open your Bible again to the 10th and 11th chapter of Revelation, what a delight to try to untangle these challenging images said before us. We prayed, the choir sang, thy kingdom calmed, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven so that all the earth will function like heaven and honoring you, God, and yet 2,000 years ago it was a long way from that, wasn't it? Typher us to realize how much the world of the Mediterranean appreciated Rome. Before the Roman ascension in 29 BC, the world was really a place of disorder and chaos of economic wasteland and with the ascent of Roman power came law and order. The Roman navy defeated piracy on the Mediterranean so that there was trade, there was a maritime productivity, Rome established a consistent law of code of justice and ethics. There was a common language permeated by Rome that allowed commerce to increase new roads. There was a sense in which many people began to feel that Caesar was divine, that the Prince of Peace had come, that the earth was experiencing peace, like it had never experienced it before, and something arose called the emperor cult, the worship of the emperor. Well, emperors seemed to like that idea and as time went on it became entrenched more and more cities, built shrines and emperors were deified and what's the south the same go, absolute power corrupts, absolutely and along came emperors like Nero. Nero was the kind of wonderful guy who kicked his pregnant wife to death, who then took a young boy, neutered him and married him, who killed his mother. Nero was eventually declared to be insane by the Roman Senate and committed suicide, but not before he slaughtered Christian, including probably Peter and Paul, all under the hand of Nero. So this is the life of the Christian in the Roman world, horrible opposition for refusing to knuckle under to the emperor and worship the emperor because the Christians mantra was what, Jesus is Lord. Now, what were the options then for the church and that kind of environment? Well, you could what, you could just hunker down and hide, try to ride out this hatred and persecution and opposition and perhaps you survived you and your family or you could what, you could have an escapist sort of mindset. Well, God loves his children and if you're one of God's then nothing rotten will ever happen to you because there'll be nothing but bliss and good fortune for those who name the name of God. I mean, that's been a kind of persistent theme in the church for a long time and I've told you before that when we pick him for music for worship, we often have to avoid music that came from the end of the 19th century because it's just filled with words like this, not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, but his smile quickly drives it away. Is that your experience of the Christian life? Not a doubt or a fear, not a sign or a tear can abide while we trust in obey. That's that the Christian life, the Bible describes. That's not the Christian life that these people were experiencing 2,000 years ago. It was hard. There were lots of tears and fears and doubts and struggle. So you just hide in the midst of the darkness or do you have this pollyannish escapism or did you do what Jesus Christ instructed the church to do when he said in John chapter 17, the night before he died, that I am not going to take you out of the world, he said to the disciples. Don't stay in this upper room and wait for me to take you out of this world. I'm leaving you in it. I want you to stay right in the fabric and the warmth and the woof of life and I want you to be my witnesses. If they kill you, it will be for your eternal glory and good. Don't play it safe. I think it was John Adams in the Massachusetts legislature. The story may be apocryphal but it went to a horrible storm. It was so bad, lightning and thunder and wind that some thought the end of the world was upon them. They called for an adjournment and Adams stood up and he said brothers and sisters whether it be the end of the world or not. I have no clue but suppose it is. Suppose this is the moment in which the creator chooses to return. I for one would want to be found at my desk working and I suggest we go back to work and so the church of Jesus Christ, how will we be found by the Savior? Hiding, singing a scape of songs or right out there in the thick of the light, saying this little light of mine, I am going to let it shine whether it cost me everything or not. Now that is Revelation chapter 10 and 11 but that is just too simple. We will have to explain it to you. Revelation chapter 10 and 11 are two visions and you see in your sermon outline the first vision is of a sweet book. Here we get this massive vision John has of an angel and remember the context, six trumpets of woe announced and in the midst of this comes this interlude and here is this massive angel that is straddling one foot on the seas, one foot on the land. I mean this is not a precious moment picture. This is not a little chair of a cupid with an arrow. This is not an effeminate curly, a lot angel playing the harp. I mean this is an angel with fire in his eyes and hell in his nostrils and he has got a book in his hand. On that book is writing and on that book is the word of God. On that book in his hand is the only escape from the wrath of God which is being poured out on the world and he calls to John and he says to John why. Take the book and eat it. Take the book and eat it and prophesy. That book will be to you sweet, sweet as honey. Well of course because the word of God is sweet as