with the angels and with all those who have made through this world into glory - there is the what? The Throne!
No matter how much evil mutates and sabatoges this world, no matter how much chaos floods the gatges of this past year or the year to come, here is comfort:
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
All the deep places are in the hand of the King. That’s why we can sing - and ven laugh at all the dangers;
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
It’s true in the middle of life, but it will fully manifest at the end of time on the grandest of scales. When the throne of God is set up as MOunt ion descends to earth in the last day, be glroious judgment and overwhelming good rule Ps96 joy to the world whY? Can you sing this into everywhere the cruse is still found? ,
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
SO looking back over this year, and then looking up to ZIon and to God and the LAmb who ist upon the throne - we are to revaluate what hurts, what causes pain, despair, - we stamped with our king’s image and remade in the lknees sof the Son of God - we weare to resist the pull to live for the beasts to be devfined, by his selfis, God forgeeting, puxuary ppursuing , sin dominating kingdom - and live for the rule of the Son’s reign of grace - Loveiing him abiiding in his commmands.
But then lastly as the gears of the great clock of your life turn among themselves , you are not only to look up, but now strain your ear to that sound from the future. Do you hear it? In the busy-ness of your bustling times in the boerdom and tiredness of your down times, You are to hear a sound that comes from the future and truly inspires you to the future of this year and of the Coming Age. What is the sound?
C. Listening Intently, Get the Theme Song to Your Eternal Life
When I was a kid, the most memorable theme song - The Great Aermican Hero. The song went Believe it or not I’m walking on air, I never thought I could feel so free.. I am sure you also may have a theme song - from a fvavourite show - just the sound of that - prepares you to enjooy something real good. Cheers…
Well, the purpse for JEsus Christ letting John hear this and share this sound with the entire church of Jesus and for the ages, was not so we could look forward to an axcape from the worries of the world, and sit back on a couch and look forward to a few good chuckles.
No listen to the sound John heard: he saw the Lamb and the 144,000 and the heavenly city, and then her hears:
And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,
DO you get the combination here? A lot of you have stood above Niagara Falls, Any one stood at its base - you know that sound - but this is a roar from heaven that envelopes you from all sides like thunder, that’s the first part of the sound, but the second that combines with it, as it envelopes John, is that as powerful as it is , there is a gentleness to its overwhelming power - like harps vibrating with song!
Jesus had just given a vision of everything going on in our lives and on earth - emerging terrors of arrogant evil, godless violence, suffering, death - but now this Lamb of God enthroned surpoeme upon Mount Zion, far above it all - but the sound isn’t conoing from the lamb or the throne itself, who is it comiong from? who is the they before the four living creatures that represent all creation and the elders?
and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
God doesn’t want you just to live this New Yea beginnign it with a vison of the End - making it count for a year lived in that direction, he wants you to hear the theme song of the unvierse! It redeemed people who can sing this New Song. DO you undeatnd there will be a deafening joyful praise instead of the noise of this world’s suffering, crying, screaming, raging!
And do you understand why only people who have been redeemed have the ability to learn and then sing this song? People instructed to ssing the New Song of their leaders at key points in history. THe leader, Moses, David, Solomon, all composed new song to be sung at these key events. Now King Jesus consummation of his salvation, institutes the LAST AND THE GREATEST NEW SONG -
Are you already catching melodies and overtones, of that song - New song is in all the Old ones, but not fully revealed yet, Messiah in the Psalms, and in the Songs of ZIon, but this new Song trump them all, fullest expression of our appreciation, our agreement with, our participation in the victory - our singing will be experiencing that grace at work and renewing all things.
Will you sing this year, will you carry that note - even broken hallejuah, wiill you call out in the night of pain, grief, suffering, trial, but with this song that will one day envelope and transform all of the borkenesss and chase away the darkness. Will you sing of what is lastin and eternal and make it the theme song of your year?
Well Congregation, it is not only the New Song and the Zion vision that we need from God to live this new decade with a proper perspective and with the proper goals. The last thing our text provides for travelers of passing years, is not for visoin, or hope, but it about the character we are to purpuse as we sing the song and live towards the vision:
D. In 2020 Pursue the Character of the Redeemed
If Santa Clause all tired out and underappreciated, where to act like Grinch for a bit after Christmas, or if Don Cherry were to become politically correct and soft - we would say they both were acting out of character. Maybe even a little humorous. And it so happens that Christians, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, purified and we act out of character - image of Christ not so formed that the vestiges of sin don’t continue to drag us down. And the last part of our text, doesn’t tell us that those who get to Zion, those who get the New Song that will the experience of most complete renewal of all things, they don’t get these things because on earth they had a perfect character.
If
No, v.4-5 show that the content of the gospel is justification by grace alone. That is the way the the Gospel redeems men out of the world and out of sin. The Son of the virgin doesn’t redeem people who have never sinned, and who have come through the testing and trials of the world and the devil and our own flesh - completely untarnished - this vision shows they come through the waters, only baptized with Christ’s baptism and robes washed white in the blood of the lamb. And look how these now live, until the Final Day. Look at the character not that will save us, but once saved we will pursue all our life long, and lets commit to ti all this year long, this decade, as long as shall last on earth:
It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
Revelation 14:5
Blameless is not sinless but no charge by grace, integrity … Only a leglist or libertine would not seek to know God’s pleasure in us seeking to be holy…
No excuse for habitual sin, no resting in it, refusting to deal with it, pressing to the opposite because God is forgiving, but even though in ourselves can’t defat sin, with God working within us, progress in holiness!
How turning to another character trait: they follow the Lamb wherever he goes, - like Jesus earthly life, disciples followed the rabbi, so too we in His Word and seeking the fuller presence of his indwelling Spirit are to follow where he leads in our homes, relationships, our work in neighbourhood and community, in this church!
But even more practical and personal - not defiled, sexual purity of soldiers before the battle, but bigger idea is the loyalty and faithfulness spiritually as betrothed to Christ, the bride of Christ, - Paul says in
and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Can you think of defilements of the body, of the spirit in your life - that the enemy and accuser of God’s people would custom make for you - can you think of the opposite, put off, but also put on - bring holiness to completion in the fear of God!
Think back of the last year, dirty your garments, cleansing them how present yourself as one living for union with Christ… how spiritually … think of plan of Christ - Lord’s Day, for mission work, for daily devotional life, for quality of your work , for service of actual people in Christ’s church? Labour to present each other radiant shining in way of Christ, when He comes again!
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Harvest of lives of practical good works and righteousness, and a summary type characteristic: no lie was found in their mouth. And here it is worth relfecting on the lie referred to - do all the people in this world, outside of Christ - consiciously say I am following Satan, no they follow a world-wide deception, and are described as subject to a bondage they are hardly even aware of - like being enslaved to our own pleasures, selfishness, - like an addict that last one to know you are addicted is yourself - why the Bible warns of the deceptiveness of sin. And so when we read of the activities of the antiChrist of those who follow the beast, not the worst and most blatant sins - but the usual suspects, sexual sin, luxary that carries with it a hardness of heart to the poor, in justice.. Living their lives based on Satan’s lie, in opposition to the uspdie down world of the truth of Christ! to find your life you lose it, to live is to die, the way up is downaward tin service. … basedon the truth of Christ reoritnate your life!
And I wonder if you and I this year, can say how the truth of Christ has changed our lifestyle, our neighbourihing, our political life, our way of commuicating…