Video to come.
Morning Message Texts: 1 John 3: 1-3 & Revelation 7: 9-17
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”
Morning Message:
As I was preparing this message for All Saints’ Day, I felt a rush of enthusiasm, an encouraging feeling that I needed in my soul. There is so much bad news in the world and in our country lately that I needed to be reminded that as Christians we have so much to look forward to. Let’s face it; this nation seems to be spinning out of control. There are threatening circumstances all around us. We have an election in two days and predictions are that some very scary people might get into office and tear our constitution and life as we know it apart. I pray that doesn’t happen, but if that is God’s will then all we can do is deal with the consequences and lean on our God, our hope, and the wonderful future he has planned for his children when this life is over.
My devotions this week took me back to that wonderful verse in Romans 8: 28. Do you know it? Have you memorized it? We all should because it will help us through the tough times that lie ahead. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.” That always makes me feel better. Even though I have no control over what happens in our country, outside of praying for God’s will, I can cling to the fact that even socialism and communism can’t take away the good that God has planned for his people.
It is often said that with time comes perspective. Things that happened in our past which seemed confusing often become clearer as time passes. With the benefit of hindsight, we even find ourselves grateful for things that happened that we didn’t appreciate or understand at the time. I have told you many times about the things in my life that seemed to go wrong, or at least, not the way that I wanted; that I am thankful today because God had other plans for my life. I could talk all day about the places in my life where God made me go in His direction, I’m sure that all of you have some of the same experiences. We make wrong choices and God corrects them. We have to remember that as a nation, this nation has not always chosen the right path, but God has always corrected our missteps. If you want an example of that just look back to the Civil War. This nation hadchosen slavery and it took a terrible civil war to correct what was wrong in the eyes of God.
If we read our Bibles, we see a wonderful example of how God takes our mistakes and uses them for the good of all. Joseph, when his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt where he endured hardships for several years. But eventually he became the second-most powerful man in Egypt and was able to save his family in Canaan from starvation during a famine. Joseph’s perspective on what had happened to him was amazing. He told his brothers after they were reunited, “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God.” His words are a perfect illustration of Romans 8:28 which says that all things work together for good to those who love God. Gratitude for the past means being able to say that God has been directing my life and will cause all things to work out for His glory and my good.
What encourages me today is that God has made those who accept and believe in Jesus His children. The world doesn’t see that; it doesn’t know who we are because it doesn’t know who Jesus is. Do you like surprises? I mean good surprises. God has an exciting surprise waiting for us. We think we know who we are and what we look like, but we have a surprise coming because we have no idea how wonderful God will make us when Christ comes back and claims us. We have only read about the glorified body of our Savior, but when He comes back, we will be amazed at His appearance, and when we look at ourselves, we will shine with the glory of Him.
Let me share with you my heart and my desires for this world and this nation. I will fight as hard as I can for as long as God gives me life and breath; for my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to have the same opportunities that I have enjoyed living in this wonderful country. I believe that this country and our way of life is worth fighting for. I am not talking about violence; I am talking about standing up for Godly principles and the democratic republic that I believe was created with the wisdom of God as a blessing for mankind. Is it perfect? Nothing is perfect, but it is far superior to every other form of government that has been attempted. I will never stop praying for this country that has been so good and such a blessing to my life. So please, don’t waste your time trying to convince me that there is something better on this earth.
I don’t know what God’s will is. As I read this scripture in Revelation, I must consider the possibility that maybe in order for God’s will to be fulfilled, this once-great nation must fall. Maybe what we are witnessing (This overwhelming push to destroy what we have and change it into something awful.) is God’s will, and something which must take place before our Lord returns. We are living in a time the likes of which has never before been seen. A time where common sense seems to be ignored in favor of the wants of the flesh. A very selfish time when the cry is constant: What about me? I pray that I am wrong about this, but my knowledge of what God’s Word says is telling me that we may be nearing the endtime.
With all of that said, from an earthly point of view we could be depressed, but instead I think we should celebrate. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior go to every friend and family member, every person on this earth that you don’t want to see left behind and bring them to Jesus. We are getting ready for the biggest celebration ever experienced on earth or in heaven. We are ready to celebrate our destiny as followers of Jesus. We are God’s children and He is about to throw the biggest birthday party of all time for us. Today is All Saints’ Day; it is our day, and we will celebrate it with all of our loved ones who have passed before us. There is going to be a massive parade; all the saints are going to come marching in. There will be singing and shouts of joy, Amen’s will fill the air. We will be marching to Zion, into new Jerusalem, holding up banners, waving Christian flags in one hand and palm branches in the other. We will all be wearing white robes because we have been made pure through the blood of Jesus our Lord and Savior. This is our destiny no matter what happens on Tuesday, or, maybe more quickly, because of what happens on Tuesday. Are you ready to march? Are you ready for eternity? Let’s celebrate our destiny.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
Views: 1
