04 The Man of Revelation
Discovering Revelation • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Open with general announcements & opening prayer, before launching into Bible questions (and/or reviewing the rules).
Good evening - and welcome back to Discovering Revelation!!!
Tonight, we’ve got a great evening planned for you - we’re going to start digging just a little bit deeper into Bible prophecy.
Questions and Answers
But first, tonight it’s time to dig into our Bible questions. (Quickly review the rules - then answer questions for 15-20 minutes.)
Question 1: How does one avoid being deceived by false christs?
We looked at the prophecy from Matthew 24 on Saturday night where Jesus said that false christs would try to impersonate him. The question is, how do we know if it is a false Christ, or if this is Jesus’ return?
We’re going to look in detail at the concrete statements the Bible makes about the second coming on Sunday in the message called “The Appearing.” So I won’t go too much into detail tonight, but lets look at the statement Jesus makes about false Christs in that prophecy in Matt 24. I think you’ll find that He answers this question pretty thoroughly.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Notice that he is contrasting his appearing — something that is like lighting in the sky — with someone who claims to be Him but is out in the desert or in some meeting hall. Or, in our time, preaching on the TV. If someone claims to be Christ and its not like lightning shining across the sky — and we’ll explore this concept in some detail on Sunday — then you can be confident they are not Jesus and what they have to teach is coming from a different source other than God’s Word.
Question 2: Christians say that Jesus is “God in human flesh,” but does the Bible really support that claim?
Yes, it does–many, many times!. There are far too many texts for us to page through tonight, but (because this is a Bible prophecy seminar) let me give you a few thoughts from the book of Revelation. Listen to the titles the Bible gives to Jesus in Revelation 1:
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send [it] to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (Rev 1:10,11)
You find this one title, “the First and the Last,” mentioned severals times in the book of Revelation:
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (Revelation 1:17, 18)
And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. (Rev 2:8,9)
And then over in the last chapter, you find it again, along with a couple of other titles:
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:12,13)
Now compare that to a key passage in the Old Testament book of Isaiah - a passage that is clearly talking about God: Thus says the LORD, (any time you see the word “Lord” in all capital letters, the translators are letting you know that this is Yahweh, or “Jehovah”) the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)
And those are just a few of the evidences for Jesus’ divinity.
This is why it’s so important to read the whole Bible - because John is using language that would have been very familiar to his first century audience, and his original audience would have immediately recognized that Jesus is using the language of divinity.
Next Subjects
Next Subjects
Okay, let’s talk about our next few subjects:
Tonight, our subject is going to be one of the most important things you’ll ever hear - and I suspect there will be some people here who may already understand what we’re going to cover. But I want to be really sure that we’re all on the same playing field, because if you don’t understand THIS subject, you’ll never really understand the rest of the book of Revelation.
So tonight, we’re going to visit Revelation chapters 4 and 5, and we’re going to look at The Man of Revelation, the most important subject in the entire book.
Then, Thursday night, we’re going to look at “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” There are four horses and riders in Revelation chapter 6, and in the late 20th century, when interest in Bible prophecy was at an all-time high, you might remember all kinds of books and movies that mentioned these four horsemen.
When we look at it together – in detail – you’re going to make an amazing discovery: for the last century and a half (or so), people have only been telling half of the story. So what we’re going to do is consider the WHOLE story - we’ll look at the whole chapter, and I’ll show you something that many Christians used to talk about, but you seldom hear it anymore.
That’s on Thursday night.
Then on Friday night, we’re going to look at one of the most astonishing prophecies in the Bible. It’s easily the longest-reaching prophecy in the Bible, and it points to a definite time when planet earth and human history will enter their final phase. We don’t know when the Second Coming will take place - the Bible is crystal clear about that - but at the same time, we DO know when we’re getting close. Remember: in Matthew 24, Jesus said when the fig tree puts out its leaves, you know that summer is close, and on Friday night, we’re going to be looking at more clear evidence that we’re getting close.
In fact, the Bible talks about a “time of the end,” a time when it becomes obvious that the Second Coming is close - and that’s what we’re going to look at. And that’s such a detailed prophecy - it’s so big - that we’re going to spend two nights on it.
On Saturday night, we’re going to look at “The Time of the End, Part Two.” We’re going to take what we learned in part one, and then we’re going to apply it to one of the most astonishing prophecies in the Bible. And I think you’ll be amazed by what you see - and don’t think there will be any doubt that our world is getting close.
Then on Sunday night, we’re going to look at the Second Coming itself. What, exactly, should we expect? What’s it actually going to be like the day that Jesus comes? Remember: the Second Coming is one of the most talked-about subjects in the Bible, so we’re going to have lots of material to look at - and when we’re done, you’re going to see five things everybody can know for sure about Jesus’ return.
We’re going to skip next Monday night, but then on Tuesday, next week, we’re going to start looking at one of the central chapters of the book of Revelation - one of those chapters where some of the most important action takes place - and we’re going to look at a question that theologians and philosophers have wrestled with for thousands of years. If God is really good, then why do we have so much suffering and evil in this world?
