The Manger: A Manifestation of Majesty and Mystery, Part 2

We have begun a new series entitled Invitation to Intimacy And last week we began by talking about that inv Recorded in Revelation chapter 22, verse number 17, where it says, The Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let the one who hears say, Come, and let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who wishes take the water of life Without cost The invitation is declared in Revelation:, the last chapter of the last book Of the Bible

And that invitation is given to those who are thirsty, to those who are hungry, to those who are weary, to those Who want or wish to take the water of life are to come and they can receive it freely And last week we talked about the distinctives in that invitation We talked about the extension Of that invitation, and we talked about the appropriation of that inv And then we decided to talk about the incentives that surrounded that invitation After you declare it, then you must describe why it's important for you to be a part of what the Lord God has to offer And the first point we covered

Talked about the identity of Christ, who He is The reason we should come and respond to the invitation Is because of who Jesus Christ is He says up in verse number 13 that he is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end It speaks of God being the source of all things and God being the substance of all things He is before time, he is after time, he is the God of the universe who created time And because he is a source and substance of all things, we should respond because of who he is

Which leads us to the second incentive as to why you need to respond to the invitation And that is because of the exclusivity of heaven Back to Revelation chapter 22 Revelation chapter 22, verse number 14 and 15 It says, Blessed are those who wash their robes. that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city out of the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices Lying

We are to respond to the invitation not only because of the identity of the one who offers it, but because of the exclusivity of the place in which we are to inherit And that is heaven The Lord gives us a seventh and last beatitude in Revelation And the beatitude c around those who are the insiders Because heaven is not for everyone There are some that are inside and some that will be outside Heaven is a very exclusive place, and unless you have robes that have been washed in the blood of the Lamb You are excluded from heaven The Bible tells us, Blessed are those who wash their ro

Those are the insiders It's a symbol of being forgiven Turn back over to Revelation chapter 7 Over in Revelation chapter 7, verse number 13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they? And from where have they come? And I said to him, Lloyd, Lord, you know And he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb Those who have white robes symbolize those who have been forgiven They have participated in the death of Christ

They have been placed into the body of Christ because He paid the penalty for their sins When you read through Scripture, soiled robes are a symbol of sinfulness That's why Isaiah said in Isaiah 64, verse 6: For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy garments And because all of our righteousness is as filthy garments or is as filthy rags, there has to be a cleansing And the only way we can be cleansed is through the blood of the Lamb It says in Hebrews:, it's the blood of Christ That cleanses you

Over in 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 18 and 19, it says that we are redeemed not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of the Lamb of God And it's that blood that wipes away all the stains That's why the Lord said to the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 1:18 Come, let us reason together Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow And though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool Why? Because the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse the filthy garment And make it a white robe, make it a washed robe

We'll give you the proper garment so that when the king comes out to throw the feast, he will see you dressed in the proper attire because you've accepted his invitation And the robe that he offers Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life Where's the tree of life? It's in the New Jerusalem, Revelation 22:2 And only ones who eat the tree of life are the ones who have the right to it And who are they? They are the ones who have entered in by the gates They have or they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city

The entrance into the city of Jerusalem, the capital city of the new heaven and the new earth Christ is showing us heaven But if your sins aren't forgiven, you never enter the gates, you never partake of the tree of life Heaven is not for everyone Some will be left out Only the cleansed have the right to be there Forgiveness is the requirement And then in verse number 15, he describes the ones who are excluded, the outsiders Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices Lying

Christ gives us not an inclusive list of those on the outside, but a list that's representative of those who are on the outside And those on the outside, where do they go? Revelation chapter 21, verse 8 tells us: But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars Their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death Those who are on the outside are excluded Why? Because they have not been washed in the royal blood of the Lamb So the invitation is: come, drink, take

Receive forgiveness, or you will be left out You come because of the identity of the one who offers the invitation The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords You come because of the exclusivity of the place in which you will inherit, that is heaven And it's only set aside for those whose sins are forgiven And yet, there's a third incentive, and that is this: you come Because of the veracity and the finality of the Word of God It says in verse number 18 and 19, I testify to everyone who hears the words, the prophecy of this book

