{"id":18994,"date":"2019-07-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-14T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-045-the-blessing-of-death\/"},"modified":"2019-07-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-14T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-045-the-blessing-of-death","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-045-the-blessing-of-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 045 -The Blessing of Death"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18994","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 045 -The Blessing of Death","sermon_date":"20190714","sermon_month":"7","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":6884,"sermon_slides":6885,"sermon_mp3":6889,"sermon_id":"714191332406103","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"14:12-13","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Blessing of Death\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7-14-19\n\nRevelation 14:12-13-11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 45\n\nLet\u2019s, if we could, take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 14 and \u00a0verse 12.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is a title that might startle you at first but I find it to be biblical.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is The Blessing of Death.\u00a0 We certainly are going to read about that today in our chapter.\n\nWe continue to move through the Book of Revelation, I always like to remind you where we are in the chronology of the book; the seventh trumpet has been sounded with the announcement of a legal transfer. \u00a0\u201cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 11:15]\u00a0 \u00a0And I can\u2019t tell you how much I am looking forward to that.\u00a0 With the jurisdiction of God through His kingdom on the earth reasserts itself and everything that was lost in Eden is restored.\u00a0\u00a0 But in the meantime Satan is not going to take that lying down and so we have chapters 12-14 in the Book of Revelation which is a description of the Satanic countermove.\u00a0 God has made a move, the kingdom of His Son is coming to the earth but Satan has enjoyed running the world over these many millennia and he\u2019s not about to give up without a fight at least.\n\nSo chapters 12-14 is really a description of Satan\u2019s fight against God.\u00a0 Revelation 12 is his attempt to destroy the instrument through which the kingdom will come, the nation of Israel.\u00a0 Chapter 13 is a description of the two people that he will use in his last stand, the two beasts, the antichrist and the false prophet.\u00a0 And by the time you get out of chapter 13 or reach the end of chapter 13 it looks somewhat depressing.\u00a0 It kind of looks like Satan is winning and that\u2019s why chapter 14 is so important because it tells us that Satan is not winning; his days are numbered as is evidenced by or illustrated by six scenes of hope.\n\nThese scenes are sort of what we would call in language proleptic, in other words they\u2019re spoken of as if they\u2019re present realities even though they haven\u2019t occurred yet.\u00a0 You know, there are some things in God that are so certain, it\u2019s so certain that they\u2019re going to happen that God can speak of them in a present tense.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we mean by proleptic.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what you have here in chapter 14.\u00a0 The first scene is the 144,000 Jews, God\u2019s chosen instrument during this time period are going to be protected by God.\u00a0 The second scene is God is not at a loss in terms of how to get the gospel out to people because even an angel, verses 6 and 7, is going to fly to and fro during this time period giving people the eternal gospel.\u00a0 Verse 8 is about the destruction of Babylon; Babylon represents the height of the antichrist\u2019s empire.\u00a0 A lot more on that in chapters 17 and 18.\u00a0 But even Babylon in her zenith, even evil at its height is destined to be toppled by God.\n\nThe fourth scene of hope is what we kind of started a little bit last time; it\u2019s the doom of the beast worshippers. You kind of get the impression as you look at the unsaved that they\u2019re really getting away with something.\u00a0 They always seem to be prospering, they always seem to be getting ahead and we are reminded, verses 9-12 that they\u2019re not getting ahead at all.\u00a0 [Revelation 14:9-12, \u201cThen another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, \u201cIf anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, [10] he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. [11] \u201cAnd the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.\u201d [12] Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.\u201d]\u00a0 \u00a0In fact those who buy into the beast\u2019s system are actually on a route to eternal damnation.\n\nAnd looking a little bit more carefully at this fourth scene we saw last week, number one, a plea.\u00a0 The plea is this: do not take the mark of the beast because once a person takes the mark of the beast they are consigning themselves to an eternal hell.\u00a0 And then the plea is followed by the punishment, verses 10 and 11.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the most graphic descriptions you have in the whole Bible about the reality of an eternal hell.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t believe in an eternal hell then there\u2019s really no urgency in getting the gospel out to people.\u00a0 And so we have a description of that punishment in verses 10 & 11.\n\nAnd then you move into verse 12 where we pick it up today, is the perseverance that those who have not bought into the beast\u2019s system and are seeking to live for God; this is a plea or an exhortation for the perseverance they will need as they go through this very difficult time period.\u00a0 And notice, if you will, verse 4, Revelation 14:4, notice what it says: \u201cHere is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 These people are going to need a great deal of perseverance.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because they don\u2019t want to go to hell and because they don\u2019t want to go to hell they are saying no to the beast\u2019s system.\u00a0 You might recall the beast\u2019s system; it was described at the end of Revelation 13.\u00a0 Do you remember what it says, verses 16 and 17?\n\n\u201cAnd he\u201d that\u2019s the beast, \u201ccauses 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, [17] and he provides<\/em> that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either<\/em> the name of the beast or the number of his name.\u201d\u00a0 If\u00a0 you want to participate in the world economy during this time period you need to take the mark of the beast.\u00a0 If you take the mark of the beast you\u2019re damning yourself.\u00a0 Well, what about those who do not want to take the mark of the beast?\u00a0 What about those who want to live for God?\u00a0 They\u2019re shut out!\u00a0 Shut out of the economy, shut out of an ability to provide for themselves and their families.\u00a0 And you can see how making a choice of this magnitude is going to require a special word or a special exhortation of patience and encouragement for them. \u00a0And that word of exhortation and encouragement and patience is right there in verse 12; that\u2019s why it\u2019s there.\u00a0 Revelation 14:12, \u00a0\u201cHere is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.\u201d\n\nAnd although, as I\u2019ll explain in just a minute, we as the church are not going to be on the earth during this time period.