honey. The psalmist says that the law of God is as sweet as honey as the drippings of the honeycomb, the gospel, the good news of God, the mercy and grace and kindness of God extended us as sweet as a guest. But that book will also be what? It will be bitter because the same book that tells of the love and tenderness and kindness and grace of God tells of the woe and of the wrath of God that is poured out on those who are hard-hearted, those who will not repent, those who will not surrender to God. And every evangelist, every prophet, everyone who's ever taken that book and moved out to tell others knows the bitterness that many offered life will reject it, will walk away. Last weekend in this room we offered life didn't we? Last weekend in this room we said don't hit the snooze button anymore. I mean the wrath of God is being poured out, run into the waiting arms of Jesus. And in the very same night I can tell you that people ran to Christ. I got a letter this week telling me about one family and someone who said you know that was the hour for them. Let me tell you something, I read it 20 times, sweet but I promise you in that very same service there were people closing their heart even more. There were people who for whom that very word was further rejection, further they were further damning themselves for their heart-heartedness. All in the same, every one who takes the gospel to a family member, to a brother, to a sister, to a parent, to a neighbor, to the world experiences sweetness of it and the bitter disappointment of it as well. Now, second vision, this is Revelation chapter 11. Revelation chapter 11 begins with the call goes out to John to measure the temple and what's being described here when we speak of the temple in the Old Testament, we're speaking of a physical structure aren't we? In the New Testament, when we speak of the temple, we're speaking of what? What's the temple? We are, this is the people of God. And right in the midst of the darkness, if you remember back the previous vision of the seven scrolls, after six scrolls were open, there was an interlude where it was talked about how God's people were sealed with the mark of God. There's an interlude of assurance that God's gyms. We have the exact same thing here, an interlude of assurance. Six trumpets sound, the recitation, the narrative stops, and there's an interlude of assurance here where we are told that those are gathered of God in the temple, in the altar, they are counted, they are numbered, they are marked, they are God, they are safe, they are the Church of Jesus Christ, and it looks like in all this darkness and in all this destruction that will consume everything. But it will not consume the Church, they will not be destroyed. There's an interlude of assurance, because right behind it we're told that there will come a three and a half year period of rampant destruction. Scholars believe that what this really describes is the whole period of time between Christ's first coming and Christ's second coming, the world will experience a period of time of unrestrained wickedness in which it will appear at times the Church is absolutely destroyed and swallowed. Okay, you got it? This is the world, the Church, protected, marked, sealed, God. They can't have eternity taken away from them, they can never be removed from his family, but all around them swirls decay and the wrath of God being poured out and opposition to the Church. And out of all of this emerges two witnesses, two witnesses chapter 11 that come forth and they are powerful. Out of their mouth comes truth and they are able to accomplish great deeds and they are faithful witnesses and they are compared to two olive trees. We've said again and again and again, you haven't got a chance of understanding revelation. If you don't understand, if you don't know the Old Testament almost every line is interpreted for us, not by trying to figure out that mark on Gorbachev's head was the mark of the beast, but by going back to the Old Testament. And the Old Testament olive trees represent Israel. And so these two witnesses represent two olive trees and two lamp stands. We've already been told in the first chapter of revelations the lamp stands are the Church, the seven churches, the seven lamp stands. And so what we have here is the two witnesses are us, Old Testament Israel, the New Testament Church, this is the people of God, and this is our role, this is our mission to walk out into the darkness and to take on the beast from the abyss. Now, you've got to know in the chapters ahead, we're going to talk about the beast. And if to the writers, to the readers originally reading this passage, there can hardly be a doubt that when the beast is described they are seeing the face of who. And they are being told to go out and to defy the reigning ruling power of their day and the name of Jesus Christ and what will happen to them when they do what happens to the two witnesses, they are murdered and they are humiliated. Their bodies are left in the street, they're not even allowed to be buried. That's the message to the church 2000 years ago. And then they are what resurrected. Power comes, you see it. The end of chapter, midpoint of chapter 11 and after three and a half days, verse 11, the breath of God came into them and they stood on their feet and great fear fell on those who were beholding them. They were resurrected, they ascend to glory and in glory, the seventh trumpet sounds, the end of the world comes and Christ reigns eternally and the Bible says