The Christian's Call to Contentment, Part 6

Okay, so good to have you with us tonight. Did you get an outline? You're going to need one if you didn't get one. They're in the back. Just in case you want to follow along real closely, don't want to lose you. But if you want an outline, you can pick up one in the back. Yeah. Sure, you can get him, get one. Yeah. Vicky, where are you going? Sit back down. No, you go up and get one. If you don't have one, at least you can be able to follow along a lot easier. That'd be great.

Don't forget that in two weeks we got a Thanksgiving Eve service. It'll be a great time as we celebrate what God is doing, as we anticipate the Christian Christmas season, and as we begin to understand more about the things we're to be thankful for, we going to talk about perfect peace because once you understand contentment, and hopefully by the end of next week you will. Contentment always leads to perfect peace. And so, we want you to understand what perfect peace is. It's a result of a contented life and the opportunity to live for the glory of God. So, we're going to talk about perfect peace. Because that's what we give thanks to the Lord for, for the peace that He Himself gives, for He is the God of peace. So it'll be a great time.

And as we study the word of the Lord tonight, let's begin with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for the opportunity you give us in the middle of the week to study your word. What a great joy! Be able to open the Word of God and see what it is you have for us that we might live for you and honor you. We are grateful, Lord, that you have allowed us this privilege. And we realize that as we gather together and we hear your word. We have a great responsibility to fulfill in obedience what we hear. And our prayer, Lord, is that we would be obedient to your word. Word, and that we would serve you, and that we'd follow you, and that you'd be pleased. Because, as your children, our great desire is to honor you.

We thank you, Lord, for what's happening in our country. We thank you for those who are in charge because we know they are there because of your sovereign will. And so we ask that you would lead and guide us as a people. A people of God, to always represent you wherever we go and whatever we do, that others would see that Christ reigns supreme in our hearts and lives. And for that, we thank you in Jesus' name. Name. Amen.

Contentment is truly godlikeness. God with contentment's great gain. But you can't be content and ungodly. So godliness always leads to contentment. It's a byproduct of living a god-like life. So whenever you think about what the Bible says concerning living a contented life, we realize that it's it's the life of Christ lived in the in the believer because we are dependent upon his sufficiency. We are looking inwardly and saying, Lord, you are the all-sufficient God, and so therefore we lean on you and your sufficiency.

And so we are in our sixth week. Next week, we'll complete our outline as we begin to understand what Paul is telling Timothy. And let me just read for you the verses we're going to cover this evening. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 13, 14, and the first part of 15. Paul says, I charge you in the presence of God. Who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time. Paul tells Timothy, keep the command without stain, without reproach. Make sure you do it in an unblem way, that you are sold out to the Word of God. Why? Simply because the Lord is coming again, and he will appear. At the proper time. That is just so important. At the proper time.

So point number eight in our outline is this, that if we're going to live a contented life, then we live it simply because we retain the certainty of his coming again as our hope and stay. We retain the certainty of his coming again As our hope and stay. In other words, we are ab sure that Jesus is coming. So much so, we live in light of that every single moment of every single day. Now the question is, how do you do that? How is it you retain that certainty? If you're to keep the commandments of God, Unblem, without spot, without stain. The way you're going to do that is to live in light of the appearing of Christ. But how do you live each day and each moment in light of that appearing? Because he's going to come at the proper time.

Remember over in Acts chapter 1, after the Lord had spent 40 days with the apostles, teaching them things pertaining to the kingdom. Now, can you imagine sitting down on the Mount of Olives? With the apostles, and hearing Jesus only speak about things pertaining to the kingdom. That's all he did. And you're sitting there mesmerized by every word that comes out of his mouth. And what he said to the apostles, we don't know, but they would later write about the things concerning the coming of Christ. But 40 days after the resurrection, Christ in his glorified body, talking to his men about things pertaining to the kingdom.

And so it says these words in Acts chapter 1, in verse number 4: Gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised. Which he said, you heard of from me. For John baptized you with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? Is now the time you're going to do this? I mean, after all, we spent 40 days listening to you about the kingdom. And now you tell us to wait in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father. So, is this the time? I mean, after all, you're the king, you've died, you've risen again, and you have a glorified body. Is now the time you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel?