\u00a0 I believe that we have to make similar types of choices today, do we not, as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting to me that the Bible gives you two choices: you can either be judged by God or you can be judged by the world system.\u00a0 If I decide to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ I will find myself judged, I will find myself out of sorts with the world system.\u00a0 But the opposite, of course is true, if I fall in love with the world system I find myself out of sorts with God.\u00a0 I\u2019m either going to be judged by the world or judged by God; I\u2019ve got to be judged by somebody.\u00a0 And we have to make this choice as disciples of Jesus Christ every single day of our lives.\u00a0 There is no middle ground here.\n\nThe Book of James, chapter 4 and verse 4 says, \u201cYou adulteresses, do you now know that friendship with the world is hostility towards God?\u00a0 Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.\u201d If you fall in love with the world you make yourself immediately an enemy of God, and\u00a0 yet the present course of this world until Satan is evicted is controlled by Satan himself.\u00a0 And if I make the opposite choice and I decide not to fall in love with the world but I decide to fall in love with Jesus Christ I find myself at odds with the world system.\u00a0 The opposite end of this ledger is given in John 15:18-19.\u00a0 Here is what Jesus said in the Upper Room.\u00a0 He said, \u201cIf the world hates you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world the would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world but I chose\u00a0 you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.\u201d\n\nWould you rather be judged by God or judged by the world?\u00a0 I guess at the end of the day the judgment of God is more severe and I\u2019d rather find myself judged by the world than by God Himself, and so I make a decision every single day of my life to follow the Lord Jesus Christ knowing that there\u2019s always a price to pay as we find ourselves at odds with the world.\n\nEven though this presentation that we just saw by our youth pastor, Gabe Morris, concerning this trip to the art exhibit there in Kentucky, you know you can imagine the derision such an activity would have in the eyes of the secularist.\u00a0 What, you believe in a Noah\u2019s ark?\u00a0 What kind of crazy person are you?\u00a0 You believe that this world was drowned in a global deluge?\u00a0 Don\u2019t you under\u00adstand science? Don\u2019t\u00a0 you understand modern sophisticated thought?\u00a0 Why are you taking us back to the dark ages.\u00a0 The ridicule of the world would have towards such an idea, and has towards such an idea.\u00a0 And yet it\u2019s a belief in that very foundation of the Bible that\u2019s so necessary to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And you can imagine God smiling on our\u00a0 youth group as they were making that tour, and yet the secularist scoffing at the whole thing.\n\nWhat would you rather have, the smiling of the secularist or the smiling of God?\u00a0 Even that trip itself involved a decision.\u00a0 This is the type of decision that we are all locked into every single day.\u00a0 And\u00a0 yet\u00a0 you can see how people living in the tribulation period itself with the mark of the beast system in place and fully up and running will have to pay the ultimate price as they decide to walk with God they\u2019re find themselves completely locked out of the world system.\u00a0 And so those who are walking in that difficult time are going to need a word of comfort and encouragement.\n\nThere\u2019s a parallel passage over in Matthew 24:13, I believe it\u2019s describing virtually the same thing.\u00a0 A parallel passage is a passage in another part of the Bible that speaks to the same issue.\u00a0 It\u2019s dealing with people who are alive and are disciples of Christ during the tribulation period itself, Jesus says, \u201cBut the one who endures to the end will be saved.\u201d\u00a0 End of what?\u00a0 The end of the tribulation period.\u00a0 Saved from what?\u00a0 Saved from the wrath of Satan and the antichrist, protected by Him, by Jesus Christ, protected from them I should say with the physical bodily return of Jesus Christ at the end of the seven year tribulation period.\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting how these passages go together exhorting people in the difficulty of walking with God when they\u2019re having to make that ultimate choice.\n\nYou know, we here in the United States we meet in an air conditioned building, we have the comfort of meeting openly under the banner of constitutional rights where the government forces can\u2019t come in and disrupt a service.\u00a0 And we praise the Lord for these freedoms and privileges and liberties that we have today in the\u00a0 United States of America.\u00a0 But I can guarantee you this much, our brothers and sisters all over the world know no similar luxury; they find themselves constantly having to make a decision, am I going to be judged by the world system or judged by God.\u00a0 Even obeying the simple command of evangelism or the simple command of \u201cdo not forsake the assembling of yourselves together\u201d is the type of obedience to a command that requires a very high price tag today around the world.\n\nAnd if things don\u2019t change here in North America we can expect that same level of persecution one day to come to our shores.\u00a0 People ask me all of the time, do you think the church will be persecuted.\u00a0 My answer is the church is persecuted, the church for the last 2,000 years has been persecuted.\u00a0 What you\u2019re really asking me is this bubble or this anomaly that\u2019s existed for the past 200 plus years, called the United States of America, going to continue because what we have today in the United States you have to understand worldwide and historically is an abnormality.\u00a0 It\u2019s an anomaly in history, it\u2019s a bubble, if you will, and what people really want to know is how long is that bubble going to last.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t have an answer.\n\nI personally think it\u2019s just a matter of time before what is happening around the world eventually catches up to what will happen here in the United States and it may come to a point where we have to start making decisions.\u00a0 I mean, how serious are we about this walk of discipleship with the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 We may have to start paying greater and greater prices and those in the tribulation period itself paying this ultimate price.\u00a0 You can\u2019t serve two masters, Jesus said.\u00a0 [\u201cMatthew 6:24, \u201cNo one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.\u201d]\u00a0 You\u2019ll either love the one and hate the other, or cling to the one and despise the other.\u00a0 You cannot serve both God and mammon, you can\u2019t walk a line forever that makes both camps happy. \u00a0It\u2019s an impossibility.\n\nI\u2019m either going to be judged by God or judged by the world.\u00a0 And here in this country we\u2019re just not used to thinking of it in those terms but around the world as people maybe are listening to my voice via social media they know exactly what we\u2019re talking about here from the Word of God because they\u2019re making the choice even to listen as we speak.\u00a0 And by the way, backing up just for a minute, this word of exhortation to those who are deciding to walk with God, you don\u2019t just find it here in this chapter, you don\u2019t just find it there in Matthew 24:13.\u00a0 [Matthew 24:13, \u201cBut the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ll find if, you\u2019ll recall, in Revelation 13:10, the same exhortation was given back there.\u00a0 Revelation 13:10, it says, \u201cIf anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.