Preaching the Gospel from Revelation

The story of the Bible the beginning to the end is about Jesus, about his work of redemption. Revelation chapter 7, records a climactic scene where a vast multitude of people are worshiping before God's throne? Each one of us is will our face be in that crowd today untruthful life.

Alastair beg explains why this should motivate us to share the gospel were going to end. By thinking of paintings known. Don't misunderstand me as if I know a great deal about painting I don't that's all.

But it doesn't stop me from thinking that one day I might and so one must live with hope. But if you think of this as a great painting. I when painters paint I've seen this from going to galleries before they have the final picture that are often other little mini paintings all are.

There are actually thumbnail sketches, sometimes the work is done in pencil, and there are pencil drawings before you have the final piece. What I want to do is suggest to you a couple of the pencil drawings that precede the completion of this big picture. I hope you can follow my line of thought first first little thumbnail sketch is God's call and covenant with Abraham. Okay so we have to go back into Genesis were now going to go there.

The call of God to Abraham and to create a people that are his very own, and that covenant picture both in the old and in the New Testament is as you know God's free decision to call out of all the peoples of the world, a people to be his own special possession, as he becomes their Redeemer. More than that, but it doesn't mean less than God has pledged himself from all of eternity. What the father is plan. The sun is procured, the spirit applies in the great work of redemption to put together a people that are his very own, and it is the utterly undeserved privilege of all who have come to trust in Christ to find himself included in that big company and when you read in the drama of the Bible. If you read it. With that thought in view, then the little individual bits and pieces suddenly take on far greater and far more comprehensive significant.

So for example Ruth the middle of the tests. What about the way in which God chooses to use the triple bereavement in the life of Naomi to forward his purposes in these things, what is happening. The covenant promise of God that I am going to have a people that are that is vast in its complexity that extends to the ends of their lookup in the sky look down in the sand. He says, and as you read through what is happening. God is keeping his purpose.

He is fulfilling his promise. He is employing his sermons.

He is enlarging his people and he still doing. That's one little sketch the others thumbnail sketch that I put on my notes was the calling of the disciples, the calling of the disciples. I did this arbitrarily, but I did it purposefully because in Mark chapter 1 in verse 15, although the NIV says that Jesus then stands on the snake after John the Baptist and he says the time has come and find you, doesn't say that time is coming, says the time is fulfilled, the fulfillment of time that is a better translation. Why because Jesus is the clearing of the whole process. The whole promise of redemptive revelation in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in him.

The time has come. The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is near repentance and believe the gospel.

And that explains why and encounters with people. Everything is moved dramatically forward, remember the lady in the well in John chapter 4. She says when the Messiah comes. He will explain all of this. He says excuse me, I who speak to you am he. The time is fulfilled, or in the synagogue in Nazareth when they were used to having the various speakers are the equivalent of the Mullins lectures a girl coming and going out the same old stuff all the time.

Eventually they realize that this is the boy from the carpenter shop is given is given a talk now is doing the reading and is going to get the talk. They read from the passage of Scripture and then he sat down in the end is recorded for is that all the eyes in the synagogue fastened on him they could never have imagined what he was going to say his opening sentence was a killer.

Today the Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing or third thumbnail sketch the beginning of acts acts chapter 1.

Here's the other thumbnail sketch post resurrection okay. Jesus say the disciples we get it now. Let's go. We thought the whole thing was over were delighted to know that it isn't starting to figure out your death was part of the plan okay well are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Now Jesus nationalistic flavor of the request is understandable but it's wrong and Jesus has to recalibrate their thinking in terms of the giving of the spirit and the proclamation of the gospel, fellas. This is not about a temple in Jerusalem. This is not about the nationalistic focus that you have a relationship to the Jewish people. This is about the spirit of God being poured out upon you and don't go to the cottons and when he sends you then you go exactly where you're told and you're going to discover that there were, there are countless people who will be ushered in to the kingdom you will be my witnesses.

After the power of the Holy Spirit is come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the articles where he puts it like this instead of the expected glorious reign of Christ in the new Jerusalem. We learned that the scepter of the risen Christ is the preached word that will be the focus of the worldwide missionary endeavor of the church and that drama then unfolds. For example, Peter then preaches in Jerusalem and he says there is no other name under heaven by which men may be saved. He then has to go through the experience that is now crystallized in the house of Cornelius and he suddenly gets in any says I now realize that God does not show favoritism. In other words, there is no special nation status. Britain and his history suffered dramatically as a result of certain segments of the evangelical church conceiving of something which was essentially called British is realism. They read all of the promises in relationship to the fulfillment of the kingdom of God directly in nationalistic term. There were so jingoistic as to think that somehow or another, God was uniquely committed to Britain and to its empire and ask you whether British Empire is today would be wrong for me to suggest that America tracks right behind Britain that are large wages of contemporary evangelicalism that are so nationalistic in their approach to the gospel that you have missed this point entirely, or have chosen to ignore it. That God does not show favoritism you see in relationship to the Middle East in terms of Israel in terms of the Arab population. Most of the stuff that I said which we entirely understand does not give any credence or told to the existence of those who love Christ and suffer for Christ in the Arab communities of the Middle East.

