Revelation | The Witness that Wins | Ramin Razavi

What is GARDEN CHURCH Podcast?

"Here as in Heaven."

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Intro/Outro: 00:16

Welcome to Garden Church Podcast. We're in a series in the book of Revelation. We're gonna spend the next 26 weeks doing a deep dive into both how to read and how to interpret this amazing book. Enjoy.

Luis Oceguera: 00:33

My Name is Luis. If we've never met, I'm one of the pastors around here. And if you were here last week, we got to talk, a little bit about year end giving and and giving in general, financial giving to the church. We talked a little bit about that here it's, we see it as an act of worship. So that's why we include it in our worship services.

Luis Oceguera: 00:55

It's not a perfunctory moment where we ask for your money. It's it's really thought out and designed built into our Sunday morning gathering on purpose. And we trace that in the bible. So we went back, we we trace the history of that word, tithe, if you're familiar with that word. It just means tenth.

Luis Oceguera: 01:09

So we went all the way back into the end of the Old Testament where it was actually a rule for the people of God to give 10% of their resources back to the service of God. But before it was a rule, back with Melchizedek in Genesis chapter 14, which you should read on your own time, we it was an act of worship in an overflow of Garden of Eden like blessings. It's a really beautiful moment. It's what we wanna recapture. But it does leave a question that maybe you have in your mind and, you know, I know I do, a lot of people do.

Luis Oceguera: 01:36

Which is like, how much do you give or what what is our relationship to that 10%, you know, is that a rule for today? Is it like a church tax everybody has to pay? And this the answer might surprise you that it's no. It's not a rule for today. There is actually not a set percentage.

Luis Oceguera: 01:51

And you don't have to give around here if you don't want to. 10% actually, it might be a lot for for some of you. I was raised in a home with a single mom and, 4 kids. We're aware, that 10% might be too much for some of you. For some of you, 10% might not be enough and I can't relate to you, but god bless you.

Luis Oceguera: 02:12

I hope to someday relate to you. I'm just kidding. So, like, you know, what do we do? You know, are you off the hook? Jesus actually has, like is not silent on our relationship and our hot pass heart posture towards money and our possessions.

Luis Oceguera: 02:26

So, unfortunately, if you're a serious disciple, you have to grapple with, your your relationship to money and your possessions a lot. He does not let you off the hook. But, like, what can we say practical practical practically? How much should you give? So, there is no set percentage in the New Testament, But you've probably heard us using this language of sowing generously.

Luis Oceguera: 02:47

That comes from 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 verse 6, which is actually one of a handful of verses in the Bible that actually talks to a New Testament church about giving. And this is what he says. Paul says, remember this so, like, hold on to this. If you sow sparingly, you'll also reap sparingly. But if you sow generously, you'll also reap generously.

Luis Oceguera: 03:09

And then he really practical. He says, each of you should give what you've decided in your own heart to give. And not reluctantly, like, not tight fistedly, but cheerfully because God loves a joyful giver. And that's one of the clearest pictures. So, you know, what how much should you give?

Luis Oceguera: 03:25

It sounds like there is a number that can actually be sort of spiritually discerned in your discipleship about what you should give. And that's for you. You know, I think people have, historically, and Christians today, and I this is what I do. That 10% is a helpful guideline. You know, there's obviously wisdom in the law.

Luis Oceguera: 03:44

That's a really helpful number to maybe begin to pray around. But it's for you to discern in your discipleship. So with that in mind, we have 3 invitations for the end of the year. It's if you don't currently give, that you would prayerfully consider, if that's what God's asking you to discern that number and to step out in faith and and to start giving. See, see what God has for you in that kind of generosity.

Luis Oceguera: 04:05

It won't make you rich, but it'll make you more like Jesus. Number 2. If you kinda give casually, would you consider prayerfully deciding on a number and giving that number regularly? Recurring giving is the backbone of what we do, like, financially speaking around here, and how we budget for the future and and how we take care of our needs. So would you consider that?

Luis Oceguera: 04:25

And thirdly, a lot of you already do that. You're super generous, so we wanna say thank you. And we can't actually say thank you enough, but thank you. And then just if you would prayerfully discern that number or if you can go above and beyond as we approach the end of the year. You know, this is common in nonprofits and churches.

Luis Oceguera: 04:41

We just have a little bit of a running deficit. We're hoping to raise $350,000 by the end of the year to kinda try to start off 2025 in the right way. But that's for you to prayerfully consider in your discipleship that number, what you've decided in your heart. Bringing the word today is a man named Ramin who you might know. But I've gotten to know, I think, a lot better than you.

Luis Oceguera: 05:02

And not only is he super capable and you guys don't know, like, all the super capable stuff he does behind the scenes, but he's deeply kind and really great. So would you welcome Ramin and Yeah.

Ramin Razavi: 05:13

Love you, man. Only to have Luis introduce me to every day of my life. Wouldn't that be great? You know what I love about our team is that our team is full of really gifted people who can come up and talk about things like finances and make all of us feel like more encouraged, right? Did you feel more encouraged from that?