And there might have been a little selfish motive behind that because we know that the Lord promised them that they would rule over the 12 tribes of Israel, and each of them will have their own portion in the millennial reign of Christ. So maybe there was a. Selfish motive behind that is: is it now you're going to set up your kingdom? Are we going to be able to rule and reign with you right now?

And Christ responds this way: He says, It is not for you to know the times or the epochs which the Father has fixed in his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. Our Lord would first of all curtail their curiosity. Help them to understand that now is not the time. And He curtailed their curiosity by telling them, listen, don't be cons. With reigning and ruling with me in eternity. But I want you to be content with revealing me to humanity. In other words, you're concerned about my kingdom, and rightly so, because I'm the king and you're a part of the kingdom. But don't be so consumed with that that you forget about the opportunity that you have to reveal me to humanity.

And so you're going to receive power. And that power is not about a program, it's about a person. The Holy Spirit that's going to come and reside within you. And he talked about that on the eve of the crucifixion. How another comforter is going to come and he's going to ind you, and that comforter is going to bring to your remembrance all the things that you've learned and heard. And that's the promise to the Father. He's going to send you the Spirit, and you will be my witnesses. You see, witnessing is not something you do. It's something that you are. We think we go and we do evange. No. If that's what you think you do, you're in big trouble because you don't do evangelism. You are an evangelist. You are a missionary. You are an ambassador. You are a representative of the Christ. You are his witnesses. And you shall be my witnesses. Being a witness is what we are, that's what we live for. And he wants them to understand that.

And then, all of a sudden, he begins to ascend in the glory. The Bible says in verse number 9, and after that he said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on. And a cloud received him out of their sight. As they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee. Why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven.

Now, they had never seen someone defy gravity. They had never seen someone lift themselves up and ascend into glory. No one had done that before. So they had never seen that. They had never seen a resurrection, but Christ resurrected people. And then he resurrected him. But they had never seen anybody defy gravity and just go up into heaven. And they stood there looking at him as he ascended. And two men in white apparel, maybe they were angels, maybe they were not. Bible didn't tell us. And they said to him, Men of Galilee. Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? In other words, you can almost imagine them sitting there saying, Hey guys, wake up. What are you doing? You have work to do. Don't you know that this same Jesus is going to return in the same manner in which he left, not the same place. Same manner. Make sure you understand that. That's very important. He's going to return in the same manner in which you left.

And that episode, that event, that situation would set the tone. For the book of Acts and the spread of the gospel from generation to gener. Because what they understood is that the king is going to return. They lived in the light of the certainty of the return of the king. That's how they could go and preach the gospel without any fear of dying. Without any fear of persecution. If you're going to persecute us, it's okay. The king is coming back. We are a part of his kingdom. He told us he's going to return. And so we're just waiting for that time in which our Lord will come back and set up his kingdom. And that's why they could do what they did, that's why they could endure persecution. That's why they could go and be witnesses for the Lord because they lived in light of the return of the Christ. And every apostle did that. As you read through the New Testament, everybody was living in light of that return. They were so excited about the fact that Jesus was coming again.

But after 2,000 years and him not coming, We tend to get a little cold toward the return of the king. It seems like it's something in the future. Something beyond us. I mean, if Paul thought the Lord was going to come in his life, and he didn't, and that was 2,000 years ago. What are the chances of him coming during my lifetime? My father, whenever he wrote a letter or a card, he always signed it Mar Dad. Maron out of 1 Corinthians 16:2, which says, Our Lord come. My father lived in the light of the return of the king. My father believed that Jesus was going to come back in his day. He really did believe that. In fact, he was truly hoping he'd come back before he actually died. That didn't happen. He went on to be with the Lord. But he lived praying and hoping. For the king to return. But whenever he signed the letter Mered Dad, it was always a reminder that Jesus is coming again. And you know, every one of us needs to understand that this is our h and stay.

