PONDERING... Do you want Jesus?

Do You Want Jesus?

GIST: If you don’t want the real Jesus, you won’t want Him to return.

SCRIPTURE: Revelation 11:14-19

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

   who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

   and begun to reign.

18 The nations raged,

   but your wrath came,

   and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

   and those who fear your name,

   both small and great,

and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

This week we’ve come to another end. Like the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet marks the return of Christ from another angle and with another set of emphases. I guess what hit me most as I was studying was that what makes this most exciting is the same thing that makes it most terrifying. There are so many mixed pictures of Jesus. However, any picture that separates Him from His love of His people and hatred of sin (you have to have both), is far off. And any picture that makes Jesus a nice supplement to the lives we’re living--our prosperity, our desires--is completely wrong. This passage should be exciting, but if you don’t want the real Jesus, you won’t want Him to return.

Let’s just take a few points here.

1. HE ALONE WILL REIGN

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”...17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign….18 The nations raged, but your wrath came...

There is some really incredible stuff here. First, I can’t read this line without hearing Handel’s Messiah in my head: “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And there is a lot packed in here. When Jesus returns, His kingdom which is already set up here on earth (His people spreading His gospel and living like Him) will be fully established. The prayer He taught us to pray will be answered in an ultimate sense (Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.) Life will be exactly as God intended--and He will reign forever and ever.

Did you notice the missing phrase in verse 7? Who is and who was… but no “who is to come”. When this happens, it’s done. There will be no more waiting. There will be no more delay (just as He promised in chapter 10). This is awesome, unless you don’t want Him to reign.

Verse 18 starts by pointing out that the nations raged, but His wrath came. In Revelation, “the nations” refers to the lost world. The word translated “raged” here can either mean “were provoked or provoked to anger”, so they are acting out of anger, and in context we see that anger is directed toward God’s kingdom. Why would they rage against His rule? Because they want to rule. I think we live in a society that so promotes this sin that we can’t help but recognize it. We’ve gone beyond valuing the individual, which is not sinful at all (check out verse 18b--all the saints, small and great, are included), to worshipping it, which is idolatry.

Turn on your TV for just a few minutes (it won’t take long), and you’re going to see this message: You are #1. You’re desires and dreams matter more than anything else. Don’t let anyone stop you from doing what you know in your heart you must do.  These, of course, sound great...except they’re not. Don’t misunderstand me; there are nuggets of truth here. Perseverance is good. God does put desires into our hearts that we should pursue no matter the cost. But, you’re not #1, and unless those dreams are part of God’s plan, they aren’t either. Not because you’re worthless, but because your worth is in Christ who died to save you, so your life is worth too much to be wasted on selfish desires.

I’ve said as much to people and been met with pretty angry responses. God told us this would happen. When met with the thought of having to give up control of your life, do you worship or rage?

2. BELIEVERS WILL WORSHIP ...AND HAVE EVERY REASON TO

16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 ...“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,  who is and who was,...18b and[the time has come] for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great...19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Believers worship because Jesus is. He comes rewarding His saints. What does this mean? It means we get Him. We’ll be with Him. Every promised reward in Revelation is a picture of Heaven. Go back and read Revelation 7, it is going to be amazing! It doesn’t matter how big or small your role might have appeared here on earth. If you have feared God, loved Him, reverenced Him, served Him--from the Billy Grahams to most overlooked of worshippers-- if you are living for Jesus, you partake equally in His presence.

And that is what this portion is about: God’s presence. Remember these trumpets are reminiscent of the wall of Jericho. Being carried around that wall was the ark of the covenant which represented God’s presence. This was meant to be handled with care. In fact, not treating the ark with the utmost respect was deadly. Yet, here it is in the temple. If you’ve been with us in this study, you know this means with us, among us. God’s presence is with His people completely.

3. THE LOST WILL NOT

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged,...19b and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”...

Remember those three woes symbolizing the complete extent to which the wicked will be judged? Last week’s passage ended by saying two had come and one was yet to come. It’s never explicitly identified...but final judgment is the next thing we see. God’s presence is beyond what we can imagine, but not everyone gets excited about this. Choosing to reject Him in life, they continue to do so in death. Sin and Satan, the destroyers, will be destroyed along with all those who pledge their allegiance to self (sin won’t allow itself to be called by that name).

Really, it all comes down to this--do you want God? Look at your heart. Because, here’s the deal, you need Him, but that knowledge stuck in some vaguely academic form will not save you, nor get you excited about this. Are you worshiping or raging?