Ramin Razavi: 05:36

That's because there's a grace on Luis's life for the role that he's in here. And we love you brother. We also just wanna acknowledge our lead pastors are traveling on vacation. So we just wanna honor our lead pastors, Alex and Darren Roundson, as they're out. We are a church that cheers on the vacations of our staff.

Ramin Razavi: 05:56

We want staff that are healthy and rested and whole, and that's such an important value for us today. You know, this morning, I get the privilege of leading us in the next part of our Revelation journey. And who's enjoyed Revelation so far? Come on, it's been so good. And Revelation has been a series that we've been in now for months, and what we've been talking about is how do we live as faithful witnesses in the chaos of empire?

Ramin Razavi: 06:26

And maybe bringing that down one more level for today is how do we stay faithful to Jesus when the pressure gets really great? And if we think about it, this message might be the crux of all the messages in Revelation. A lot of Bible commentators will say, this is the most difficult to interpret passage in all of Revelation. So thank you, Darren. And it's about the witness that wins.

Ramin Razavi: 06:53

The witness that wins. That's the title if you're a title person. You can write that on the top of your page. This is about the Thank you, Sydney. This is about the witness that wins.

Ramin Razavi: 07:03

And I know when I say win in our culture, that brings up a lot of things like my boy wearing the Ohio State Buckeyes hat right there. We won this week. But it brings up this thing of conquering, of power, of prestige, of prowess, and Persians because I'm Persian. And and it's just this idea of winning. Right?

Ramin Razavi: 07:20

Like, this winning culture. And there's this, essay that was called breaking the winner script written by Ronald Rollheiser, and he talked about the idea how we have to break this mindset in our life that the only thing that matters is winning. Well, scripture would tell us that winning takes on a different dynamic in the kingdom of God because whoever's first is last, whoever choose to be a servant of all becomes the greatest of all, and this text is gonna unpack that reality for us because the witness that wins is the one that shows the greatest mercy. And that's what we're gonna see in the text today. It's it's an unveiling of the mercy of God.

Ramin Razavi: 07:55

It's a revelation of his kindness, of his goodness, and I wanna read it for us now as we as we set the stage. So Revelation chapter 11 verse 1. It says, I was given a read like a measuring rod, and I was told go and measure the temple of God and the altar and its worshipers. But exclude the outer court. Do not measure it because it has been given to the Gentiles.

Ramin Razavi: 08:23

They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And remember in Revelation, numbers are often symbols, not statistics. And I will appoint my 2 witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days cloth clothed in sackcloth. They are the 2 olive trees and the 2 lampstands, and they stand before the Lord of the Earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.

Ramin Razavi: 08:52

This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that they will not rain during the time they are prophesying, and they have power to turn the waters into blood, and to strike the Earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them and overpower them and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. So go ahead and map that.

Ramin Razavi: 09:26

For three and a half days, some from every people, tribe, language, and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these 2 prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them. And they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here.

Ramin Razavi: 09:58

And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At their very hour, there was a severe earthquake, and a 10th of the city collapsed. 7000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, and the third woe is coming soon. The word of the Lord.

Ramin Razavi: 10:24

Yeah, right? Let's pray. Let's pray. Holy Spirit, we invite you now. You're our teacher, Lord.

Ramin Razavi: 10:31

You breathe this word, God, and we pray now that you would give us divine revelation to understand the meaning of what has been read and that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you would transform our hearts. You would touch our hearts so that we could carry your presence into this world, Lord. We thank you for the witness of Jesus Christ, the one true faithful God, and we pray that under his authority and in his name, you would bless this time, Lord. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Ramin Razavi: 11:04

Well, underneath this wild imagery, this vivid symbolism that's got some of us thinking like what in the world is going on here, There is an undercurrent and that undercurrent is the mercy of God. It's like a bane of gold in a shadow black rock. It's like something that's underneath everything that you might not be able to see that's trying to get out and trying to get your attention. Underneath what seems just like chaos and war and beasts rising up and earthquakes, God is trying to send a message to us, and that that is that he is the merciful one. He's kind.

Ramin Razavi: 11:47

He's patient. He's not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. And his mercy is so great that he's willing to take everyday ordinary people like you and me, and allow us to be witnesses to his mercy in the world. And this message of mercy in this text is really, really important because the work of witnessing is extremely dangerous. It's very dangerous.

Ramin Razavi: 12:15

I don't know how often we think about that, but I was reflecting on what John and his friends would have been thinking about. Most of them, their family members, their friends, their fellow, churchgoers were all under immediate threat of persecution. Not just like rumors of persecution, but immediate threat of persecution. They could not gather around a thanksgiving table like many of us are about to do in a few days and noticed some empty seats because family members, friends had been put to death for their faith in Christ. The work of witnessing is high risk and high reward work.