\u201d\u00a0 These people here, that we\u2019re talking about prophetically, are going to need an awful lot of encouragement and perseverance and the Lord recognizes them at least three times in the Scripture, according to my count.\u00a0 Once here in our passage, once in Revelation 13:10 and once again in Matthew 24:13.\u00a0 Folks, this type of teaching that I\u2019m doing here is not going to max out coliseums.\u00a0 This is not your best life now, this is not how Jesus can make you rich and wealthy and powerful or whatever it is they\u2019re promoting.\u00a0 This is the walk of discipleship that is expected of every disciple of Christ over the last 2000 years.\n\nBut there is some good news in the whole thing.\u00a0 If\u00a0 you look very carefully at verse 12, notice what it says?\u00a0 It says, \u201cHere is the perseverance of the\u201d what? the church\u2026 does it say that?\u00a0\u00a0 It says here is the perseverance of the saints.\u201d\u00a0 Now we have made reference to this many times, that the Book of Revelation has three parts to it.\u00a0 John is told to write down the things that he has seen; number two, the things that are, number three the things that will take place after these things. The things that he has seen is chapter 1, the vision of the glorified Christ at the end of the first century that he personally saw about A.D. 95 on the island of Patmos.\u00a0 Then he says \u201cthe things that are,\u201d that\u2019s chapters 2 and 3; we\u2019ve worked very carefully through that section, the seven letters to the seven churches.\u00a0 And then he says, \u201cafter these things,\u201d that\u2019s part three, that begins in chapter four and goes to the end of the book.\u00a0 That\u2019s the futuristic section of the book.\u00a0 It\u2019s very, VERY interesting to me that the word \u201cchurch\u201d ekklesia<\/em>, is used 19 times in chapters 1, 2 and 3 and suddenly you get to chapter 4 and the word \u201cchurch\u201d disappears.\u00a0 It starts referring to the earth dwellers that are believers as saints.\n\nI find that very, very interesting. I think I have an answer for it.\u00a0 The church, Revelation 4:1, pre-tribulational rapture, is removed from the earth before these events take place.\u00a0 [Revelation 4:1, \u201cAfter these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, \"Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.\u201d]\u00a0 I\u2019m not promising folks in this room an easy life but I am promising, I think, what God Himself has promised that we are not destined unto wrath.\u00a0 We are not appointed unto wrath as the church.\u00a0 In this time period God is pouring out His wrath.\n\nIn fact, if you go down to verse 19, which maybe we\u2019ll make it to today (maybe not) but you\u2019ll notice at the end of verse 19 it mentions the wrath of God.\u00a0 [Revelation 19:15, \u201c\u2026 He treads the winepress of the fury of the<\/strong> wrath of God<\/strong> Almighty.\u201d\u2019]\u00a0 Why does it say \u201cthe wrath of God? \u00a0\u00a0Because the \u201cwrath of God\u201d is being poured out during this time period.\u00a0 How could the church be present when the church has been promised an exemption from divine wrath, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, evidence of the pretribulational rapture.\u00a0 [1Thessalonianss 5:9, \u201cFor God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d]\n\nWhy does it keep saying church, church, church, church in chapters 1-3 and then it starts using the word saints and the word church never even appears again in that third section of the book.\u00a0 A very simple reason, the church has been removed.\u00a0 And people say well, pastor, it does say \u201csaints\u201d here.\u00a0 Aren\u2019t saints the church and isn\u2019t the church the saints?\u00a0 What\u00a0 you have to understand is the word \u201csaints\u201d is a nontechnical word.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 It\u2019s a word that\u2026 a technical word is a word that always means the same thing everywhere it\u2019s used.\u00a0 And so people look at the word \u201csaints\u201d and sometimes the church is called saints and so they think saints equal the church and church equals the saints.\u00a0 And yet that\u2019s not true.\n\nJesus, when He was on the earth, spoke of a future church; the church didn\u2019t even exist when Jesus made this statement.\u00a0 \u201cI say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build My church.\u201d\u00a0 What tense there is the verb \u201cI will build\u201d in?\u00a0 It\u2019s in the future tense, the church didn\u2019t exist yet when Jesus made that statement.\u00a0 The church wouldn\u2019t come into existence until Acts chapter 2.\u00a0 There is no church, there is no church in the gospels, except a [can't understand word] in terms of its coming.\u00a0 There is no church in the Old Testament and yet what are Old Testament folks routine called.\u00a0 They\u2019re called saints.\u00a0 Psalm 50:5, \u201cGather My saints together to Me.\u201d\u00a0 Psalm 149:1, \u201cAnd His praise in the assembly of the saints.\u201d\u00a0 So does saints always mean church?\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t always mean church because here are some examples where the word \u201csaints\u201d is used of the people of God before the church was ever in existence.\u00a0 And I think the word \u201csaints\u2019 is used here to describe, not the church, John is very good at using the word \u201cchurch\u201d which he does in chapters 1-3, but he stops using it at the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4 through the end of the book.\n\nHe throws at us the word \u201csaints\u201d which is a nontechnical word which could mean just the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ after the church is gone.\u00a0 That\u2019s how the word \u201csaints\u201d is used before the church was ever in existence.\u00a0 So the word \u201csaints\u201d in no way, shape or form proves that the church will be here on the earth during the tribulation period itself.\u00a0 I just take some time to explain these because there\u2019s a lot of confusion out there on this.\n\nAnother area of confusion is the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.\u00a0 What does it say here in verse 12?\u00a0 \u201cHere is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 14:12]\u00a0\u00a0 What is this \u201cperseverance of the saints\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s the doctrine of Calvinism. Calvinism is the idea that if\u00a0 you are really one of the elect then you will always, with very few exceptions, persevere or overcome in good works.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re not overcoming in good works then you were never one of the elect.\u00a0 That is a doctrine that has ensnared multiple minds within Christianity.\u00a0 And if you believe that you knowledge what you\u2019re always going to be wondering?\u00a0 Am I one of the elect or not?\u00a0 It\u2019s sort of like picking off petals on the rose, she loves me, she loves me not, today I overcame, I\u2019m saved, tomorrow I didn\u2019t overcome, I\u2019m not saved.\n\nAnd what is destroyed in the life of the child of God is something that God wants all of us to understand, the assurance of salvation.\u00a0 Not just the fact that you are eternally secure but you can actually know you\u2019re eternally secure.\u00a0 That\u2019s what is destroyed with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.\u00a0 And yet most Christians, by way of denominational affiliation are taught this doctrine over and over and over again.\u00a0 Calvinism says if you don\u2019t persevere in good works, whatever that means, they never tell you how fast, how much, how quick, then you were never saved to begin with. \u00a0\u00a0Arminianism comes along and says if you don\u2019t persevere in good works then God is going to rip the carpet out from under you and you\u2019re going to lose\u00a0 your salvation.