When Edward Mot wrote that hymn, The Solid Rock, he says in verse number three, His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whel flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. When he shall come with trumpets sound, Or may I then in him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne Edward Mote knew that his hope and stay was the return of the king. He was coming again to live a life of contentment. Means you retain the certainty of the fact that Jesus is coming again and he could come at any moment, and this is my hope, and this is my stay. We are actually looking for the return of the king.

It was A. W. To who penned these words. He says, If the tender yearning is gone from the ad hope or the second coming hope, Today, there must be a reason for it. And I think I know what it is, or what they are, for there are a number of them. One is simply that popular fundamentalist theology has emphasized the utility of the cross rather than the beauty of the one who died on the cross. The saved man's relation to Christ has been made contractual instead of personal. The quote work of Christ has been stressed until it has eclipsed the person of Christ. Substitution has been allowed to supersede identification. What he did for me seems to be more important. Than what he is to me. Redemption is seen as an ac-the transaction which we accept, and the whole thing lacks emotional content. We must love someone very much to stay awake and long for his coming. And that may explain the absence of the power in the Advent hope, even among those who still believe in it. His concern was that we don't long for the person. We love the work of Christ, but we don't long for the person of Christ. And if you love somebody, you can't wait to be with that person. You can't wait to see that person. And if we say that we love Christ, then at the bottom of all things that uphold that love is that longing to see him face to face.

And Paul tells Timothy, you need to retain the standard. You need to keep the commandment without spot, without stain. To do that, you must always be looking for the appearing of our Christ because there's an appointed day. There's a time in which he's going to return. And because there is a specific time that he will return, you keep looking. For if you do, if you do, you then will be cont. So the question comes: how do we do that? How do we retain that certainty? How do we go through every day always waking up, anticipating that this is the day? going to bed hoping that tonight's tonight. Waking up the next day disappointed that we made it through the night into the next day, but anticipating on that day It's Jesus is going to come. If he doesn't come that day, then go to bed at night, hoping that he comes when I'm asleep. That I might be caught up together with those who are dead in Christ in the air, that I might forever be with the Lord. How do I retain that standard?

I'm going give you 14 points. All of them tonight. I've got to because I've got two main points I've got to finish next week. So let me give them to you. We'll go through them rather rapidly. We'll have to. In order to cover them all. So let's begin with the first one.

The first one is this: if you're going to retain the standard, you must read and heed. The book of Revelation. You must read and heed the bo of Revelation. Listen to what Revelation chapter 1. Verse number one says, The revelation of Jesus Christ, the apocalypsis, the unveiling of the Christ. This book is all about unveiling Christ in all of his beauty, in all of his splendor, in all of his glory. This is it. Okay? And remember that the rabbis have not ruled out the book of Revelation to be read by the Jewish people. Because 95% of what takes place in Revelation is all in the Old Testament. And so they haven't ruled out the reading of the book of Revelation. But it is the unveiling of the Christ, the Messiah. Which God gave him to show his bonds the things which must soon take place. And he sent and communicated it by his angel to his bonds John. Who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw? Now, here it is: bless is he. Who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near. The time is near. The time is at hand. Or, better translated, the time is next. The very next ev on the prophetic calendar is the coming of the Christ. So John hears that in order for him to receive a blessing, he must read and he this bo. Because blessing comes in the reading of the unveiling of the crucified Christ. So important.

At the end in Revelation 22, same thing is said, verse number 7. And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. So at the beginning and at the end, there's a bookend. These are bookends. That say, look, everything in here is so important that if you read it and you obey it, there is great blessing. Great blessing. So you say, well, because there's so much there I don't understand, how is it that that will help me retain the standard or retain with certainty the coming of the king? Because it's all about his coming. It's all about his unveiling.

Look what it says in verse number four. John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace. From Him who is Him who is, and who was, and Who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before the thr, and from Jes Christ the faithful witness. Witness. There is a triune benediction from the one who is and who was and who is to come. And from Christ, who was the firstborn, and from the Holy Spirit. But notice what he says: grace and peace. The book of Revelation is about the judgment of God. The book of Revelation is about giving man what he deserves. But it begins with offering man something he doesn't deserve. This is so great because it ends the same way. Revelation chapter 22, verse number 21, last verse. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. So a book about judgment and giving man what he absolutely deserves begins and ends with offering something he doesn't deserve. Grace and peace. So every time you open the book and you read the book, Revelation. It helps you retain the certainty of his coming again. This is absolutely important.

