Dry Eyes, Sermon Aug 30

You can listen to this message on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q5030h8oXog 

As we continue our sermon series in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, here are the first verses of chapter one:

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. Revelation 1:4-7

We are on the precipice of the Lord’s second coming. The rapid pace at which social, religious, and political events are occurring – not just in America, but across the globe – prophecy is being fulfilled at such a rapid pace I cannot wrap my mind around it.

A week or two ago I told you why I am convinced most people alive today will see the Lord’s return. But to not repeat what I said a few weeks ago, let me simply say the two primary reasons I am convinced we are on the cusp of the Lord’s return are these:

First, Israel is back in their land after 2000 years – back in the Land where they have to be for many of the end-time prophecies to be fulfilled – prophecies spoken by prophets such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, and  by the New Testament writers such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul.

And second, like no other time in the history of earth, technology now enables governments to microchip their citizens and not only track their movements, but to control any and every any kind of economic transactions that the government chooses to control. That includes groceries, medical care, social security payments, pensions and so forth.

Revelation chapter 13 speaks specifically to that prophecy, and it is very important for us to know of that prophecy. John tells us that the Antichrist – the smooth-talking future dictator of the Western world – will not only perform miracles, he also “causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark . . . Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

When the disciples asked Him what will be the sign of His return He spoke of several. Here is a synopsis of what He said in the various gospels: There will be wars and earthquakes and plagues and famines across the globe. Christians will experience terrible persecutions at the hands of governments, strangers, neighbors, friends, and even by family. Then the one the Bible calls the Antichrist will take his seat in the Temple in Jerusalem. But that begs the question – what temple? There is no temple in Jerusalem today. 

Well, mark it down – the Israel WILL rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in our lifetime. After that, there will be such worldwide tribulation, misery, and terror that “Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. . . . . Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 13)

Listen now to Jesus’ final words of warning at the end of Mark 13, beginning in verse 33: “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.   Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”

In five verses He repeats Himself – Be on the alert! Do you think the Lord was trying to make a point in those few verses?

Christian, listen. Now is not a time to be kicking back and watching television without considering the shortness of the time. Are you – are WE – being diligent in our walk of holiness, being careful to avoid gossip and anger and feuds and strife and jealousies? Do you have family yet unsaved? Or friends who do not yet love the Lord? Are you praying for them every day? Do you ask the Holy Spirit for opportunities to talk to them about eternity and God’s offer to forgive ALL of their sins?

John then turns to see who was speaking with him, and he gives us a description of the Being he saw. John writes: “His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.  His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”

THIS is the Jesus you and I will see when He returns – not a meek lamb, but a fiery Judge. Jesus showed us only a glimpse His judgment when He turned over the tables of the money changers and chased them from the Temple with a whip. We heard only a whisper of His wrath when He told the religious leaders they were hypocrites and sons of hell.

And what is His purpose for judgment?  Is it to ‘get even’?  Is it to kill and destroy for the sake of killing and destroying?  Of course not. God is love, and love does not seek to kill and destroy. Love seeks ONLY reconciliation.

When God metes our justice and judgment it is for the purpose of bringing wayward sinners to REPENTENCE and reconciliation with Himself. The purpose of God’s judgment is to shake us awake, to open our eyes to our eternal destiny if we do not give ourselves over to the One who loves us so much He sent His Son to die a sacrificial death for you and for me, to pay the penalty of death and destruction which we deserve because of our sins.

When He judges sin on that great day of Judgment, He will not be swayed by what church we attended or how often we received Holy Communion, or how many years we sang in the choir or taught Sunday school classes to children.

What He will want to see from us is how OBEDIENT we were to His commandments and how faithful we were to live humbly before Him and others. He will look into the books that will record our lives and see how often we confessed our sins and then turned from those sins.  For good reason, the writer to the Hebrews tells us our God is a consuming fire.

And so, what does King Jesus say to each of the seven churches? Let’s turn first to the church at Ephesus:

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false . . . .”

Christian, take courage. God knows your works and your labor and your perseverance for Him. He knows your history – before you came to faith, and your history after you committed yourself to Him, down to this very moment as you listen to His word preached.

But now also please hear this: In His great love for the Christians at Ephesus, Jesus speaks words all of us will do well to heed and apply to ourselves: He commends them for putting to the test false teachers.

One of Satan’s strategies has ALWAYS been to introduce false teachers into the Church. Paul spoke of those false teachers in his second letter to the church at Corinth. Peter and John, in their epistles, also warned of false teachers.

And I am taking this moment to also warn you that there are still many false teachers in pulpits and church classrooms, and on radio and television today. We MUST be cautious. We MUST do as we find in Acts 17 when the Bereans ‘studied the Scriptures daily” to verify even what the apostle Paul was preaching.  AND I URGE YOU: Verify with the Scriptures what I preach and teach each week. And challenge me if you think I am teaching something false.

So, Jesus commends them for ferreting out false teachers. But the Lord also had a warning for them – because He loved them:

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 

Why do we give our time, talent, and treasure to the Lord’s work? Why do we read our bibles or pray? Has our devotion to Christ become simply a force of habit, or is there something deeper that motivates us?

Some of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day got so caught up in following the RULES of their worship of God that they lost the REASON for their worship of God.

And do you think that can’t happen to us, to forget the REASON why we do what we do?  Of course, it can. And thus, the reason for the Lord’s rebuke of His children there in Ephesus. Jesus called them to come back to their first love, to remember when they used to love Him, when they longed to please Him.

He called them to remember how close they were to Him in prayer, in meditating on His words, in sharing their faith with friends and family and acquaintances. He wants them – and us – to remember the concern we had for souls – souls drifting toward eternal darkness and agony and emptiness and loneliness, souls of our families, of our friends, of our neighbors?” Oh, that we might all remember those times when we had such sweet fellowship together with Him, not out of a sense of duty, but out of our deep devotion to Him.

Can we hear Him? Jesus says to the church at Ephesus and wherever it is you and I are, “Come back to your love for Me. Let that love for Me be the motivation for the good things you do and say and think.”

As I bring this message to a close, I want to share with you the lyrics of a song written several decades ago by Keith Green, a passionate Christian songwriter and pianist. He died at the age of 29 in a tragic plane accident. My Eyes are Dry expresses my heart’s cry, and I hope your heart’s cry as well, when we sense our devotion to Christ growing cold.

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how
I ought to be
Alive to You
And dead to me

[Chorus]
Oh, what can be done
For an old heart like mine?
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
In the wine of Your blood

And all God’s people said, “Amen.”