\u00a0 Both doctrines have this effect on the mind of the child of God robbing them of their assurance.\n\nFolks, let me tell you something, your good works did not get you in the door to begin with.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 And your good works aren\u2019t going to keep you in the door.\u00a0 What\u2019s going to keep you in the door is not\u00a0 your good works but the good works that He did for you.\u00a0 [people say amen]\u00a0 And if you build your life on that promise you\u2019re going to have total assurance of salvation.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t tell you how many spiritual leaders and pastors will never teach this doctrine, the assurance of salvation, because they\u2019re afraid that if you teach this to people you\u2019re going to lose control of people and they\u2019re going to go out and live like the devil Monday through Saturday.\n\nLet me tell you something about the assurance of your salvation. Once you get settled on that what it will do for you is your mind and\u00a0 your heart will be overwhelmed with an attitude of gratitude and you will have\u00a0 natural desire to obey God and serve God and deposit your body unto God, Romans 12:1, as \u201ca living sacrifice.\u201d\u00a0 [Romans 12:1, \u201cTherefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.\u201d]\u00a0 \u00a0And you\u2019re doing it for the right reasons, not out of fear that you\u2019re not one of the elect or your salvation is going to be taken away but you do it because\u00a0 you can\u2019t believe what God has done for you.\n\nIsn\u2019t that the story of the Bible?\u00a0 I mean, is the story of the Bible what we do for God?\u00a0 That\u2019s not what the Bible is about at all; it\u2019s about what God has done for man.\u00a0 And once the human mind wraps itself around what has God done for us what\u2019s the reasonable thing to do?\u00a0 To go out and live like the devil?\u00a0 NO, you deposit your body to the Lord as a living sacrifice and\u00a0 you say \u201cnow my will be done but thy will be done.\u201d\u00a0 And it changes your whole motivation for service.\u00a0 But the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints reigns supreme in many corners of the church.\u00a0 John Murray said incorrectly, \u201cThe crucial test of true faith is endurance to the end, abiding in Christ, and continuance in the Word\u2026He cannot abandon himself to sin; he cannot come under the domination of sin;\u201d folks,\n\nif I can\u2019t come under the domination of sin as a Christian then why does the Bible tell me in Romans 12 to not be overcome by sin?\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0[Romans 12:21, \u201cDo not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t the command be a waste of time.\u00a0 \u201cHe cannot abandon himself to sin; he cannot come under the domination of sin, \u00a0he cannot be guilty of certain kinds of unfaithfulness\u2026Let us appreciate the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and recognize that we may entertain the faith of our security in Christ only <\/u>as we persevere in faith and holiness to the end.\u201d\n\nIs that where your sense of assurance comes from, the fact that you\u2019re persevering in faith and holiness to the end?\u00a0 What if you have a bad day?\u00a0 What if you have a down time?\u00a0 What if you walk away from the Lord?\u00a0 Your assurance is destroyed if that\u2019s what you believe because doctrine of the perseverance of the saints has to be aggressively challenged.\u00a0 Arthur Pink wrongly says, \u201cReaders, if there is a reserve in your obedience, you are on your way to hell.\u201d\u00a0 [A. W. Pink Practical Christianity<\/em>, p. 16.]\u00a0\u00a0 Wow, that\u2019ll put a smile on everybody\u2019s face.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0\u00a0 What does that mean \u201creserve in your obedience\u201d?\u00a0 Folks, this was a war for me this morning just to get out of bed.\u00a0 Was I like somehow unsaved during that time period?\u00a0 I mean, that would make my salvation dependent upon what I do.\u00a0 If your salvation depends on what you do, you know what?\u00a0 You\u2019re your own savior; now that\u2019s a depressing thought.\n\nJohn Piper says this: \u201cNo Christian can be sure that he is a true believer<\/u>. Hence, there is an ongoing need to be dedicated to the Lord and to deny ourselves so that we might make it.\u201d\u00a0 [John Piper and Pastoral Staff, TULIP: What We Believe about the Five Points of Calvinism: Position Paper of the Pastoral Staff (Desiring God Ministries, 1997), 25, cited in Dave Hunt, What Love is This?, 379.]\n\nWhat is that?\u00a0 That\u2019s salvation by works!\u00a0 That\u2019s not necessarily works on the front end, but it\u2019s works on the back end to keep yourself saved, perseverance of the saints.\n\nJohn MacArthur, I like some of the things John MacArthur says but we at Sugar Land Bible Church are not promoters of the teachings of John MacArthur.\u00a0 John MacArthur says this, and he\u2019s completely wrong on this subject.\u00a0 By the way, he says this in his book, Saved Without A Doubt<\/em>, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0p. 177.\u00a0 I can\u2019t think of a more misnamed book in all of Christianity.\u00a0 He says, \u201cIf a person fails to love and obey the Lord through the trials of life,\u201d are you telling me you\u2019ve never had a doubt as you go through the trials of life?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026 then there is no evidence that he possesses saving faith.<\/u> How many people do you know who came to church for a while, had a little trouble in their lives, and left? Although they may have made a profession of faith in Christ, they cannot be identified as those who love Him because their lives are not characterized by enduring obedience<\/u>.\u201d\n\nI\u2019ve\u00a0 used this quote before of the late R. C. Sproul in front of five thousand people asking everyone to pray for James Boice, a tremendous writer, a tremendous Christian who was dying that night and we have to pray that he dies in the faith because if\u00a0 he doesn\u2019t die in the faith then he wasn\u2019t persevering to the end and maybe James Boice was never saved to begin with.\n\nIt says this: [During the first message presented at Ligonier\u2019s Conference in Orlando last June, Dr. R. C. Sproul indicated that Dr. James Boice, a scheduled speaker at the conference, was dying in faith that very night.] \u00a0\u00a0Then at the end of the message he asked all 5,000 of us present to pray that Jim dies in faith<\/u>.\u201d \u00a0[\u201cThis struck me as sad.\u00a0\u00a0Here was a great pastor, theologian, teacher, and author.\u00a0\u00a0Yet Sproul was not sure that he was regenerate.\u00a0\u00a0(In Reformed thought, if a person fails to die in faith, he proved he was never saved in the first place.)\u00a0\u00a0I was reminded of R.T. Kendall\u2019s remark that nearly to a man the Puritan divines died doubting whether they were saved and fearing they were going to hell.\u00a0\u00a0Dr. Boice died that very night, June 15th<\/sup>.\u201d]\n\nWhat if Jim is struck by senility towards the end of his life and can\u2019t remember things?\u00a0 Is suddenly his salvation in doubt?\u00a0 Of course not, because through salvation James Boice or anybody else in Christian was never based on what James Boice did to begin with.\u00a0 James Boice\u2019s good works did not get him in the door and so James Boice\u2019s good works don\u2019t keep in the door.\u00a0 It\u2019s based on not\u00a0 your own good works but the good works He did for you 2,000 years ago.