Why is that is because of a view of the Bible is because of a way of reading this. Ideas have implications.

That's why you are sensible people, you must read your Bible and figure this out. The gospel shatters every man-made barrier of race. Every man-made barrier race we have we have a story to tell to the nations that will turn their hearts to the right story of truth and gladness story of love and light for the darkness will turn the dawning of the Darlington and a bright and God's great kingdom shall come on their the kingdom of love and light will come back down to the picture with Nick back into the room we did. There's little drawings. Let's come back and look at this great multitude that no one could count all says somebody what you mean no one can count. There are some numbers there in the chapter. I see that you're just trying to skip them. You started in verse nine because you assume you're afraid of the hundred and 44,000.

How clever of you back. So now we've got Mrs. Jenkins in the Bible study was a tell is whether hundred and 44,000 is a good time to send it out to make coffee me just say this when you come to these things. It's it's important for us to remind ourselves that what John is doing in writing, revelation is not ministering to armchair theorists in the 21st century he is writing to the bachelors in the first century who are struggling to reconcile the fact of a risen Lord with the persecution and the frustration and the feebleness of their life's everyday they live their lives. They are harried and pressed upon from every corner there trying to say.

What if we serve a risen Christ. Why is the world the way it is. It is the triumphant Lord of is the ascended king. What in the world is this mess. Look at my children, my grandchildren, when I supposed to do.

That's what that's why he's writing. Revelation in not writing it. So the people in the 21st century can get PhD's. By explaining some intricate and marvelous interpretation. Some of the interpretations are there ingenuity is only is only matched by their improbability, and a more ingenious you are, the more improbable you probably are as well. What John when he writes in the ghetto. The chapter 1 is not writing from never never land use writing from ever overland, so beware these things beware these things. So what you want to do with hundred 44,000. What is it was in this company. Well, allow display knife. I lay my colors out before you into issue should me as I leave, I think we're on the right track when we see the number of 144,000 and the multitudinous one in the same as one in the say. From one perspective, from God's perspective it's a perfect number. The square of 12 by the cube of 10, that's what John her. That's number a definite total known only to God, for God knows them that are his two Timothy two. That's what John Howard, what did John see what he saw. If you like from a human perspective was a numberless multichip from God's perspective, this crowd is all Israel, the real Israel in Christ, if you belong to Christ and you are Abram scenes and the heirs according to the promise, the real Israel in Christ, converted Jews and Gentiles. God sees that from our perspective, it just looks like a vast crowd gathered together from everywhere. Again your sensible read your Bible, but know this, that in this crowd there will be no empty seats in this crowd there will there will be no no-shows in this crowd there will be no returns on the door. No one will be showing up and say I don't need this ticket you will mail them along 1/2 an hour before the performance and pick up a see that somebody is decided not to fulfill that is never a moment to suggest the kingdom is going to be sparsely populated because it is a multitude that no one could count, and are not put together simply arbitrarily or will or willy-nilly the individuals who are here in this company. According to verse 14 are those who are cleansed and close cleansed and closed the winter minutes and Mrs. Jenkins. What about the great tribulation message. And as I said make the coffee. These are clans, these are the individuals who are cleansed and clothed those who by faith receive the gift of righteousness in Christ to clothe them before the searching gaze of a holy God clothed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.

That's who's there, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

You get Ivan Zinzendorf's him to get that and watch you get that in Newton you get in town and get the boy in Scotland. I grew up with lots of hymns, many of them are just very non-my consciousness. I never get to sing them icing them in the car by myself. One came to mind this morning begins like this with harps and with violence there stands a great throng in the presence of Jesus to sing this new song unto him who has loved us and washed us from sin unto him be the glory forever. Amen. The second verse. I always loved goes like this. All these ones were sinners defilement in his sight. Now arrayed in pure garments in praise.

They unite on to him who loved us and washed us from sin unto him be the glory forever on that note, we are to finish with a little exercise in imagination. I want you to imagine that the picture is up behind me here that no one could actually imagine account and I want to ask if you can see some faces. I think if you look up to your left on my right to see the face of the lady who was looking for love in all the wrong places. She met Jesus. He asked her for a drink of water in her life was never going to be the same again.