As we move toward the latter days, that is, the end times. As we move and begin to understand all the workings that are happening, everything now is being set in motion for the return of the king. There is one element about the Harris Biden ticket. And the Harris Biden ticket has promised to be pro Palestinian. The Harris Biden ticket has promised that they will div The state of Israel. That is a violation of Joel three, verse number two, which says That God will judge any who divides his l, his nation. And he will judge them in the valley of Jehoshaphat, the valley of Decision. And someone needs to get to them and tell them, if you do this, you will be judged because God says you cannot divide the land.

Now, why is that important? Because the Palestinian people are the descendants of Esau. Esau Was an individual who God changed his name in Genesis 36 to Edom. And once they settled in Petra, that impregnable fortress, and were defeated by the Nabataeans. They fled. They became Idum. Remember, Herod the Great was an Idum. So they went from Esau to Edom to Idum. And God promised in the book of Obadiah, in fact, there is one people group in all of the Bible that has more judgments pronounced against them than any other people group. It's the Edomites, modern-day Palestinians. And so, what happens then is that the book of Obadiah tells you about the judgment that's going to come against Edom, the land of Edom. That is so important. Why? Because the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church is all about the division of the State of Israel. They want to give a portion to the Palestinians. You can't divide a land that God has given to Israel. If you do, you'll be judged. And yet the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has determined to meet with the Palestinian Authority in order that they might grant them l in Is.

Well, if you understand the book of Ezekiel, there are two people groups that the Harris-Biden ticket side with. Palestinians and Iran. And Ezekiel thirty-, Ezekiel thirty-. Both of those nations. Will be judged by Almighty God because they will come against God's people, Israel. So when you read the book of Revelation. You are living in the light of his return. It's going to help you retain with certainty the coming of the Messiah, the coming of the king. That's why he begins with the blessing. You read this, you're going to see Jesus. You read this, you can't help but be blessed. You read this and obey this. Let me tell you something: your life is going to change. You want to live a contented life? Begin by retaining with certainty the coming of the Christ as both your hope and stay. It begins with reading and heeding the book of Revelation.

Number two, and we better hurry because I won't finish. Repent of your sin. Repent of your sin. Remember Acts chapter 17? What's it say? Verse number 30. Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent. Why? Because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man. Whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. In other words, it's time to repent because there's coming a day of judgment. And that judgment is going to come at an appointed time. Remember what the two men in white apparel said to the apostles. Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? Don't you know that this same Jesus is going to return in the same way at the proper time, at the appointed time? Paul says the same thing to Timothy at 1 Timothy 6, as we read earlier. The appearing is going to come at the proper time. And now, Paul is saying in Acts 17, there is an appointed time in which God has fixed in which He will judge the living and the dead. And you better make sure you have repented of your sin. Turn from your sin.

And repentance becomes the theme of Revelation, a major theme in Revel. Because in Revelation chapter 6, and we refer to this on Sunday, that people want the rocks to fall upon them and die. Because of the wrath of the Lamb. How do they know that the wrath coming upon them is from the Lamb of God? How do they know that? Because everybody will know. Because Jesus is that Lamb. And they cry for the rocks to fall upon them. And if you go to Revelation chapter 16, and this is so enlightening, because in Revelation chapter 16, This is so great. It says, as the bowls of wrath are being poured out, remember that there are six seals that spanned the tribulation period. And out of the seals come seven trumpets that blow. They come toward the end. They are called the great and terrible day of the Lord. And out of the seventh trumpet that blows, there come seven bowls that are poured out. And then the end comes. So now you're at the end of the book of Revelation. You're at the end of the tribulation.

And in Revelation 16, verse number 8, it says: the fourth angel poured out his bull upon the sun. And it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. They will not repent. They are being burned alive that they won't repent. They know it's God, and they're going to blaspheme his name. Then it says in verse number 10: Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven. Because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds. So now, not only are they being burned, the kingdom becomes dark. So dark they cannot see. So, what do they do? They chew off their tongues. They bite on their tongues to numb them from the pain they feel from the incessant heat that's burning their flesh, but they will not repent. They will not repent. They are so angry at God.