That’s on Tuesday night.
Then on Wednesday night next week, we’re going to look at the very first part of Revelation 14 - so if you want to read ahead a little bit, you might want to look at the first five verses or so. There’s a group that stands on Mount Zion with the Father’s name written on their foreheads - and that’s a concept we’re going to see more than once in this seminar. On Wednesday night, we’ll start to scrape the surface, and as we do, one of the questions we’re going to examine is why temptation can seem so overwhelming. You want to be good, you want to do the right thing, and yet you find yourself doing the wrong thing again and again!
It’s a subject that has personally brought me a lot of relief, and it’s helped my relationship with God significantly. That’s “The Ultimate Mind Game” on Wednesday night.
Then we’re really going to dig into some heavy prophecy. On Friday night, we’ll be looking at the “The Coming of the Lawless One.” You know, in his second letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul predicted a great “falling away” in the Christian church, and he spoke about a condition known as the “mystery of lawlessness.” It’s a condition that started all the way back in his day, and it grows and grows until you see the “man of sin” start pretending that he is God.
This is one of the most foundational concepts for understanding what we’re going to study in passages like Revelation 13, so you’re not going to want to miss this. What, exactly, is the “mystery of lawlessness,” and what does it have to do with us?
Now tonight, one of the most important subjects you will ever study: “The Man of Revelation.” And tonight, we’re going to do something a little different. I’ve been doing all the talking, so before we’re finished with our meeting, I’m going to hand out a little card that will let you tell me what YOU’RE thinking, and that will give me an idea of whether or not my presentations have been clear.
Prayer
Prayer
When you open the Bible to the very beginning of the book of Revelation, you’ll notice something very interesting in a lot of modern translations.
In many editions of the Bible, the title you find above the last book is usually something like “The Revelation of John,” or if you have the King James Version, it might say, “The Revelation of Saint John the Divine.”
And honestly? That’s a pretty good title, because it WAS written by the Apostle John, and there’s no doubt that John was a pivotal figure in the story of the early Christian church. He was the last living disciple - the only one out of the original 12 who actually died of natural causes. He’s the only one who died of old age!
And that’s not because the Roman Empire didn’t try to kill him - according to our best historical sources, it seems like they did. Now, it’s not a story you’ll find in the Bible, but Christians are reasonably certain that it’s true. There was a Roman emperor by the name of Domitian who HATED Christians, and at one point, he tried to kill John, the last of the disciples.
And he tried to kill him in a really gruesome way: he had him lowered into a vat of boiling oil, and he tried to cook John alive. But for some reason, that failed. John managed to survive, so the emperor Domitian got rid of him by shipping him to a prison colony out in the Aegean Sea–
– a little tiny island by the name of Patmos, roughly 13 square miles in size, and about 45 miles off the coast of modern-day Turkey. Today, there are about 3,000 people living on Patmos, but in John’s day, it was mostly just prisoners, people who were removed from the rest of the population so they couldn’t make trouble.
And one day, on that tiny little island, John suddenly hears a voice - the voice of Jesus - and he begins to see some really incredible things: the stuff we now read about in the book of Revelation.
So there’s no doubt that John WAS a great man. He is absolutely central to the story. So it makes sense that translators would want to put his name at the top of the book. But it’s important to realize that it’s a man-made title, and I would like to suggest that the REAL title of the book - the one that God gave it - can be found in the first verse.
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
Read the verse, having the audience complete the first phrase with you. “The Revelation of who? Jesus Christ.”
Who does this book reveal? It’s the revelation of Jesus. And when will the things in this book take place? It says that the prophecy will take place “shortly.” That’s an important piece of information, and you might want to tuck that away for some of the subjects we’ll be looking at in the future. The prophecy happens SHORTLY - it happens SOON - which should make you stop and think when you hear people saying that all (or most) of the book of Revelation is going to happen way off in the distant future.
That’s not how the book starts. It says that the prophecy will start taking place “shortly,” which means all the way back in John’s day. Now you’re going to want to remember that, because it’s going to show up again.
But for right now, look at the real title of the book. This is the revelation of who? Jesus Christ.
The last book of the Bible isn’t really about John. It’s not about dragons, or demons, or the antichrist, even though all those things are absolutely mentioned. The REAL subject is Jesus.
And nowhere does this become more clear than in Revelation chapter 5, a scene that ushers us right into the throne room of God. In Revelation chapter 4, John is suddenly invited (in vision) into the presence of God Himself - into the throne room of God - and that’s a privilege that has only been extended to a handful of people.
And right now, you and I are going to join him, in Revelation chapter 5:
1 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
Read through the verse, having the audience read the word “scroll” when you get there.
Now there are a couple of things that I want you to notice.