every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. There we have it. That's world history. It's all of world history in this vision of the seven trumpets. That explains all of life, all of the world. And what would we apply to ourselves from these two visions? Four lessons tonight. The first is this. I'm about to tell you to do what those ancient people did 2000 years ago. Go out of the world and be light for Jesus Christ, whatever it cost you, whatever sacrifice, pay the price and great hardship. The answer is, look at us. We're weak. We're not courageous. We're not jealous. We're not sharp. We're not bold. We're not how are we going to do that? Number one, to do that, you have to eat the book. You've got to eat the book. Do you know how hard it is to try to be something that on the outside that you're not on the inside? Together, Thursday night I had just an awesome privilege to preach at what is predominantly a black church in Inverness. I want to say something they don't worship like we do. They have a lot more fun. And the music is loud and it is full aerobic worship. And when the music started on the guest and I'm a visitor and there were about six or seven other very conspicuous white faces. My clinic was there and I don't think we blended in their worship. We have, you know, rhythm was happening but it wasn't coming from us. I mean, I tried to clap all you know on dance and sway for just a minute or two and I thought this is a joke. I'm not pulling it off. You know, this can all happen in my heart but it isn't going to get out through my limbs. You know how hard it is to try to make your outside be what you're not on the inside? I just don't feel it enough. You know, that music to move like that. You know how hard it is to forgive someone on the outside when you have it on the inside? You ever try that? I forgive you. You know, I do. Adam obedience. I know I won't hug you. I won't touch you. I won't touch you again. I hate you but I forgive you. You know, try to, you know, they're trying to be joyful on the outside when you're not on the inside. How many people are trying to be light in the world but they haven't eaten the book? They haven't been consumed. They haven't consumed the gospel in such a way that it's consumed them. They haven't assimilated the gospel into the tissue of their lives. The truth is we won't care about our neighbor. We won't penetrate the darkness. We won't live out there in the world boldly and courageously until deep inside we're gripped by the fact that God considered us his neighbor. He poured himself out for us, rescued us, made us his and did it at the greatest possible cost but we won't do that. We won't, we won't be those kind of people until we eat the book, until the truth in here, the truth of the gospel, the love of God, consumes us. It grips us. It makes us new. Millions of Americans go to church but our culture isn't enlightened. Millions of Americans go to church but we walk out, we believe in the Bible but we are just as anxious, anxiety-ridden as the people who don't go to church. We don't go to church. How could that be? What's the only answer? We haven't eaten the book. We believe the book. We hold the standards of the book. We'll fight for the book. We'll die for the book. But we haven't eaten yet. It hadn't fallen down in there so that we stay in the face of the things that make us worry and keep us up at night. I believe that my God knows my name. He loves me. He loves my family. He cares for me. He has me in the palm of his hand. I need not be afraid. That falls down into the tissues in the very cells of our being. We've eaten it. We've been consumed by it. Is that not true brothers and sisters? We'll be just as materialistic as everyone else because we haven't been set free. But the truth is the book taking it in past the ascent of it all the way down so that what comes out of us is consistent with what we really are. It's a terrible thing to try to do ministry when you don't really have a loving heart. You just expose all the time, aren't you? It's a terrible thing to try to love your children or love your spouse when you don't. You see it's religion that says change on the outside. But it's Christianity that says no, no, no, no. It's inside. It has to happen inside. And then it comes out. So we're going to eat the book, eat the book, Carol and Lampinan. What did she say? I knew what God wanted me to do. I knew it for years. But I didn't have the security until I realized how God was eating out with love for me until that fell down into her. Well, she wasn't going to do these things. And I just have to say anything else I say now in the next couple of minutes. Don't even try it if you don't eat the book. If I tell you, go out and live boldly and courageously for Jesus. Well, we just can't. We won't until we're taken by the truth of this book. But there's a God who's got us and he adopted us and he's made it his own. And that grips you. Then when you eat the book, you prophesy. And that's the second point. What are we to be in the world? What's the church to be in the midst of all the darkness, penetrate the culture? We don't take the bomb shelter mentality. We're not hiding. We're not keeping our heads down in the midst of this world. This is our father's world. We're not afraid of the dark. A friend of mine went to speak at a giant rally. 