As a result of that you see her face up if you look over on the far side. You see, the funny little guy climbed up a tree in the hope that he might've seen Jesus, just a chance to get a look at them, little realizing that Jesus would start right underneath the street look up and call him by his name and tell them you want to come to his house for a cup of tea and Zacchaeus's life would never be the same again. You see see his face up there if you look carefully right in the middle you see a big black man who was reading his Bible on the way home from a conference in Jerusalem into an a clue what he was reading about it until little Jewish guy came up and ran along beside him and said you understand what you're reading about means that I will ever understand what I'm reading about my somebody explains it to me and Philip says well I guess that's why the spirit of God told me to run along the recited chariot seem like a crazy idea to start with. When I was beginning to make sense, and he hops into the cherry with him and he leads them to faith in Jesus Christ. You see is you see his face up there. You'll also see the face of the thief who got it right just the last minute the wanderer turned his friend and said don't you fear God, we are appear get and what our sins this he hasn't done anything wrong. Lord we remember me when you come into your kingdom. I say well what would you do with this. If you are preaching to a variegated congregation searching your own church.

While I think this is how I would finish I would say do you see your face up there because it's very interesting. Think John may have seen you because he saw this this was a vision of the completed picture summarizing basis, you may meet John in eternity because you know what you and I get weekly on M.Div. and edit because I so I I'm sure I saw you that when I had that when I had that vision of the huge big picture. I look familiar to me. When I asked my congregation using fixed and I said why would my face ever be there and then I tell them that in Scotland when it was like Tuesday was miserable winning all the time. I would take my pocket money sometimes and I would actually go and buy a book that had what was extensively blank sheets of paper in it.

I'm sure they must've come from America.

It was an ingenious idea.

You of all the good ideas and they were essentially blank sheets of paper and and what you did was you. You got a little jug of water and you got a paintbrush and then you put water on what was essentially a blank sheet and it wasn't a blank see faces started to appear all that. How do I do that.

Did I make them come there now. Apparently they were there, but they wouldn't of been seen if I hadn't put the water on them with the and you also were included in Christ, says Paul to the Ephesians when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When somebody is aware to the paintbrush dictated in the glorious news of the gospel and painted over what looked to be a blank can's suddenly another face appeared in the multitude that no one could count, and then I would say this, this, I say to you is that if that is the case, and if we are in Christ and if we do understand something of this in terms of the great call of the evangel and of gospel and of mission that I might tell them about two of my favorite people. In conclusion one would be Charles Haddon Spurgeon and I would tell them that on Spurgeon's tombstone in upper Norwood in suburban London.

You can find the verse from the head air since by faith I saw the stream by flowing wounds, supply redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die then I would tell them very little, who won the gold for Britain in the 1924 Olympics memorialized in chariots of fire is not only seen by grandparents and old people that did get the movie out and watch it is worth getting but forget the movie after he had finally been a hero in Scotland and left for China. When he left for China from the Waverley station in Edinburgh a great company gathered not simply of his Christian friends with people in the community because he was really the Michael Jordan of his day.

He was as famous as that is an athlete in the great assembled crowd was there watching as this fellow who had the world at his feet was about to go and lose himself in China and he got on the train and he let down the window in the train, the address the crowd and he thanked him for coming. Then he crossed and all of a sudden he shouted Christ for the world for the world needs Christ and then he led them in the saying of the him Jesus shall reign where'er the sun dog's successive journeys run in his kingdom stretch from shore to shore to moon show wax and wane no more. When you're tempted to be buried under the weight of a secular world when we are tempted to be discouraged by our apparent and sometimes realistic, inarticulate, and effectiveness going get this picture out and look at it and remind yourself that God is still on the throne that he will remember his all the trials may press us and burdens to stressors. He never will leave us alone. God still on the throne and he will remember his own.

His promise is true, he will not forget you got still listening to Alastair back with the final message in a series called preaching the gospel Truth for Life. Our study today is a compelling reminder that the world needs Jesus like teaching the Bible is the heart of all we do.

We know that when God's word is caught. Unbelievers will come to know and to love and to trust Jesus to save them from their sin and to give them eternal life. That's why it's our prayer that many of the faces standing before the throne will be there because God's word did God's work through the ministry of Truth for Life. When you donate, that's the mission you're supporting your gifts help bring the gospel message to listeners all around the globe through Truth for Life.

If you give today we want to invite you to request a copy of Alistair's book titled prey. Learn to pray like an apostle. This book explores Paul's prayers for the Ephesian church will encourage you to pray like Paul who prayed with confidence with boldness, quester copy of the book prayed big when you give today simply The image on the app or visit the website Truth for Life.org/donate about the pain you may have experienced turbulence on an airplane flight stomach turns in your mind starts to question the ability of the pilot life's ups and downs can bring a similar response is there really anybody in control of what's happening. Mr. explores that tomorrow Bible teaching of Alastair beg is furnished by Truth for Life. Learning is for Living