First: there are seven seals on this scroll, and in the book of Revelation, the number seven shows up all over the place. There are seven churches in chapters 2 and 3. There are seven lampstands in chapter 1. There are seven plagues, seven trumpets, seven angels, seven heads, seven crowns - all kinds of groups of seven.
And that’s because seven is the number of completion and perfection. Any time you see the number seven in Bible prophecy, it usually means that you have a complete set of something - you have perfection. This is a the concept behind seven from the very first chapter of the Bible when, after God created the world in six days and then on the Seventh he ended his work — it was complete — perfect. Ever after the creation account, seven was used by many Bible writers to indicate completion, perfection.
So that’s the first thing I want you to notice: there are seven seals.
And here’s the second thing I want you to notice: it seems like God actually keeps written records in heaven. And that tells us something very important: nothing escapes God’s attention. Absolutely nothing! The Bible says, in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
Okay, let’s continue:
2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”
John hears an urgent question being asked in the courts of heaven, and it’s so urgent that they shout the question with a loud voice:
“Who is worthy?”
This is something that all the angels appear to be interested in, because even angels don’t know everything. And on this particular occasion, they want to know: who is worthy?
And what is the answer?
Pay attention carefully as we read this.
3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
Who is worthy? Nobody. They couldn’t find anybody - not in heaven, not on earth - not anywhere. That’s a valuable piece of information, so tuck that away for later, because you’re going to need it. Nobody is worthy.
Let’s keep reading:
4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
Now let’s pause for a moment and really think about this: there’s a PROBLEM in heaven. I know we don’t typically think of heaven as a place with problems, but here it is: they have a sealed book (or scroll) that MUST be opened. There’s a sense of urgency - they WANT it open - but they can’t find anybody worthy. The angels are anxious, and John is so upset that he begins to cry.
This is a description of the world’s biggest issue, right now. It’s a problem that MUST be solved.
And how are they going to solve it? Let’s keep reading:
Read text; have audience help you read “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”
5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
Do you see it? It’s ALWAYS good news! Bible prophecy is the story of GOD solving OUR problems. That’s what we’re discovering in this seminar.
The book of Revelation isn’t about destruction; it’s about AVOIDING destruction! It’s not about death; it’s about CONQUERING death. It’s not about hopelessness; it’s about finding a hope that lasts forever.
“DO NOT WEEP,” the Bible says. And then the story continues:
Read text; really emphasize the word “Lamb.” Have the audience read the word for you.
Rev 5:6
“And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb...”
Now here’s something really important: there’s a bit of a pattern that shows up in the book of Revelation: first John HEARS about something, and then he turns and SEES it. In Revelation 1, John hears a voice like a trumpet, and then he turns and sees Jesus, standing among the seven candlesticks.
And now he hears about a LION, but he turns and sees a what? A Lamb.
Who do you think the Lamb is? It’s Jesus. He shows up 28 times in the book of Revelation as a Lamb, and that’s because He’s the Lamb of God. Remember what John the Baptist said when he first laid eyes on Jesus? “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
So John sees a Lamb . . .
“a lamb as though it has been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
There’s that number seven again!
7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Okay, there’s a LOT of information in that passage, so here are the questions that I have for you tonight:
One: why did John weep? Why is this such a BAD situation?
Two: what exactly did the Lamb do that makes Him worthy, when nobody else is? And –
Three: in the book of Revelation, why do we see Jesus looking like a SLAIN Lamb?
Let’s see if I can explain it with a story that I came across some time ago . . .
It was just an ordinary piece of mail, and it looked just like everything else in the mailbox, but when Linda opened the envelope, the bottom dropped right out of her world.
She had been expecting the government of Nebraska to send her a copy of her birth certificate so that she could get a passport. She needed it to go on a trip - but she never expected what she found inside that envelope.
Boldly splashed across the top of the paper were the words “ADOPTIVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE.”
Now normally, there wouldn’t be any problem with that - adoption is a wonderful thing - but there was something very strange about this: Linda wasn’t adopted. She KNEW she wasn’t.
Obviously, there had been a mistake. Somebody in the government had mixed up the paperwork - and of course, that kind of thing happens all the time.
She KNEW she wasn’t adopted. That’s the kind of thing you would KNOW by the time you’re 42 years old with four kids of your own.
And she tried to laugh it off, but there was this nagging doubt: “What if there’s something to it? What if there’s something I don’t know?”
She couldn’t call her parents, because they were already dead. So instead, she called her uncle.
“Hey, uncle! The weirdest thing just happened. I just got a copy of my birth certificate in the mail, and wouldn’t you know it? It says I’m adopted! Isn’t that the funniest thing you’ve ever heard?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and now Linda knew: there WAS something to it. “Listen,” she said, “I have a right to know! You’ve got to tell me!”
“Okay, Linda,” he said, “your parents made me promise I’d never tell you, but now you’ve found out anyway. It’s true. You were adopted.”