18,000 people there. She said my impression was most of people there think the homosexuals are going to come steal their children. And they're hiding and they're hunkered down. And they're afraid. And she said, I just don't know what there is to be afraid of. And how the church has to have that kind of puffed out chest, not a pride, but of assurance that the crisis with us. And he's in us and we're going to penetrate the culture. We're going to live in the darkness and it costs us our lives. It's not about us. It's about the glory of God. And so we penetrate the culture with the gospel word and gospel deed. That's what we've got. That's what we've got that the world needs. Let me tell you what we don't need to do. We don't need to go out in the world and tell them that abortion is wrong. We don't need to go out in the world and tell them that astronomy is wrong. We don't need to go out in the world and tell them to clean up their foul movies. That's not what they need to hear from us. That's not the gospel. That just feeds right into the world's whole conception of what religion is. Religion is a code of ethics and behavior that if you follow it, then God will love you. And so the message that you hear from the churches, here's how you have to behave. If you behave this way, then you'll have the love of God. What the world needs is not our moral code. They need what? They need Jesus. They need our Savior. We got to them with a lot of Jesus and we say to them, not follow this code, then you'll have the blessing of God. No, no, no, no, no. Receive the blessing of God inside your heart to God who embraces you as a as a local center, receive that blessing, eat the book. And then what? And then all that moral code will follow. She was, she was went to her pastor in a northeastern city and she said, do you think abortions wrong? And he said, well, I sure do. And she said, you know what? I'm starting to think it is too. She said down, now you have to know she's an attorney. I believe trained had had had three abortion and was an active participating member of the ACLU. And she said, I believe abortion, I'm believing it's wrong too. She said, when I first came to the church, if I had seen one piece of pro-life literature, I wouldn't have stayed for the service. But what I found in the service was Jesus. So if abortion is wrong, she said to her pastor, then tell the community it's wrong. But do it in the right order. Give them Jesus first. Gospel word and gospel deed. That's why those tables are set up in the back. It's just a display of opportunities for gospel deed. And that is that just as simple as it could be, is that we penetrate the culture by doing what Jesus said to do, which is go, love your what? Love your neighbor. I was telling the pastor's class the other night, go love your neighbor and don't invite them to church. Don't invite them to church. You know why the minute you do, they'll think what? They're just a project. They're just another notch on your Bible on your spiritual belt. Just love them for a real long time. And just see what God will bring out of that. And you know what? Sometimes in the very most natural way, you'll have an opportunity in so many cases to bring them to church. But don't set out to love them so that you can get them to church. Just why? Love them. Love them. I was so touched by went to visit an elderly woman in our church, dying of cancer. And I was sitting in her living room. And she started telling me about people from the church, bringing meals, people from the church, cutting her lawn. And then she told me about her male lady. And she said that she, her male lady brings her male to the door every day. And if she needs any groceries or any medicine, she exchanges that. And she gives her male lady a list. This is the next day when she brings her male. She brings her groceries. She brings her medicine. And that lady, that male lady is a member of the church. She takes, she understands that when she gets up and goes to work every day, she has, the ministry isn't something you just do on Wednesday night at the church. It's what you go to do every day. You penetrate the culture by bringing the kingdom. See, it's not all about getting people to heaven. It's about getting heaven into people. And so you bring Christ to the arts. You bring Christ to business. You bring Christ to medicine. You bring Christ to education. You bring Christ to whatever you do Monday through Friday. You take Christ to work so that every day you live and say, I live for the glory of God. You penetrate the darkness. You penetrate the culture. That's our calling. You know, seven rivers as an institution. Seven rivers of the church has very little influence in our community. But seven rivers, the church is everywhere out there. I mean, in government and medicine and law and in neighborhoods and clubs and everywhere. You guys are everywhere. Why did God put you there? Why did He put you there? Not to make money for your family, for His glory, to bring heaven into where you live and work and move and are. So be resolute. Be resolute. The two witnesses are killed. Being a follower of Jesus Christ has always been hard. The book is bitter. Our efforts will be rejected. It's costly. It's sacrificial. It's high risk. That's the message to the church. But don't be a quitter. Stand firm. Say it or post. Be resolute. Serve all the way to the end. I don't know how discouraged you are as a parent. I don't know how discouraged you are as a Christian. I don't know how discouraged you are as a neighbor. Don't give up. Does doing key center ministry and prison ministry make you weary? What do you think? Do it anyway. Does sacrificial giving mean that you can't go to Disney and the beach like every other family seems to be able to give sacrificial