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you build your house on and if you won\u2019t build your house on that you\u2019re going to be weighed down your whole life, doubting whether you\u2019re really saved to begin with.\n\nWhat does the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints come from?\u00a0 It comes from Roman Catholicism.\u00a0 Cardinal John O\u2019Connor of New York says this:\u00a0 \u201cChurch teaching\u201d speaking of Roman Catholicism, \u201cis that I don't know, at any given moment, what my eternal future will be\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 I hope you\u2019re not living\u00a0 under this doctrine because you\u2019re living beneath your privileges as a child of God.\u00a0 \u201cChurch teaching is that I don't know, at any given moment, what my eternal future will be\u2026.\u00a0 \u00a0I can hope, pray, do my very best \u2013 but I still don't know. Pope John II doesn't absolutely know that he will go to heaven, nor does mother Theresa of Calcutta, unless either has had a special divine revelation.\u201d\u00a0 [quoted in Samuel Howe Verhovek, Cardinal Defends a Jailed Bishop Who Warned Cuomo on Abortion, <\/em>New York Times, February 1, 1990.]\n\nYou know what?\u00a0 Here\u2019s\u00a0 your special divine revelation. Are you ready for this: In John 5:24, the promise that the Lord made you, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes Him who sent me has\u201d present tense, \u201ceternal life,\u201d and by the way, if eternal life is eternal life how do you lose eternal life?\u00a0 How can you lose something that\u2019s eternal?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026and does not come into judgment but has passed out of,\u201d now that\u2019s the perfect tense in Greek, one time action ongoing results, \u201cbut has passed out of death unto life.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s your divine revelation.\u00a0 If you fulfill the condition of believing in Christ, trusting in Him in other words, for your eternity then God has made you a promise\u2026 by the way, is God in the fibbing business?\u00a0 Does not the Scripture say it\u2019s impossible for God to what?\u00a0 To lie. \u00a0[Hebrews 6:17, \u201cIn the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,\u00a0 [18] so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.\u201d]\n\nHere\u2019s the promise, you\u2019ve already passed out of death unto life, perfect tense, and you already HAVE, present tense, eternal life which can never be taken from you.\u00a0 1 John 5:13 says, \u201cThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God,\u201d anybody here \u201cbelieve in the name of the Son of God?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026 so that you may\u201d what?\u00a0 90% sure, no, it says, \u201cknow that you have eternal life.\u201d\n\nYou know, the doctrine of the assurance of salvation to a lot of folks is like the weather report, 80% chance of rain; it\u2019s interesting how these people are wrong 80% of the time anyway.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 And a lot of people live like that\u2014maybe I\u2019m saved, maybe I\u2019m not!\u00a0 What a tragedy that is!\u00a0 What a tragedy the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is, the emotional duress that it puts people under.\u00a0\u00a0 You know, Minirth and Meier, two Christian psychologists, I don\u2019t know if I endorse everything Minirth and Meier said and wrote but they have a very interesting article and you ought to look it up and read it.\u00a0 It\u2019s called The Psychological Effects of Lordship Salvation<\/em>.\u00a0 What does the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, Lordship salvation, what does it to psychologically to the human mind that lives under this?\u00a0 And the psychological fallout, the emotional fallout is not a healthy one.\n\nAt a recent conference I was asked a question, what is the biggest issue out there in terms of pastoral ministry?\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 Based on my experience this is the number one issue because you have Christians under bad doctrine all the time and they don\u2019t know if they\u2019re Christians or not. \u00a0And they don\u2019t know, should I serve the Lord out of fear or should I serve the Lord out of worship?\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting how the whole thing can get solved simply by stop listening to everybody and listening to what Jesus said in John 5:24. [John 5:24, \u201c\u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life,\u201d]\n\nYou know, I\u2019ve talked to airline pilots and they\u2019ll tell me that when you\u2019re flying an airplane there are times where it seems like the plane is going to crash. In fact, there are times when it seems like the plane is flying upside down.\u00a0 All of your senses are telling you that but you know it\u2019s not going to crash because your eyes are on what?\u00a0 Not your subjective feelings but on the what?\u00a0 The compass which mathematically is always going to tell you the truth.\u00a0 I mean, it really doesn\u2019t matter how you feel if you\u2019ve got mathematical precision through the compass telling you exactly what\u2019s happening.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what your feelings are.\n\nAnd beloved, I think it\u2019s time that we start living the Christian life like this.\u00a0 You know, we\u2019re so impacted by our emotions, by our ups, by our downs; we\u2019ve got to start being like a pilot and forget all that stuff and look at the compass which is precise and cannot lie.\u00a0 And your compass of course is God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 It\u2019s based on promises God has made you!\n\nI was so saddened, I was listening to Nancy Reagan, former First Lady of the United States, prior to her death, I believe I have this right, she passed on not too long ago, (if she\u2019s still alive, Nancy, please forgive me). But the question that came up, would she ever see her husband again, Ronald Reagan, in heaven.\u00a0 And I was very interested in her answer as she was being interviewed.\u00a0 And her answer to me was so sad, she said, \u201cYes, because Billy Graham said so.\u201d\u00a0 She was basing her assurance of salvation for her husband on something Billy Graham said concerning the eternity of Ronald Reagan and seeing him one day.\u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019m not here to lower Billy Graham\u2019s status at all but my own mother would say that the Billy Graham that the Billy Graham Crusade, but the fact of the matter is there\u2019s a lot higher word out there than Billy Graham.\u00a0 It\u2019s Jesus Christ!\n\nYour assurance of salvation comes from a direct promise, not from your pastor, not from the elder board, not from\u00a0 your church, not from your denomination, not from someone\u2019s literature.\u00a0 It comes from Christ and that\u2019s how\u00a0 you live; you live every single day of\u00a0 your life and as\u00a0 you live that way you can\u2019t believe what God has done for you and you have a desire to give\u00a0 yourself away unto Him, not out of fear but out of belief in His promises.\n\nYou say well why are you bringing up all of this stuff now?\u00a0 Because these are the kind of passages that people use and abuse to promote the perseverance of the saints.\u00a0 It is so easy to take Bible passages out of context to make them teach anything you want them to teach.\u00a0 Judas went out and hung himself\u2026 go thou and do likewise; what you do, do quickly.\u00a0 Well there we have it, the Bible promotes suicide.\u00a0 NO it doesn\u2019t, I just ripped a bunch of verses out of context to prove a preconceived point. People do this all of the time in the area of theology.