She hung up the phone, and she could barely catch her breath. The room was spinning just a little bit, and she felt light-headed. She picked up the phone one more time, and called her sister.
“JOAN!!!!” she said.
“What’s the matter, Linda? You don’t sound well!”
“I’m NOT well, Joan. There’s something I need to know: am I your natural-born sister, or was I adopted?”
Again, there was silence - and then Joan confessed. “Listen, Linda: I was never supposed to tell you, but it’s true. Mom and Dad adopted you.”
She hung up the phone, and she went into shock. She locked herself in the bedroom, and for days, she couldn’t sleep and she couldn’t eat. Finally, her husband Michael decided to talk to her.
“Linda, I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you. But I know something that might help. Why don’t you try looking for your birth mother?”
Linda was unimpressed. “Mike, not everything is a fairy tale. My mother obviously didn’t want me once; so why would she want me now?”
“I know,” said Mike. “But look at it this way: you couldn’t possibly feel any worse - and besides, we have four kids. What if there’s medical information that could really help us?”
In her heart, Linda knew that Mike was right. So she sat down and wrote an ad for the local newspaper, because she didn’t know where else to start looking. And then her sister Joan remembered one very important detail: the names of her biological parents.
ad
“My name is Linda, born to a Jeannie and Warren in Omaha on July 8, 1950 and given up for adoption. My adoptive parents are deceased. I do not wish to cause any problems, but am seeking available information or possible reunion.”
You know what she’s asking, don’t you?
“Who am I?”
That’s a really big question - and it’s a question that lots of people have been forced to ask over the centuries, because Linda’s not the only one to suddenly find out that she was building her life on a foundation of lies. Sooner or later, everybody has to ask the same question, and sooner or later, you’re going to have to ask it, too.
Who am I? Where do I belong? What is the meaning of my existence? Is there any purpose to my life?
Everybody faces those questions - and if you haven’t faced them yet, you will. You can’t get through life in this world and NOT eventually wonder who you really are.
And maybe one of the most famous examples of someone asking those kinds of questions is found in the gospel according to Luke . . .
It’s the story of the thief on the cross.
Luke 22:32-33
“There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary,”
“there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.”
The Bible says there was someone hanging on a cross next to Jesus. We all know him as the “thief on the cross,” but that’s about the only thing we really know about him.
We don’t know who he was. We don’t know what town he came from, or who his parents were, or where he went to school.
We don’t even know his name.
There are ancient legends that give him a name - they call him “Dismas,” and they make up all kinds of stories about him because it bothers us that we don’t really know anything about him. Some people say he was a boyhood friend of Jesus, and that Jesus even raised him from the dead as a kid. Some people say he actually saved Mary’s life when she was fleeing to Egypt.
But those are just stories; legends that people invented because the Bible says so little about this man. All we really know is what the Bible says:
At the end of his life, he was a thief, a transgressor, and a criminal. The old King James Bible says “malefactor,” which literally means “evildoer.” That’s all he is. That’s what his life is about.
Did he have any hobbies? We don’t know.
Did he ever have a girlfriend or a wife? We don’t know.
Brothers or sisters? Who knows?
All we have is what the Bible says: thief, transgressor, and evildoer. Three words to sum up a whole lifetime.
And that makes me wonder sometimes: what three words will people choose to sum up MY life? Your life?
Because at the end, that’s really all you get . . .
. . . a few words etched in stone: an epitaph. Maybe a few lines in the local newspaper if someone knows you well enough to write them. But that’s all you get. A few short words.
And chances are, you’re never going to see them. You’ll never read your epitaph; you’ll never see your own obituary - but I assure you: you have already begun to write it, day by day, moment by moment, one decision at a time. Every choice you make will determine how the world remembers you.
And the character you build, the options that you choose, the decisions that you make - they’re not just going to make a difference here on earth; they’re going to make a difference for all eternity. The way you live your life, moment by moment, is going to decide how you are remembered in the records — the scrolls or books — of heaven . . . forever.
The sum total of your life is all the decisions that you have ever made, all strung together.
And Matthew says this man was a thief. Mark says he was a transgressor. Luke tells us he was a criminal.
Was he ever a good father? I don’t know. Was he a good provider before he turned to a life of crime? I don’t know.
Because that’s not what his life was about. In the end, he’s just a thief. He’s a criminal. He’s the worst thing the rulers of Israel could find to make the crucifixion of Jesus seem even more shameful. They WANTED to hang THIS man next to Jesus, because this man was worthless.
Now ask yourself an important question: if you had to stand in heaven right now, the way you are, right now - like John - what would you do when they asked for someone worthy? Would you feel qualified? Or would you weep like John?
If you had to stand right in front of God’s throne, this very minute - just you and God - how do you think you would do?
They couldn’t find ANYBODY, and we all know that we wouldn’t DARE step forward. Because every single human who has ever lived has sinned against God, and the only thing we’re actually worthy of, according to the Bible, is death:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now let me ask you: doesn’t that seem a little harsh? Just a few little misdeeds, a few little mistakes, and you have to DIE? Doesn’t that prove that God is a bit of a dictator? “Do it My way or die?”