anyway? Does practicing hospitality mean that you don't seem to have many lazy evenings at home with your own family? Open your home and your heart anyway. Does parking far away for services mean that sometimes you get wet on the way back out to your car? Park far away anyway. Does enrolling in a Christian school mean long drive and disappointment that maybe your kid can't play football or be in some special program you want? Enroll them anyway. Displeging yourself the nature coach community church mean that maybe there won't be a choir and some other stuff that you've enjoyed here or less contact with your friends. Go be a part anyway. Does befriending the nerd in the youth group mean that maybe you'll seem a little less cool to people? It's very important for you to seem cool to befriend them anyway. Join this church and your family will disown you. Join it anyway. Do it anyway. One of my favorite stories is as of the Coast Guard. Coast Guard cutter up in New England gets a Mayday the distress call and the storm is so bad that they wait and they wait and they wait because it's really beyond the threshold that they could go make a rescue. But finally the captain says we're going in a member of the crew looks at him and says captain if we go we will not come back in the captain says it is not our job to come back. It is our job to go I'm tired of doing ministry it doesn't produce fruit. It's not your job to produce fruit. It's your job to go. Last of all friends the beauty of it all is in the midst of any fight any sacrifice is that we're to be unshakably confident because those 42 months of misery describes in Revelation chapter 11 will come to an end and God will have the last last. And all the gathered people of God will celebrate as Christ will reign forever and ever and ever and whatever you invested there will be the greatest reward. The other night just to spend a little relaxing time together my wife rented that romantic movie Shindler's list and if you've not seen the movie then Shindler is a pig of a man who sees his heart change so that his greed causes him to provide faith harbor for 1200 Jews in crack out of Poland he was a Nazi he was a German and yet he becomes the protector for 1200 Jews and keeps them safe from the death camp. And at the end when the war is over and Shindler has to flee because as a Nazi he'll now be pursued he'll be hunted and all those who are captives are set free they come up to him and they present him with a scroll signed by every one of them so that he could take it with him and evidence and all around him are all the faces of the redeemed the ones that he bought with his own money bankrupting himself. I just wonder if God and his provenant will not give us the same opportunity at the end and you stand in heaven and you fought a weary fight and maybe you've paid a great price in this world. If God won't give you the privilege of all around you calling out in the midst of heaven all those who are influenced by your life to come forward. And maybe there will be the that person who was in the hospital bed when you went to visit your uncle and you prayed with your uncle and you didn't even know they were listening on the other side of the curtain and they prayed along with you too. You didn't even know them you never met them but they come out and they thank you and maybe there'll be a kid in children's church so you taught. Maybe out will come a student who went to church camp and gave their life to Christ because you gave money that allowed them to have the scholarship to go and maybe that cranky neighbor of yours. You know always throwing their leaves over on your side of the fence. Maybe they'll come out and your jaw will drop. And out will come people maybe it will be someone from work and that bank teller that you encountered and others that you just passed them in life and didn't even know but they were watching. And then as you're just floored at all these people that your life influenced and you thought that you didn't influence anybody. The crowd will part in the moment you most desire of all will happen. Your children will come your children and some of you will die before your children come to Christ. You'll never see it in this world. The fruit of your prayers and the fruit of your labors and the tears of your concern that were shed and your children had turned away and walked away from Christ but the crowd parts and here come your baby and something even more amazing. Your grandchildren and then all their children and their children's children that you never met because you never lived to see it all. Generations start coming. Let me ask you this in that moment will you sit there and say I really regret what I sacrificed. You think you'll say that? Do you think that will you think you'll say I paid too much to be a Christian? Or do you think you'll do what Shindler did? You remember what he said? He ripped off his lapel pen and he said with this I could have saved another Jew. What about my car? If I had sold my car I could have saved 10 more. I don't think we'll have any regrets in that day. Thank the Lord. But I know this we won't regret anything that we gave up for eternity. We will reign with him in glory. Wouldn't you agree with me that before the seventh trumpet sound we ought to be busy in the vineyard because it's daytime. It's gospel time but night is drawing night. The people of God for two thousand years have walked straight to their death saying this little light of mine I'm going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel. What?