And so, when you read and heed the book of Revelation, it tells you you've got to make sure you've repented of your sin. Because you'll never be content by living in your sin. Sin is a great deterrent to contentment. If you're living in sin, not repenting from your sin, it's Only going to cause you more harm. So read and heed the book of Revelation. Repent of your sin.

Number three, remember the Lord's table. Remember the Lord's table. If you want to retain the certainty of the coming of the king, remember the Lord's table. 1 Corinthians 11:2. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do proclaim the Lord's death until when? Until he comes. Because he's going to come again. So every time you partake of the Lord's table, It's something that you look back at your redemption, right? Look backward at your redemption. Look inward at your relationship. And you look forward to his return. Because in Revelation 19, there's coming an event called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

In Revelation 19, these words are spoken. Let us rejoice, verse number 7, and be glad and give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous act of the saint. Then he said to me, Write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supp of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are tr words. You see, when the rapture takes place and we ascend into glory, there's going to be a great celebration. It's called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It's going to be a time of great celebration remembering the crucified Christ and the benefits, the blessings of being invited to the great marriage supp of the Lamb. Christ is presenting the bride to his father in heaven. He's presenting the bride to the angelic hosts of heaven. We go and we are being presented before the throne of God. And then in Revel 19, he's going to present the bride to the world.

If you know anything about a Jewish wedding, It lasts for a week, right? Seven days, this is seven years. And you're presenting the bride to your family. After the bride has been presented to your family, you present the bride to everybody else in the world. Christ presents us to his Father, the host of heaven, and then we come back with him in Revelation 19, verses 16 and following, dressed in our white raiment and our white apparel, because now he's going to show the world his bride. Going to destroy him, but he's going to show the world's bright. So they will know the church and the beauty of it. That's why remembering the Lord's table helps you retain with certainty the coming of the Lord. Lord Jesus.

Number four, reflect on his holiness, his purity. 1 John chapter 3, verse number 2. Beloved, now we are children of God, and has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself just as he is. Pure. When you reflect on his holiness, when you reflect on his purity, it helps you retain the certainty of his coming again. Why? Because you're always looking for him. When you see him, you're going to be like him, for you see him as he is, and we'll be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and we will all be glorified. Presence. What a beautiful, beautiful picture. That's exactly what's going to happen. And when you Think about Him and all of His glory and all of His splendor coming to take us home, to be with Him, that we too will have glorified bodies as our Lord had a glorified body, and we will no longer live in sin. It causes us to reflect on that and to. Refrain from living in sin and helps you retain with certainty the com of the King.

Number five, res to pray with thanksgiving. Resolve to pray with thanks. Philippians 4, verse number 4 says this: Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your gener spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near, or the Lord is next. The Lord is next. Let your gentle spirit be known to all men: the Lord is next. The Lord is at hand. In other words, the next thing is the Lord. So, because the Lord's coming, be anxious. For nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the God of peace. The God of peace is the one who grants us peace. But we are to pray with thanksgiving. Why? Because the Lord is next.

How can we pray with Thanksgiving when everything around us is bad? How do you pray with Thanksgiving when everything around you is falling apart? Simply because the Lord is next. He's coming. And therefore, I can really pray with thanksgiving. And I don't have to be anxious about what's going to happen to me because it might not ever happen. The Lord could come back and take me home. I might not have to worry about the next wave of lockdowns. Jesus might come and take me home. So, why am I worried about the next wave of lockdowns under the next president? Not worried about that. Why? I might not be here for that. I might be gone. So, I make it for nothing. But in everything, my prayer and supplication with thanksgiving because the Lord is next. I pray in anticipation of his coming again. See, the reason we don't pray with thanks is because we don't see the Lord is coming next. We see the next crisis as next. We see the next bad event as next. We see everything bad next instead of Christ as next. Next. The Lord is near. The Lord is at hand. Pray without being anxious with thanksgiving.