If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part From the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this bo The Bible ends with this fact: that the words of this prophecy Are God's words And because God is truth, His word is true And because His Word is true, It is fin And so the reason we respond to the invitation is because of the veracity and finality of the Word of God It is truth And it is final It's over

It is so true that you must understand that everything that the Spirit of God has spelled out for us in the book of Revelation is going to happen There is going to be a seven-year tribulation There is going to be an Antichrist There is going to be the beast and the false prophet There is going to be the seven bowls of judgment and the seven seals and the seven trumpets There is going to be the lake of fire There is going to be heaven There is going to be the new Jerusalem There is going to be the eternal state All those things are going to happen Why? Because these words are true

It says over in Revelation 22:6, and he said to me, These words are faithful And true What words? The words of the prophecy They're true words You can bank on them You can make a deposit on them and draw interest on them because they're so true They're guaranteed to happen That's why you got to respond to the invitation, or you'll be left behind When the Lord comes to get his people, you'll be left behind When the Son of Man comes in all of his glory, if your life has not been washed by the blood of the Lamb

Then you will experience a great and terrible day of the Lord, and you will miss out on what God has to offer These words, because they're true, they must not be altered They must not be add to And you must not take away from them Because God says, I testify. I like that. I really believe that this probably should be a red-letter edition here, verse number 18 Why? Because it says in verse number 20: He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming quickly And then it says in verse number 18, I testify to everyone who hears

So, I believe with the Spirit of God speaking and not John Himself You see? And the Lord God is testifying to the fact that these words Are true And this is not the only time that God has said this Turn back with me to Deuteronomy chapter 4 Deuteronomy chapter 4, verse number 2 Says this, you shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you Because these words are true, you are not to add to any of the words in which God gives you

Then over in Deuteronomy chapter 12, verse number 32, what I command you, you shall be careful to do You shall not add to, nor take away from it That over in Proverbs chapter 30, verse number 5 and verse number 6, every word of God is tested, every word of God is pure and true He is a shield to those who take refuge in him Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you and you be proved. A liar Then, over in Jeremiah chapter 26, verse number 2 says, This, thus says the Lord Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, who have come to worship in the Lord's house

All the words that I have commanded you to speak to them Do not omit. A wor Because what God says is true Because what God says is faithful Because what God says you can guarantee He says, Don't add to it, don't alter it, don't try to erase it, and don't try to expand on it because it's final And yet there are people today who continually try to add to the Word of God Whether it's a Jehovah's Witnesses with a New World Translation

Whether it's the Mormons with the Book of Mormon, whether it's the Roman Catholic Church and the Apocrypha, there's always that addition to the 66 books as to what God has said And God says, if you do that, I will add to you the plagues that are in this book, and you will have no part of the kingdom of heaven And there are people today who want to omit things in the Word of God because it confronts their sin They want to take those verses out because it's too condemning to the sinner And too condemning on the man's sin

And so they extract those verses out and say, well, God is one of love and one of grace and one of mercy, and therefore we don't want to offend people So they Refrain from using those words, and they want to subtract God's holy word And God says, You can't do that He says, You don't do that Don't add and do not take away from the truth Don't alter it Don't tamper with my words Because if you do, you will feel the vengeance of God The veracity and finality of Scripture helps you understand the immediacy in which you need to respond

In the urgency in which God says, You come, because what I say is absolute Truth Now the Lord is not addressing people who make an error in judgment or discernment People do that all the time People who are true believers sometimes make mistakes God's not talking about that He's talking about people who deliberately falsify the truth And want to emasculate the Word of God That's who the Spirit of God is speaking to And there is no one Who has been regenerated by the washing of the Word of God in the renewing of the Holy Spirit, who would will poison his own food