Well, let’s think about this for a moment. What actually happens when you sin? The Bible says we cut ourselves off from God:
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
Sin cannot dwell in the presence of a holy God. It’s not a part of who He is. He didn’t intend for all the pain and suffering that sin causes, and He can’t allow it in His presence. In the book of 1 John the Bible says that God is light with no darkness at all, and it compares our sinful lives to darkness. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light—it is extinguished by the light. So sin or iniquity drives a wedge between us and God, and that has some really serious consequences.
Colossians chapter 1 says that God is not only the Creator of all life, He is also the Sustainer. He holds everything together. Right now, you can thank Him for every breath you take, because He is the ultimate and only Source of life.
But if you separate yourself from the only real Source of life in the universe, what happens? You’re going to die.
“But wait a minute: I’m not dead!”
No, not yet. But you will be. It’s a little bit like an electric fan: if you unplug it, the blades might spin for a few minutes, but eventually, they slow down and quit. And this whole world is in the same boat: it’s slowly winding down. It’s getting sicker, and so are you. And one day soon, you will suffer the same fate as every human being who went before you: you will die.
The problem is serious. No wonder John weeps bitterly when they can’t find anybody worthy. You are cut off from God. It’s a universal human problem, with no exceptions:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If anybody says that they haven’t sinned, they’ve got a really serious problem. The Bible says they’re deceived, which is a major issue that prophecy keeps warning us about. If we tell ourselves that we haven’t sinned, if we tell ourselves that we’ll never have to pay the consequences for human rebellion against God, then we’re blinding ourselves to the truth.
In fact, the book of Revelation shows the last-day world as being “drunk on the wine of Babylon.” People aren’t thinking straight - they can’t see the obvious:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
What did it just say? How many have sinned? ALL.
So who is worthy of death? ALL of us. No exceptions.
Who is worthy to open the scroll in heaven? Apart from the Lamb of God, absolutely NOBODY.
“Okay, okay, I’ve sinned, but c’mon: I’m nowhere near as bad as this guy sitting next to me!”
No? How can you be sure of that? And even if it’s true, what does that matter?
I need a volunteer. Perry, can you come up here? I need a swimming partner.
Let’s say that you and I are in desperate need of a good vacation, but we can’t afford airfare, so we decide that we’re going to swim to Hawaii. Sounds like a good plan, right? And let’s say that we’re going to leave from San Francisco, which is about 2,400 miles.
So the big day comes, and a big crowd comes down to the beach to wish us well, and . . . we’re off! We swim 100 miles . . . 500 miles . . . 1,000 miles . . . and then suddenly, you get a strange look on your face.
So I ask you: “What’s the matter?”
“I’ve got a cramp!” And that’s it: you go under the water and drown.
So I keep going. 1,800 miles . . . 2,100 miles . . . 2,300 miles . . . 2,380 miles . . . and then I drown, just twenty miles from Hawaii.
So now we’re both dead, because we both fell short of Hawaii. Does it really matter how far short?
You can’t afford to compare yourself to other people, because it’s not going to help. If you fall a quarter-inch short of the glory of God, you might as well be a million miles short: it still means the same thing. The wages of sin is death.
Even one sins.
And John knew it - and the thief on the cross next to Jesus knew it, too.
But not before he did something really horrible. According to Matthew, both thieves were making fun of Jesus. They were dying themselves, but they still found the strength to join the mockery of the crowd.
“Come on, Jesus! If you really ARE the Son of God, come down from that cross!”
“King of the Jews! That’s what that sign says over Your head! Why don’t You come down from there, and we’ll give You a throne!”
“Why doesn’t God save You - if You really ARE His Son?”
The Bible says they were all doing it. The people He was trying to save were mocking Him. The Pharisees were doing it - the Romans were doing it - even the PRIESTS were doing it. It’s like the whole human race was gathered there, rejecting the Son of God.
“Come on, Jesus - IF You really are the Messiah, surely You can do something about this! If You really ARE the long-awaited Messiah, then this shouldn’t be a problem - just come down off that cross!”
They were all doing it - including a thief, in the last few moments of his life. And then suddenly, he stops. He looks over at Jesus, and something happens. He suddenly remembers everything he’s heard about Jesus: He went about doing good. He healed the sick. He loved the unlovable. He touched the untouchable.
He remembers Jesus in the judgment hall last night - how Jesus just stood there and took it . . . not like a guilty man who knows it’s over, but like an innocent man who’s resigned to a horrible fate.
And now he can see it - JESUS isn’t deceived - HE is.
A thief finds out, in the last minutes of his life, that it was all a big lie. A conspiracy.
“But I don’t believe in conspiracies!”
I don’t either - not the kind you see on YouTube - but sometimes, conspiracies are very real. Sometimes, they do happen - because we know they kept Linda in the dark for 42 years.