Read and heed the book of Revel. Repent of my sin. Remember the Lord's table. Reflect on his purity. Resolve to pray with thanksgiving. Remain steadfast in your service. Remain steadfast in your service. 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the resurrected body, the glorified body. And Paul concludes that section by saying, Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Why? Because the Lord is coming again, because your body's going to be glorified, because he's going to raise the dead. Now you can be steadfast. Now you can be immovable. Now you can always abound in the work of the Lord. Why? Because the Lord could come at any moment. And one of the reasons we don't serve in the ministry of the church is because we don't realize he could come at any moment. If you did, you'd want to serve. If you did, that service would be always abounding. Why? Because the Lord's coming. He's next. So in 1 Corinthians 15, when Paul gives us that admonition, he gives it based on the reality of the return of Christ. Our King, retain with certainty the com of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Number seven, rec to ministry. Rec to ministry. Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, verse number 1: I solemnly charge you, in the presence of God. And of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. In other words, Timothy, listen, understand this. You got to preach the word. And you got to preach the word in season and out of season. You must reprove, rebuke. With all long su, with all patience, you got to do it, Timothy. Why? Because the Lord is coming again. I charge you in the presence of God, in other words, God is everywhere, right? So I'm saying this as if God would say it to you because it's the inspired word of God. Preach the word, Timothy. You do it in season and out of season. The Word of God is never out of season. It's always in season. It's always the right time to preach the word.

He says, as he goes on in chapter 4, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with. To their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will not turn aside to miss. But you be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an ev. Fulfill your ministry. Timothy, you can't stop. You can't quit. Because I'm telling you, in the presence of God Almighty, the King who's going to come at any moment. Got to preach the word. The urgency of preaching the word is great. And as you are preaching the word, as you are recommitting to ministry.

Number eight is this: res the perishing, res the perishing over in the book of Jude, Jude, verse 21. Jude says this: Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. In other words, waiting anxiously for the for the for the coming of of Christ the the eternal life that's going to come to fruition for you as you do Have mercy on some who are doubting. Save others, snatching them out of the fire. And on some, have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Jude says, listen, the time is coming for the mercy of God to bring you home to eternal life. See, you have to res those who are doubting. Rescue those who have been deceived. Rescue those who have been defiled. Snatch them, as it were, out of the fire because they're in danger of eternal fire. You must rescue the perishing.

People who doubt the truth of God's word need to be rescued. People who have been deceived by Satan need to be rescued. People who have been defiled. Do it with fear, lest you get your garments stained as well. Do it with fear, but those who have been defiled need to be rescued. From eternal fire, from eternal damnation. So important. Listen, we are rescuing people. From an eternity, not just separated from God, which is bad enough, it is the eternal torment. In fire forever, not for a moment, not for a while. The Universalists, they're all wrong. The Annihilationists, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, all wrong. Why? One simple reason. Eternal damnation, eternal fire, is the same as eternal life. And the word it's used is I, which means eternal. But it's the same word used to describe your eternal God. If you don't believe hell is eternal, you deny the eternality of God. If you deny the eternality of God, you can't be saved. Because he who comes to God must believe that he is, and is the reward of those who diligently seek him. So, to deny the eternality of hell is to deny the eternality of the living God. Who created hell for the devil and his angels? And we are rescuing people from that eternal damnation.

Now, we know that God calls them, God saves them, we are the preachers of the gospel. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by a word about the Christ. So we preach the word, we teach the word. We're coming upon the season, the most glorious season of all, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas, the most beautiful time of the year to be able to tell people about the Christ as you gather with your families. I know the governor said you can only gather in groups of 10. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Nobody's going do that. Who's going to do that? That's just not going to happen. Okay? You gather with your people and you proclaim the truth. You proclaim the gospel. You teach the truth to people. Your family who is perishing. Maybe they're doubting. Maybe they've been defiled. Maybe, maybe they are the ones who have been deceived. Teach them the truth. Give them the eternal word of God that never passes away, that they might be rescued from eternal damnation. So important.