\u00a0 And they\u2019ll want to build a doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and they\u2019ll quote this verse here, Revelation 14:12,\u00a0 \u201cHere is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 Well there it is in black and white, and they haven\u2019t gone to Sugar Land Bible Church.\u00a0 And they\u2019ve never been exposed to a contextual verse by verse reading of the Book of Revelation so they think that\u2019s what the Bible says when in reality all they\u2019ve been exposed to is an out of context verse.\n\nFolks, do we understand that the devil himself quotes the Bible?\u00a0 The devil himself in Matthew 4 quoted Psalm 91:11-12 and totally mutilated the verse and presented it before Christ as an out of context verse, making it sound like God said something He never said.\u00a0 [Psalm 19:11, \u201cFor He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. \u00a0[12] They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.\u201d ]\n\nAnd how important it is to go back into the Word of God and understand exactly what the Word of God says.\u00a0 That is the ONLY thing, beloved, that is going to fortify your mind in the age of deception that we find ourselves in today.\u00a0\u00a0 The \u201cperseverance of the saints,\u201d there is no such doctrine.\u00a0 This is talking about people in the tribulation period who are going to have to endure being cut out of the beast\u2019s system; they\u2019re going to have to endure, \u201che who endures to the end will be saved.\u201d\u00a0 [Matthew 24:13, \u201cBut the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.\u201d]\u00a0 They\u2019re going to have to make it to the end of the 70th<\/sup> week of Daniel so that they might be protected by Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 It has nothing to do with what Calvinism and Arminianism are presenting today as the perseverance of the saints.\n\nYou say well, pastor, if you don\u2019t believe in the perseverance of the saints what do you believe in?\u00a0 Here\u2019s what I believe in. Try this on!\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe in the perseverance of the saints.\u00a0 Do you know what I believe in?\u00a0 I believe in the preservation<\/u> of the saints where the onus is not on me for the safe keeping of my soul; the onus is on who?\u00a0 From God.\u00a0\u00a0 Peter, the apostle, taught the preservation of the saints in 1 Peter 1:4-5.\u00a0 [1 Peter 1:4-5, \u201cto obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, [5] who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.\u201d]\n\nHe says of their inheritance,\u00a0 \u201creserved in heaven for you.\u201d\u00a0 How do I know I\u2019m going to get to heaven Peter, to experience this inheritance.\u00a0\u00a0 Peter says I\u2019m glad you asked, 1 Peter 1:5, You \u201cwho are protected by the power of God\u201d you want to believe in a doctrine, don\u2019t believe in the perseverance of the saints, believe in the preservation of the saints that God is the one that keeps you.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s by my works that got me in the door, it\u2019s not my good works that are going to keep me in the door.\u00a0 It\u2019s the power of God that keeps me and protects me.\n\nBy the way, when Peter made that statement do you know what was about to happen to those people that he\u2019s writing to there?\u00a0 Something horrific is on the scene called the Neronian persecution where Nero, a mad man, had ascended to the throne, Christians were being thrown in the coliseum to the lion\u2019s den in front of jeering crowds.\u00a0 Nero was about to burn Rome, most of it to the ground, and blame it on the Christians.\u00a0 He actually would take Christians and light them on fire to illuminate his garden parties.\u00a0 That\u2019s what was happening to the body of Christ when Peter made that statement and in that context he tells them that you are protected by the power of God, through faith for a salvation already to be revealed at the last time.\u00a0 Hey, Nero is going to get the upper hand on some of you, but what did Jesus say?\u00a0 None of them, John 10, will ever be snatched from His hand.\u00a0 [John 10:28, \u201cand I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.\u201d]\n\nI mean, what can Satan do?\u00a0 What can Nero do?\u00a0 He can torture\u00a0 you, he can take your life, but he has ABSOLUTELY no authority whatsoever to alter\u00a0 your eternal destiny because that was something that God did.\u00a0 Now if that\u2019s something that I did I\u2019ve got to keep it.\u00a0 You know, if you believe that your good works are going to keep you saved, not only do you believe in the fact that you\u2019re your own Savior but when you think about it, you also actually believe in salvation by works.\u00a0 If it\u2019s me that keeps me saved is that not salvation by works?\u00a0 That goes completely contrary to everything God has promised us that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.\u00a0 And what an exhortation that is in verse 12.\u00a0 [Revelation 14:12, \u201cHere is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.\u201d]\n\nAnd we switch subjects here to a fifth scene of hope, the blessing, and that\u2019s why I\u2019ve entitled this The Blessing of Death, there\u2019s a blessing here pronounced upon the tribulation martyrs.\u00a0 We have the beatitudes, the first part of verse 13, their promised rest, the second part of verse 13, and their promised reward, verse 13.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you think that if your life is on the line you\u2019re going to need comfort and exhortation from the Lord.\u00a0 This is what you have here in chapter 14 and verse 13.\n\nNotice what it says.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I heard a voice from heaven, saying,\u00a0 \u2018Blessed\u201d\u201d you ought to circle that word in your Bible, \u201cBlessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on! \u2018Yes,\u2019 says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors,\u201d look at this, \u201cfor their deeds follow with them.\u201d\n\nNotice the first part of it, the beatitude, the adjective \u201cblessed\u201d makarios,<\/em> it\u2019s the exact same word used in the Sermon on the Mount that we call the Beatitudes where Jesus pronounced how many Beatitudes, anybody know?\u00a0 Eight; that\u2019s why when you go to Israel and you visit the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus most likely gave the Sermon on the Mount, there\u2019s a church there, The Church of the Beatitudes and it\u2019s shaped like an octagon, eight sides.\u00a0 You say why eight sides?\u00a0 Because in Matthew 5 you\u2019re going to find eight beatitudes.\n\nThe Book of Revelation does not give you eight beatitudes; it gives you seven.\u00a0 There are seven repetitions of the word makarios<\/em> or it\u2019s a description of how to be blessed.\u00a0 Now is there anybody here that does not want to be blessed, please put your hand up.\u00a0 The Book of Revelation uses makarios<\/em> seven, not eight as in the Sermon on the Mount, but seven times.\n\nNumber one, there\u2019s a blessing, makarios<\/em>, on the reader and heeder of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 We\u2019ve already seen that one way back in chapter on 1.\n\nNumber 2, there\u2019s a blessing on the tribulation martyrs that die, right here in our passage.\n\nNumber 3, there\u2019s a blessing pronounced upon the spiritually prepared.\n\nNumber 4, there\u2019s a blessing on the marriage supper invitees.\u00a0 You want to go to that marriage supper?\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019re blessed if you get invited.\u00a0 By the way, I\u2019ve seen the invitation list, your name is on \u00a0it.\n\nNumber 5, there\u2019s a blessing pronounced, makarios<\/em>, upon those who participate in the first resurrection.\u00a0 Revelation 20:6.