It turns out that Linda’s birth mother was a girl by the name of Jeannie, who got married at 17, and gave birth to Linda that same year. And then her teenage husband took off, and she never heard from him again.
So she did the best she could. She found a job in Omaha, Nebraska, and she met an older couple who agreed to watch Linda every day when she was at work: Mr. and Mrs. Whitney.
The only problem was that they lived on the other side of town, and it took an hour and a half to drop Linda off. It was just too hard, so they agreed to take Linda Sunday night and keep her until Friday afternoon, when Jeannie would pick her up.
It was the perfect arrangement. Until one day, Jeannie got a call at work. “Jeannie, it’s Mr. Whitney. Social services found out about our childcare arrangement, and they’re over here at the apartment. They say that if you don’t come and sign some routine papers, they’re going to take her away.”
“No! Don’t let them take her! I’ll be there as fast as I can!”
She left work, almost without telling her boss, and made her way to the Whitneys. There were some people there, with some papers to sign, and they assured her that it was all routine. She looked over the documents, and really didn’t understand some of it, but what was she supposed to do?
She signed it.
The next Friday was Linda’s second birthday, and Jeannie arrived at the apartment with a little present under her arm. It was going to be a VERY good weekend. She knocked on the door . . . and nobody answered. She knocked again, and . . . nothing. Now she KNEW something was wrong, and she started to bang on the door.
The superintendent heard it and stuck his head out in the hallway. “Can I help you?”
“Do you know where the Whitneys are today?” she asked.
“The Whitneys? They don’t live here anymore.”
I don’t know if you can imagine the pain of separation - the panic that comes with losing a child - but God can. He understands that kind of pain, because somebody once stole ALL His children - and then they killed His only begotten Son.
Let me assure you: God understands your pain. He has walked this earth - He has lived like us - He has died like us - in fact, He died far WORSE than any of us will - and now He represents the whole human race in the courts of heaven. The Bible teaches that God knows pain.
Jeannie called Mr. Whitney’s boss, but he had no idea where the Whitneys were. “He just picked up his last paycheck and said he wasn’t coming back!”
She hung up the phone, and then she had a really awful thought: “What if those papers I signed were ADOPTION papers?”
Can you imagine? DECEIVED into thinking you were doing the right thing, DECEIVED into thinking you were helping your daughter, and you lose your family in the process?
Jeannie called the adoption people, but they told her nothing. They said that adoption is highly confidential, and the files are closed.
And that was the end of the line. She couldn’t afford a lawyer or a private investigator, because she just didn’t have that kind of money. All she could do was go through phone books, calling every Whitney she could find, hoping that somebody knew something. She took out classified ads - as many as she could afford - hoping that somebody who knew something would say something.
But that was it.
Linda was the victim of a conspiracy. Sometimes, conspiracies are real.
And let me assure you, there HAS been a conspiracy in YOUR life. You have been stolen, and somebody is trying to keep you in the dark:
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
There IS a conspiracy in this world. Someone is trying to keep you from seeing the truth.
But here’s the thing about conspiracies: they’re not perfect. Conspiracies are fabrications, and no matter how clever the devil might be after thousands of years of perfecting his craft, his work is still full of defects. It’s full of holes big enough for the light of truth to shine right through.
And the Bible says that one day, a thief on a cross suddenly noticed some light peeking through one of those holes.
He woke up, and for the first time in his life, with blood, sweat, and dirt in his eyes, he could finally see clearly. He suddenly saw that the Man he was ruthlessly mocking was in fact the Lamb of God.
Then he looks back to the crowd at the foot of the cross, and he listens to them mock Jesus - and suddenly, he recognizes a voice. And if you listen to the story carefully, you’ll recognize the voice, too - because that voice has been lying to you all your life.
Listen carefully: it’s that voice that keeps saying “IF.”
“IF You are the KING of the JEWS, save yourself!”
“IF You are the Son of God, come down from that cross!”
Do you recognize the voice? You should. Every time the insults start to lag; every time the crowd runs out of things to say, there’s a lonely figure at the foot of the cross, spurring them on.
“Hey Jesus! Is this your big plan? Is this how you plan to take back the planet? Why don’t you come down from that cross IF You are the Son of God!”
Do you recognize that voice? “IF, IF, IF . . .”
I’m guessing Jesus recognized it, because He’d heard it before, out in the desert when He started His ministry.
“If You are the Son of God - turn these stones into bread.”
“If You are the Son of God - then cast Yourself off the temple.”
You know who said that, right? It’s Lucifer. The devil. I know we don’t want to think of a devil at the cross, but how else do you explain God’s Son nailed to a Roman cross?
Listen to those voices trying to convince Jesus to quit - trying to convince Him to come down off the cross. At some point, the devil must have realized what he’d done. He must have realized that the cross wasn’t going to finish Jesus, it was going to finish HIM.