Number nine, refuse to neglect church. Refuse to neglect church. Why? Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. Says it this way. Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. Says very clearly that we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Why? Because we are in the process. Of stimulating one another to love and to good deeds. In other words, we are helping people understand and see the truth. Truth. It says, Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as. You see the day approaching. What's the day approaching? The day drawing near. What's the day drawing near? It's the return of the king. So because Christ could come, the day of his coming is drawing nearer and nearer. It is next on the agenda. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Because that's where you motivate one another, that's where you stimulate one another, that's where you encourage one another, that's why you gather together as a local body, because you are invested in the body of Christ. You are there to proclaim the truth and move people to maturity. That's why we gather together. That's why we're not afraid to gather together as a church. Because we know what the Bible says we're supposed to be doing. Even more so, because the day of his appearing is drawing near. So we refuse to neglect church. Why? Because when we do, we can't motivate others to Christ's likeness. We can't stimulate one another. We can't do that from a distance. We can't do that through Zoom. We can't do that in any other way but by gathering together as a body of Christ. Where we are to love one another and serve one another. We're to encourage one another and pray for one another. We are a body that functions together, not a part. And so, therefore, you refuse. To neglect church.

Number 10, revive the brokenhearted. You want to retain the standard? Revive the brokenhearted. Let me tell you something. How did Jesus comfort troubled hearts? Listen, if you want to comfort troubled hearts, do it the way Jesus did it. Don't you think he'd do it better than anybody else? Don't you? Okay, I didn know if you believe me or not. I think that if someone's going to comfort somebody, it would be Jesus, right? Not your pastor or your elders or your friend, but Jesus. So, how does Jesus comfort troubled hearts? All about his return. John 14: let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? Believe also in me. For in my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. And I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. I will receive you into myself, that where I am, there you may be also. That's how the Lord comforts his disciples. By giving him the promise of his return.

So the Apostle Paul, knowing in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The only way to encourage those who were concerned about their loved ones who had died was to tell them about Christ who was going to come again. So he says to them, But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep, for the Lord Himself Descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, Comfort one another with these words. You want to revive the brokenhearted? You revive them by telling them about the return. Of the king. He's coming. That you might get them to look toward the future, to look toward the coming of the Lord, that they would always anticipate his arrival. This should be uppermost in our minds. That's how Paul did it. That's how Jesus did it. Let me tell you something. If it's good enough for Jesus, it better be good enough for us.

So when you talk to people, when their hearts are broken, they could be broken over a very, they could have lost a loved one, they could have been diagnosed with cancer. They could have lost someone dear to them. They could have lost their job. They could have contacted the virus. Whatever caused them to have a broken heart, revive them. How? By telling them about the coming of the Christ, by telling them about the return of the King, He has and is making a dwelling place. In his home, for people like you and for me.

Renew your relationships. 1 Thessalonians 3: to 13. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, verses 12 and 13, the Apostle Paul says this. He says, verse 11: Now may our Lord. Now, may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you. And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another. And for all people, just as we also do for you, so that he may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father. At the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Do you know that each chapter in 1 Thessalonians ends with something about the coming of Christ? The Thessalonican church was a church that lived in light of the return of Christ. At the end of chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, 4, and 5, there's always something that Paul reminds them of. Concerning the coming of Christ. Now we there are no chapter divisions in the letter, but as they are divided in our Bible, that's how they all end. Because he wants to always remind them that Jesus is com. Coming.

Well, because he's going to come one day with all of the saints, renew your relationship with those you say you love. Don't live with an unforgiving spirit. Don't live with a bitter spirit. Don't live with a jealous spirit. Don't live angry. Why? Because Jesus is coming. And you want to be presented to him without spot, without blame, with any sin. When he comes, you want to be ready for his return. Restore, renew those rel so that you are ready for Christ to come.

Number twelve, radiate your citizenship. Radiate your citizenship. Philippians 3:2 says that we are citizens of another kingdom, the kingdom of God. Same thing is true over in Hebrews chapter 13, verse number 14. We are kingdom citizens. So we radiate the fact that we are of another citizenship. We are of another domain. We are from another count. How do you think all those Old Testament saints lived? Read the book of Hebrews, 11th chapter. And when we go to Hebrews 11, when we finally get there, we're going to cover every person in the hall of faith one at a time. And we're going to go through the Old Testament and show you how they lived one way, always anticipating the Coming of the Messiah. They look for a city whose building and maker was God Himself. That's what Hebrews 11, 13 and following tells us.