\u00a0 [Revelation 20:6, \u201cBlessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.\u201d]\u00a0 Because if they participate in the resurrection unto life then they won\u2019t participate in the resurrection unto death.\n\nNumber 6, there\u2019s a blessing pronounced upon the heeder, reiterating what was said earlier in the Book of Revelation.\n\nNumber 7, there\u2019s a blessing pronounced upon the eternal cities, New Jerusalem, their citizens, verse 14. By the way, doesn\u2019t the Apostle Paul say \u201cour citizenship is\u201d where? \u201cin heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Philippians 3:20.\u00a0 [Philippians 3:20, \u201cFor our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 Do you believe that?\u00a0 You\u2019re blessed, the Book of Revelation tells us.\u00a0 And what we have in our list of seven is just a second of the seven blessings; most of these we haven\u2019t even looked at or studied yet.\n\nAnd so what is the blessing to these martyrs shut of the beast\u2019s system during this time period?\u00a0 \u201cI heard a voice from heaven saying, \u201cWrite blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord from now on.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 14:13, \u201cAnd I heard a voice from heaven, saying, \u201cWrite, \u2018Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!\u2019\u201d \u00a0\u201cYes,\u201d says the Spirit, \u201cso that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 If you die\u00a0 you\u2019re blessed.\n\nNow I tell you this folks, I don\u2019t think this way, I mean, isn\u2019t death something we\u2019re to be afraid of?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t death something we don\u2019t even want to think about?\u00a0 I mean, isn\u2019t that why everybody is getting plastic surgery and trying to get younger?\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that why there\u2019s such an emphasis on health and beauty in the culture.\u00a0 We don\u2019t even want to think about death even though we\u2019re all dying.\n\nI saw one celebrity, she came out with something, an ointment, that\u2019s designed to beat plastic surgery.\u00a0 In other words, you put the ointment on, you don\u2019t need plastic surgery anymore because you\u2019re automatically look younger.\u00a0 And she sold out of everything she owned within the first three days of putting it on the internet.\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, we love that kind of stuff, right?\u00a0 Show me how to escape the curse!\u00a0 The reality of the situation is your Bible says death is, for the Christian, is not necessarily something to be afraid of.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually a promotion when you think about it.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that why Christ came into the world.\n\nHere are the eight reasons Christ came into the world, one of which is to remove the fear of death.\u00a0 Hebrews 2:15, of Christ and why He came, \u201cto release those who through fear of death who were all their lifetime subject to bondage.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Christ came into the world to take those shackles of fear off so death is not something even to be afraid of.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to live in fear of it anymore, and be in bondage to it any more.\n\nBy the way, your glorification is so certain in God that God, at the very end of the chart there, looks at you as if you\u2019re already glorified.\u00a0 Your glorification is on such a fast track that God says oh yeah, it\u2019s already happened.\u00a0 And as I\u2019m looking out at\u00a0 you guys today I don\u2019t think you guys look very glorified to be honest with you.\u00a0 I doubt I look all that glorified either, even though I had to put a tie on.\u00a0 I\u2019m not glorified yet, yet God said I already am glorified. Why is that?\u00a0 Because His promises are that certain, that\u2019s why.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you build your house on as a Christian.\n\n2 Corinthians 5:8, Paul says, \u201cWe are of good courage, and I say and prefer\u201d look at this, and \u201cI say, and prefer\u201d look at this, in other words I\u2019d rather have it this way, Paul says, \u201cto be absent from the body and to be at\u201d what? \u201chome with the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 Are you \u201cof good courage\u201d as\u00a0 you look at death?\u00a0 Paul was.\u00a0 In fact, Paul, it\u2019s interesting, he kind of gets mad at God for keeping him here.\u00a0 Philippians1:21-24, Paul says, \u201cFor to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. [22] If I am to go on living in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! [23] I am hard pressed from both direction, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is much better,\u00a0 [24] Yet to remain on in the flesh for your sake is necessary.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Paul even seems to get sort of resentful.\u00a0 He says to the Philippians the only reason God keeps me around is for you; in fact, if I had my way I\u2019d rather just check out and die.\u00a0 It\u2019s a completely different perspective on death than we think about in the world system.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually a promotion; it\u2019s actually a home going.\u00a0 He says death is very much better.\n\nSo if the tribulation martyrs die they are blessed, one of the seven beatitudes in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Two things, they both begin with the letter R, rest and reward.\u00a0 Rest and reward !\u00a0 Rest and reward!\u00a0 Look if you will at the second part of verse 13.\u00a0 \u201cYes, says the Spirit, so they may\u201d what? \u201crest from their labors.\u00a0 [Revelation 14:13, \u201cAnd I heard a voice from heaven, saying, \u201cWrite, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d says the Spirit, \u201cso that they may rest from their labors, [for their deeds follow with them.]\u201d\u2019\u00a0 What happens when these people die?\u00a0 They\u2019re taken out of this world that\u2019s in a state of bondage.\n\nDo we realize that the world system that we\u2019re living in is anxiously longing for the revealing of the sons of God for the creation was subjected to futility, not unwillingly but because of Him who subjected it in hope.\u00a0 Who would that be?\u00a0 That would be Adam.\u00a0 Verse 22 of Romans 8, \u201cfor we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.\u201d\u00a0 And you\u2019re telling me that the bestselling book today within modern day Christianity is Your Best Life Now. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>[Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential<\/em> by Joel Osteen.]\n\nI mean, how do we get this messed up?\u00a0 How did our thinking get so wrong on this?\u00a0 Because we don\u2019t look at the Bible.\u00a0 What is this world in?\u00a0 It\u2019s in a state of bondage, it\u2019s in a state of corruption.\u00a0 You say well I don\u2019t believe you\u2014well, I\u2019ll prove it to you.\u00a0 Go home today and look at your high school yearbook and compare it to your modern driver\u2019s license picture and you\u2019ll see exactly what I\u2019m talking about.\u00a0 I mean, even the bodies that we\u2019re in are sitting there and deteriorating as we speak, as that second law of thermodynamics entropy from order to chaos is taking place right now, even as we\u2019re sitting here in an air conditioned building.\u00a0 And you think some ointment cream or something is going to reverse that?\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 I mean, may God help us understand this.\n\nYou say well pastor,\u00a0 you believe in diet and exercise, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 Yeah, I do, but you know what that does?