At some point, Lucifer must have realized that he had blown it at the cross. At some point, he must have realized that the cross was going to expose him as a murderer and a liar. When I hear the insults dripping from the lips of the crowd, and I hear the challenge to come down from the cross - I KNOW the devil was starting to catch on.
And you know, Jesus COULD have come down. He didn’t HAVE to do it - but He knew that if you were ever going to stand in His kingdom, He was going to have to pay your price.
And I can assure you, Jesus didn’t WANT to die. Nobody WANTS to suffer. Listen to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me!” He didn’t go to the cross because He liked the idea; He went because His love for you made Him do it.
And to this day, every time the cross is lifted up - every time people open a Bible and start to read about it - every time people examine the gift of Jesus at Calvary - fallen angels still show up. They stand in the shadows, and raise questions, and make people doubt.
“Don’t waste your time with this: you’ll never be good enough. You can always do this later. Why don’t you wait until you have every question answered? Besides, what will your friends say? Your family? The people at work? You don’t want them to think you’re RELIGIOUS, do you?”
Believe me, they still show up, and they stand in the shadows - they distract - they disrupt - and they draw you away.
Why?
Because they’re scared the truth is finally going to come out. They’re scared that you’re going to find out how they’ve been lying to you.
They’re scared you’re going to find the truth.
And what’s the truth?
Listen to what the Bible says:
Read text, and really emphasize the word “but.”
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That one word changes everything. The wages of sin is death BUT.
What does that mean? It means there’s an exception. It means you don’t HAVE to die. You don’t HAVE to pay the wages of sin.
There is a way to escape.
So what is it?
How can you become a part of the kingdom of God? It’s really very simple:
Read text, and emphasize the word “all.”
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Look at this carefully: God offers to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness! There are no exceptions here.
It doesn’t say “all unrighteousness except murder.”
It doesn’t say “all unrighteousness except adultery.”
It doesn’t say “except drunkenness” or “except stealing” or “except ruined relationships.”
It says ALL unrighteousness. And the Bible says that God will give you this kind of forgiveness as a GIFT, because He knows you can’t possibly earn it.
Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through FAITH, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
This isn’t something you can earn - this is a gift, and the only way to get a gift is to ACCEPT it.
Listen to how the whole Bible ends, in Revelation 22:
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
Take it how? Freely!
A few moments ago, the thief was wrestling with Roman soldiers, but now he’s wrestling with something much worse: he’s wrestling with conviction. Just like some of you, right now.
He’s wrestling with a conviction that the man on the next cross is really God’s Son. He’s wrestling with the conviction that God can really change his life.
So he cries out - “Stop it! Don’t you see what you’re doing? We deserve this - I deserve to die - but this Man is innocent!”
And then he speaks nine very important words: “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
It’s such a simple prayer, and honestly, God wants to hear it from you, too. It doesn’t have to be complicated. “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
You know, out in the wilderness, the devil tempted Jesus with a shortcut to the kingdom. “Just bow down to me, and I’ll give You this planet. Why go through with such a difficult plan?”
And of course, Jesus refused. But now the devil is mocking Him as He hangs on the cross. “Jesus, You should have taken me up on my offer - because now You have nothing. Even your Father isn’t here. The people You thought would come back to God - the people You thought would choose You of their own free will just nailed You to a cross. Now everything’s lost, and I win.”
And then - in the dark - it’s the devil’s turn to recognize a voice.
“Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
The thief just chose Jesus of his own free will. The lowest of the low - the worst man they could find that day to shame Jesus - the thief just accepted Christ.
Can I invite you to linger in the shadow of the cross for just a moment? In your mind’s eye, look up at the battered, bleeding body of Jesus. Count the thorns in that crown we forced down over His head. Count the drops of blood as they fall from His hands, His feet, and His side.
How can you look at the cross and not begin to see clearly? How can you stand beneath the cross of Jesus and not hate sin? I hate sin because that’s what put Him there. My pride became the nails in His hands - my unbelief became a spear in His side - my sins became a crown of thorns.
I look at the cross, and I hate sin.
A thief on a cross finally saw it - and he understood that the cross of Christ was for him. And right now, the cross of Christ is still for thieves, and transgressors, and evildoers. It’s for people who KNOW they don’t deserve the kingdom of heaven.
Maybe you don’t feel like you’re good enough for church. Maybe you feel like you’re not good enough for heaven? Then you finally get it: you’re NOT.
Don’t you see that’s why John wept? You CAN’T make yourself good enough - but Jesus IS good enough, and that’s all that counts. The Bible says, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
Linda ran her ad in October of 1992. On November 2nd, her phone rang, and a social services agent on the other end said, “Linda, I think you’re going to have a very merry Christmas this year.”
Someone had responded to the ad, and she knew details that nobody could possibly know. “Shall I give her your number, Linda?”
“Of course!”
When the phone rang later that afternoon, Linda was so nervous, she couldn’t bring herself to answer it. Finally, Mike grabbed her hand and squeezed it, so she answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is this Linda?”