How do you think a guy like Noah was able to endure for 120 years building the ark in the middle of the desert where there were no trees and there was no water and never rained before? How does he do that? He is a preacher of righteousness. How could he do that? Because he knew Messiah was coming. He knew there was something greater than where he was. So he could endure the laughing and the mocking and the ridicule. In the persecution for a hundred and twenty years. Some of us have a hard time enduring it for a hundred and twenty minutes. He did it for 120 years, non-stop. Same time, he encouraged his kids, his sons. How's he going to encourage them? Because they're being ridiculed as well. And as a preacher of righteousness, he's got to keep them on board, on board the boat. He's got to keep them on board with building the boat. You can't get discouraged. You can't be looking at the persecution. You can't be listening to what they're saying because there's coming the day where the Messiah will return. So Noah, a preacher of righteousness, always lived retaining the certainty of the coming of his king.

You want to live a contented life? You must do that. To do so, you must read and heed the book of Revelation. Repent of your sin. Remember the Lord's table. Reflect on his purity. Resolve to pray with thanksgiving. Remain steadfast in your service. Recommit to ministry. Rescue the perishing, refuse to neglect church, revive the brokenhearted, renew your relationships, radiate your citizenship, rest. This is number 12, 13, sorry, rest in the cross. Cross of Christ rest in the cross of Christ I got this one from one of our elders, Tom Mason, because on Monday night we talked to him about how do you retain the standard of the coming of Christ. And he told me, I looked back at the cross. and pr that I'm closer to his return than I am to the cross. That was 2,000 years ago. But looking back is a reminder of What he did for me, that we're crucified with Christ.

Remember, Hebrews 9, verse number 28 says this. So, Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him. Looking back to the cross, where there was a one-time sacrifice for our sin, causes us to remember that's not the end. That's not even the end of the beginning. It was just the beginning of the end. And so I look in anticipation and knowing that my Lord's going to come. I rest in the cross. I rest in the fact that I've been saved. I rest in the fact that Jesus has washed my sin. Sins away, I rest in the fact that at Calvary's cross, the blood that was spilt for me wiped away all the stain of my sin. Which allows me to be clothed in the robes of righteousness, the garments of God, as a bride, anticipating the arrival of the bridegroom.

And lastly, and you didn't think I'd do this, but we did. Rejoice in the reward you will re and its Result. Rejoice in the reward you will re and its res. To hear the words, well done, thou good and faithful servant, knowing that the book of Revelation talks about the Steph, the crown, the victor's crown. And the Bible speaks about those crowns, the crown of joy, the crown of gl, the crown of life, the imperishable crown, the crown of righteousness. I think they're best translated the crown which is life, the crown which is righteousness, the crown which is joy. The crown which is imperishable. I think there are literal crowns that we receive, but the result of receiving them. According to the book of Revelation, the 4th chapter, the 10th verse, is that we cast them at the feet of the one on the throne, the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ. Because without Him we'd receive nothing. And because we're there, we owe Him everything. Even the things that we've received from Him in glory. Pale in comparison to the one I see in glory.

We need to retain with certainty the coming Of Christ. These are just 14 simple principles. I could probably give you another 14 if you came back tomorrow. But just to help you understand that if you are doing these things, you're going to retain with certainty the coming of the Christ. And if you do, you'll be able to keep the commandments without spot, without stain, without wrinkle. Because the Lord is coming. And when He appears, you'll see Him for who He is. And when you see Him for who He is, you going to be like Him. It'll be a great and glorious day. Jesus is coming. Again, let's pray.

Father, thank you for today, the opportunity you give us to study your word. What a joy to remember once again and be reminded. That Jesus is coming. Oh Lord, help us to live for you. Help us to understand that the way to a content life Is to be so cons with you that we can't even begin to let the things around us affect us. Because they're all external, and you are in us. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. May we live for you and you only. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.