Or will begin to detract away from that which God has given John 14: says, He who does not love me does not keep my words But those who love God say as a psalmist, Oh, how I love thy law Thy law is my delight And they don't want to do anything to tamper with it, they want to know more of it And so the Spirit of God says, come The bride says, come Let all those who hear Come, those who are thirsty, let them take of the water of life without cost Why? Because of the identity of Christ Because of the exclusivity of heaven, and because of the veracity and finality of Scripture

And fourthly, another reason why we should respond to this invitation is because of the certainty of the return of Christ Verse number 20 He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming quickly The last words that God has spoken Last words spoke, heard on earth Are yes, I am coming quickly The next word you hear will be a shout from heaven. I'm waiting for that Amen That's the next word you hear But these are the last words heard on earth And John recorded them Yes, I am coming quickly And it's going to happen just as the book of Revelation describes John affirms it and says, Amen

So be it Come, Lord Jesus And yet, there will be people who will mock his return It says in 2 Peter chapter 3, Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? Forever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice: that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and by water

Through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water But the present heavens and earth, by his word, are being reserved for fire Kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men There will people who will say, Yes, yes, where is his coming? Where is the promise of his coming? And Peter says, oh, it escaped their notice That the same way it was or it is today was the same way it was in Noah's day And God's in a flood And he wiped out the face of the earth because people mocked God And you can't mock God Be not deceived God is not mocked

For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap And if you sow to the flesh, Of the flesh you will reap corruption That's why you've got to sow to the Spirit, that you might reap life everlasting That's one thing that you can sit back and rest in That God's got it all mapped out, and God is not going to be mocked So, whoever wants to mock you and your relationship with the Lord God and your stand for God, let him mock Let him laugh Let him scourge and scorn you Because God will not be mocked And God will do what only God can do in his time But he is coming

He will certainly return with a shout from heaven Can you say amen to that? Are you living in the light of his return, expecting the Lord God to come soon? And some people will say, well, are you for certain he's coming back? Well, you know, God made 333 promises regarding the coming deliverer in the Old Testament And of those 333 promises, only 109 were fulfilled in his first coming Leaving 224 Old Testament prophecies to be filled or fulfilled in the second coming If he doesn't come back He's a liar And folks, God's not a liar He is truth And the way the truth The life

Every time a New Testament writer began to pick up his pen and write, the Spirit of truth would write through him through inspiration, and they would talk about the coming of Christ Philippians 3:20, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Colossians 3:4, When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 to 17 For the Lord him shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God And the dead in Christ shall rise first

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in The air James said in James chapter 5, verses 7 and 8: Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord Be ye also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth near Peter said in 1 Peter 1:1, Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ

And then in chapter 5, verse number 4, 1 Peter, And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not a And of course, John said in 1 John 3:2, Beloved, now are we the children of God And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He He is Every one of those men looked to the coming of Christ, know that it was for sure that he was coming Why do we respond to the invitation? Because of the certainty of his return He's coming back To celebrate the wedding feast

The question is: Are you clothed in white robes? And lastly, the last reason we should respond to the invitation is because of the availability of his grace It says in verse number 21, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all Amen God's last word to man is a word of grace The question is Have you received it? You can read about all kinds of definitions of the grace of God God's riches at Christ's expense is a good way to characterize the grace of God, but it's really not a sufficient theological definition One of the best-known definitions of grace is three words: God's unner favor It was A.W

Tozer who said that grace is the good pleasure of God That inclines him to bestow benefits on the undeserving It was Louis Bur who said, The unmerited operation of God in the heart of man Effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit is what grace is all about Graciousness is an attribute of God It's his nature to bestow grace Psalm 112, verse 4 says, He is gracious and compassionate and righteous Joel 2:1 says, He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kind and relenting of evil. 1 Peter 5:10 says, He is the God of all grace

John 1:1 says the Son is full of grace and truth Hebrews 10, 29 says, His Spirit is a spirit Of grace And so God off grace in his benediction Of his word. A benediction is a word that means to speak a good word concerning somebody or to wish another person Well, and the only way people will have a sense of well-being in life. is if they appropriate the grace that's offered to them by the King of the universe Once you've received God's grace, then you must continue on living by His grace That you might know him better and better each day.