\u00a0 That kicks the can down the road a little bit.\u00a0 That maybe postpones the inevitable but the inevitable is still coming.\u00a0 The mortality rate is still 100%.\u00a0 What did God say to Adam?\u00a0 \u201cFrom dust you are to dust you shall return,\u201d Genesis 3:19.\u00a0 But to die is an escape from that bondage, separated from this body that\u2019s deteriorating in the presence of God Himself with the hope of a body that\u2019s coming that\u2019s glorified.\u00a0 You just got promoted.\n\nDo you think death for the Christian is the end?\u00a0 It\u2019s the beginning.\u00a0 It\u2019s a promotion.\u00a0 This is why He says here, Revelation 14:13, \u201c\u201cYes,\u201d says the Spirit, \u201cso that they may rest from their labors,\u201d what labors?\u00a0 Living in a cursed bondage centered world that Christ came into the world to liberate us from.\u00a0 And by the way, those chains are going to come off.\u00a0 You\u2019ll find that in Revelation chapters 20, 21 and 22.\u00a0 Those chains are going to come off but in the meantime we\u2019re subject to these constraints.\u00a0 But we live with hope, we live with courage because of the promises of God.\n\nAnd then what else follows here, \u201cBlessed are those who die from now on because of rest and\u201d what? \u201crest and reward.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Rest and reward!\u00a0 What does it say there at the end of verse 13, and with this we\u2019ll close.\u00a0 \u201cFor their deeds will follow them.\u201d\u00a0 Well, pastor, how are you going to explain that one, you just went off fifteen minutes ago or three and a half hours ago, whatever it was, against good works, you\u2019re against good works!\u00a0 NO I\u2019m NOT!\u00a0 I\u2019m in favor of good works rightfully understood because you know what good works do for\u00a0 you as a Christian?\u00a0 They don\u2019t save you, they don\u2019t keep you saved, but if you allow the Lord to work in you via good works you know what happens?\u00a0 It adds to your bank account in the next life.\u00a0 It adds to your rewards.\n\nYou say well do you really believe that God rewards actions taken for Him in this life?\u00a0 You don\u2019t really believe He rewards that in the next life do you?\u00a0 What does Matthew 5:11-12 say?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u201cBlessed are you\u201d now we\u2019re talking about the makarios<\/em> in the Sermon on the Mount, \u201cBlessed are\u00a0 you when people<\/em> insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.\u201d\u00a0 Why? \u00a0[12] \u00a0\u201c<\/sup>Rejoice and be glad,\u201d why? \u201cfor your reward in heaven is great; [for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.\u201d]\u00a0 I mean, of course God rewards actions taken for Him under His power in this life.\n\nMatthew 10:42, \u201cAnd whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 You know what Eric [can't understand name] does for me after every service as I stand up here?\u00a0 And by the way, how do I get out there so fast, a lot of people ask me about this.\u00a0 I do\u00a0 out that door over there.\u00a0 There was not such a high entrance exam to be a pastor of this church that I had to pass through walls.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 But I go out there and He hands me a bottle of water and I always say well\u00a0 you get a reward for that.\u00a0 So I notice he\u2019s been handing out water for me more frequently.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\nBut even something as trivial as giving out a cup of cold water in Jesus\u2019 name God sees it and He rewards for it in the next life.\u00a0\u00a0 You say well these are all tribulational saints, are\u00a0 you sure this is true for church age believers?\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ve gone through the five crowns, haven\u2019t we?\u00a0 There\u2019s five crowns that are going to be given or not given.\u00a0 This is not determining salvation but these crowns are given or not given to God\u2019s people at the Bema Seat Judgment following the rapture of the church.\n\nScripture\u2019s Five Crowns (Revelation 4:10; 3:11, 2 John 8)\n\nScripture \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Crown\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Purpose\n\n1 Corinthians 9:24-27\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Incorruptible\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gaining mastery over the flesh\n\n1 Thessalonians 2:199-20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Rejoicing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Soul Winning\n\nJames 112; Revelation 2:10\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Life\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Enduring trials\n\n1 Peter 5:2-4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Glory\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Shepherding God\u2019s people\n\n2 Timothy 4:8\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Righteousness\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Longing for His appearing\n\nThere\u2019s the incorruptible crown for the believer that gains mastery over the flesh.\u00a0 There\u2019s where holy living is going to start counting.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t keep you saved, it doesn\u2019t get you saved but it sure qualifies you for a reward, a crown that doesn\u2019t even get corrupted.\u00a0 There\u2019s the crown of rejoicing for the soul winner and\u00a0 you see all the Scriptures where I\u2019m getting these from.\u00a0 There\u2019s this one, \u201cthere\u2019s a crown of life for the Christian that endures trials.\u201d\u00a0 Anybody here going through trials?\u00a0 You go through trials under God\u2019s power, God rewards you for it in the next life.\u00a0 There\u2019s a crown of glory for the one who faithfully shepherds God\u2019s people.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a crown of righteousness for the believer that longs for His appearing.\u00a0 WOW!\n\nSo we see there beatitudes, their rest, their reward and I feel like patting myself on the back today because we made it through two whole verses.\u00a0 Parise the Lord.\u00a0 Of course you know all this talk about death and the next life and the gospel, what we teach here is that the gospel is available for all. Everybody is savable but people are not saved until they trust in what Jesus has done for them for their eternity.\u00a0 And that\u2019s more of a condition of the heart; there has to come a time in a person\u2019s life where the Spirit places them under conviction and they trust in what Jesus has done.\n\nAnd the moment that happens the promise of John 5:24 is applied to your life from heaven.\u00a0 [John 5:24, \u201c\u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life,\u201d]\u00a0 And so our exhortation to folks\u00a0 here in the building or anybody listening on line as the Spirit convicts them of their need to trust Christ is just to go ahead, right where you are, you don\u2019t have to raise a hand, walk an aisle, join a church, give money, it\u2019s just a matter of privacy between them and the Lord where the Spirit convicts you of your need to do this and you respond by trusting in what Jesus Christ has done. And from that point on you are secure in Christ.\u00a0\u00a0 You can do that now as I\u2019m speaking.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need more explanation on I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray. Father, we are grateful for today, we\u2019re grateful for Your Word, we\u2019re grateful for these exhortations you give to these folks in the tribulation period.\u00a0 And we\u2019re grateful for the application that these things have to our lives.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t