God Hears, Protects, and Commissions His People

That doesn't mean we won't die. We already know that Christians die. We we we know that from chapter six when the martyrs died, and they were told that more are gonna die. So when I say God's protecting his people, I'm not saying, oh, well then you you're never gonna get hurt or you're never gonna die. No. That we were very clear in the text that's gonna happen. But what I am saying is what the more importantly, the scriptures are saying is that they are never objects of God's wrath, and they will not ultimately be destroyed because of that slain lamb. He took the wrath. [00:58:25] (34 seconds)  #SealedFromWrath

They're killed and raised. We see a pattern of the church. Suffering, apparent defeat, but then vindication, just like our savior. Our savior was the same thing. Right? Our savior was suffering, apparent defeat, vindication. And so this is the church is representing Christ to our our world here. So our privilege and our responsibility is proclaim the truth, expect opposition, and trust in God's ultimate vindication. [01:18:08] (30 seconds)  #SufferingToVindication

I can't wait. I cannot wait. It's our our mission culminates in worship. The end is not chaos. Matter how chaotic it seems right now, this isn't the end. The end is a coronation of our king. Worship is not or excuse me, worship is the final word. And so I just have to say this, the the reality of future worship has to shape our present priorities. If we're gonna worship Jesus forever, start now. Start now. He our priorities need to be all around Jesus and Jesus alone here. So we don't know everything, but we know enough to speak up. [01:20:26] (35 seconds)  #WorshipStartsNow

Now why would they need that reminder? Well, they would need that reminder because the the temptation is to believe that maybe the prayers aren't being heard. Have you been there? Have you been in a situation where you've been praying for something and you start to wonder, does god hear my prayer? I think most of us have been there at some point. And so as we're going through this book, this constant reminder, yes, it's bad. Yes, this world's bad. It's gonna get worse. Jesus wins. [00:45:03] (33 seconds)  #PrayersAreHeard

So don't stop praying when things get worse. When when things get worse, that's not the time to stop praying, but that's the time we're most tempted to stop praying. Don't stop praying. Now some people, they'll say and I've had this question to me over the years. They'll say, well, I don't really know how to pray. I I I really don't know how to pray. And let me just encourage you. You know, there's, I remember defining this in a sermon series before of that basically prayer is having a conversation with a loving father. [00:50:32] (28 seconds)  #TwoWitnessesOneChurch

The outer the temple is measured, the outer court is not showing that while the church is spiritually secure, it's gonna face real opposition in the world. And then the question is why are there two? Why are there two witnesses? Well, because we're told that in earlier, Jesus taught in in Matthew 18 is by the witness of two or three, everything is established. So one witness wasn't enough. It had to have two witnesses. So that's why he puts two witnesses here and saying the church is represented by two witnesses who are being witnesses for Christ because that's our job. [01:16:25] (34 seconds)  #EatTheScrollSpeakTheTruth

So what's happening is that there's a message that we're supposed to share, and it's both sweet and bitter. That's it. The scroll is both sweet and bitter. I can already tell I'm gonna be get tongue tied to this and call this wheat and switter. So just pretend I'm saying it correctly. Alright. So John eats the scroll. The scene comes from Ezekiel two and three, really. That's where Ezekiel, the prophet, is told to eat a scroll before speaking for God. [01:11:21] (34 seconds)  #FaithfulNotResultsDriven

The most powerful proclamation of the word of God comes from people whose lives are shaped by it. The results are up to God. He is concerned about our faithfulness, not in the results. Why? Because the results are God's responsibility. Faithfulness is our responsibility. And I've given this illustration before. I know I have, but I'll just say it really quickly here as I as in this is my conclusion. In my notes, it says conclusion, just so you know. Alright. There is a difference between watching a game live and watching a game when you already know the outcome. [01:22:00] (31 seconds)  #DisciplineNotWrath