“Yes . . . is this my mom?”
Forty years, living a lie. But the truth can set you free.
“Mom, I can’t believe you saw my ad on the one day it ran in the paper!”
“Linda, the truth is: I’ve been looking for your ad every day of your whole life. There hasn’t been a day that I haven’t been looking for you.”
Do you know what’s going to happen when you send up YOUR prayer tonight? God’s going to say, “I’ve been waiting your whole life for this moment.”
Now tell me: what reason could anybody possibly have to say no to God, who loves you like that?
Pull card out and show it to the audience.
Tonight, I’ve got a copy of your heavenly birth certificate, and you now have a chance to respond to what we’ve studied. I’m going to ask the ushers to hand that card out right now, very quickly. They’re going to hand a stack of cards to the person at the end of each row, and I want everybody to each take one card and pass the rest down the line.
DJ Cruttenden is going to sing while you get your card.
Once everybody has their card, say:
I want you to take this card and look at it with me. There is no pressure, you don’t have to do this - but if you’ve been feeling God nudge your heart as we looked at the cross together, then look at this. I want to be able to pray specifically for you.
The first line says, “I believe that salvation comes only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.” If it’s clear to you that you can’t EARN salvation, but you’d like to receive it as a gift, then put a check in that box. I think everybody here tonight should be able to do that.
The second line says, “I repent of my sins and accept Jesus as my personal Savior, believing that my sins are forgiven and His gift of eternal life is mine.” Tonight, God says He will cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness, and if that’s something you want, just put a check in that box.
The third line: “I once knew Jesus, but have drifted away. Tonight, I recommit my life to Christ.” Maybe you grew up in a church, or your family used to go. Maybe you’ve sensed that you’re not as close to God as you’d like to be. I really just want to spend time praying specifically for you, so if you’d like, put a check in that box. Nobody else is going to see it - just my pastoral prayer team - and I really mean it: I’d like to pray for you.
And the fourth line: “Because of my desire to follow Jesus, I would like to be baptized soon.” There’s no pressure. Maybe you just have questions about baptism - maybe you’re curious about what it means - or maybe you KNOW it’s a step you’d like to take. Just put a check mark there.
Then tell me who you are, so I can pray for you by name. I really take this very seriously, and I want to spend time praying specifically for you.
Encourage people to put their cards in the buckets/containers face down, because “it’s nobody else’s business what’s on that card.”
Have the ushers bring the cards to the front of the auditorium and then start your call:
Tonight, I’d like to actually pray for you in person. I know that some of you have heard God speak to your hearts. There was something in our study tonight that made you realize just how much you need Him. If that’s you, If you can come forward, I want to have a special prayer with you.
Maybe, tonight, there are things in your life that have made a relationship with God especially difficult, and you’d like to be rid of those things, and you’d like to experience an even deeper walk with God. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, I’d like to pray for you, so please: just come up and join me right here.
There are some other people here tonight whose lives have been especially difficult - you have struggled almost every step of the way, it’s like you’ve had weights attached to your feet your whole life, but tonight, you want to trust God with the future. Maybe you’re finished struggling. Maybe you’d like to have some help. I want you to come up here and pray with me, too.
Maybe tonight, you’ve never accepted the gift that Jesus made possible at the cross. Maybe you’ve never really thought of yourself as a son or a daughter of God - you’ve never been sure that God loves you - and I want to assure you that you can have peace of mind tonight. You can leave here knowing that when Jesus comes, He’s coming for you. If you want to say, “Lord, I’m choosing to believe what I’ve heard. I can’t always see it, and sometimes I don’t always understand it, but I WANT to believe it,” then come up to the front and I want to pray with you, too.
Whatever it is - whatever’s been bothering you for days, or weeks, or years - this is your moment. This is your time to stand under the cross and claim everything that God is offering you - just come here and let’s pray together. My whole prayer team (your visitation team) is going to be up here with me, and tonight, we’re going to stay as long as it takes afterwards and pray with anybody who wants to pray.
But right now, just come up here and join me. Whatever it is, this is your moment to discuss it with God.
Step off the platform and wait for people to come. Be sure to welcome each person. If you can think of other struggles people might have, or other situations people might respond to, include those. Let God lead you on this call. The important thing to remember: make the appeal as broad as possible. You don’t want the appeal to be so specific that few people respond; this is helping your audience become accustomed to responding to Jesus.
Have people sing - or have the singer continue - as people come.
As you close with prayer, make sure you include all the groups you called forward.
PRAYER
PRAYER
Dismiss the audience - stay at the front with your prayer team.
“Good night, folks: we’ll see you tomorrow night. If you’d like to stay for a moment longer and have somebody pray for you, we’ll stay here as long as it takes. Prayer team, raise your hands so people can see you!”
Greet each person and ask them how you can pray for them. This is a huge opportunity to get to know people. Stay until it’s over.