Ramin Razavi: 12:49

I think back to my childhood, my dad loved those shows about, like, the deadliest jobs in the world. Did anybody else watch those shows? And he loved those shows. And I was thinking about, like, what are the the most deadly jobs? I looked some of them up.

Ramin Razavi: 13:02

Oil rig diver. I don't know if we have any oil rig divers in the house today. Bull riding is is one of the world's deadliest jobs. Logging is a very very deadly job. My personal favorite is volcanologists.

Ramin Razavi: 13:14

They're the people that go towards the lava to select the lava and go back to study it. So, if you're looking, youth, to get into any dangerous careers, there's a short list for you. But we could add witnessing to that list of dangerous jobs. Eugene Peterson, the pastor and theologian, he talks about witnessing this way. He said, it is both difficult and dangerous to tell the truth.

Ramin Razavi: 13:37

People who tell the truth not infrequently get killed. The word used in the 1st century for telling the truth about God in a given situation, Martus, has come into our language as martyr, the person who loses his life telling the truth. Wow. And this is what Revelation is is leaning us towards, is to be people who witness in the way of Jesus. And a witness is somebody who simply tells the truth boldly, confidently, and accurately about what they have personally experienced.

Ramin Razavi: 14:11

It's all a witness is. Somebody who's boldly, confidently, accurately telling the truth about what they have personally experienced. And this text that we read, it's important to get the context of it because we've talked about through Revelation that context matters, right? We talk about that almost every week. And this passage is literally an interlude of mercy.

Ramin Razavi: 14:35

And if we think back in the study of Revelation, there was another interlude of mercy. If you remember, between the 6th and the 7th seal being opened, a question hung in the balance in Revelation. And the question is, who's gonna withstand the great pressure, the megathiepsis, the crushing pressure of this trial time, the collision of kingdoms? Who's gonna withstand it? And then we look to the east, and there's an angel coming with the seal of the Holy Spirit, and he seals the followers of God, and there's a hallelujah chorus that rises up.

Ramin Razavi: 15:08

Anybody that gets sealed with the Holy Spirit survives the great pressure. Now we're in a second interlude. This time between the 6th and the 7th trumpet blast, which is the collision of the kingdoms, which is God's judgment of the sin and the rebellion in the world. And the question hanging in the balance this time isn't who gets to survive the great pressure, but what are those to do and to be who've been marked with the seal of the spirit? And the answer that revelation gives us is it's we are to be witnesses to the world.

Ramin Razavi: 15:45

That's the context that we're in. And these witnesses that win, they are witnesses of the mercy and the goodness of God. And so we're gonna look at this wild text through 4 frames today. Okay? Trying to organize our thinking a little bit about how we approach this.

Ramin Razavi: 16:03

The first frame is we're gonna look at the measuring of the temple, then we're gonna look at the work of the witnesses, Then we're gonna look at the death and resurrection of the witnesses, and then we're gonna see how God wants to bring revival now through the testimony of the witnesses. And as we go through each frame, we're gonna seek to allow the Holy Spirit to help us understand the meaning of the text, but then equally ask the Holy Spirit to help us apply the text to our lives, so we could embody these things in the world. Sound good? Great. Well, let's start with frame number 1, measuring the temple.

Ramin Razavi: 16:39

I love this. Our boy, John, gets a job, and his job is he was given a reed, which is 10 foot 4, hollow thing that you would have plucked out of a swampland, and he's like, I want you to go measure the temple of God, the altar and its worshipers, but exclude the outer court. Do not measure it because it was given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for 42 months. So what does this mean? The temple that John is told to measure is not the temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed in 70 AD, this is 96 AD, so it doesn't even exist at this point in time.

Ramin Razavi: 17:17

And it's not some physical building in the future. When we get into the New Testament flow, who is the temple? We are. Ephesians talks about that in Ephesians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians talks about that.

Ramin Razavi: 17:30

1st Peter talks about that. We have become the habitation of the presence of God on the earth. And so, what John is asked to go measure are the gathered people. So I don't know if you caught him out there. He's back there he is, back there measuring you with the the rod.

Ramin Razavi: 17:45

The guys outside can see him, we can wave. There goes John. I'm just kidding. That's not John. But the they're measure he's measuring the people gathered to worship in the presence of God.

Ramin Razavi: 17:54

And if we get into the flow of scripture in Zechariah chapter 2, and you remember that the lens that John is speaking this from through the Holy Spirit is an Old Testament lens. He was inundated with the mindset of the Old Testament. Zechariah 2 gives a picture of what measuring is all about. It says, Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, Where are you going?

Ramin Razavi: 18:17

And he answered me, To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is. While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him and said to him, run, tell that young man, Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. And I, myself, will be a wall of fire around it, declares the Lord, and I will be its glory within. So, what God is saying is that the place that you measure is the place that marks where my presence dwells. And what he's saying is is that there is a protection over the gathered saints.

Ramin Razavi: 18:57

There is a grace given by the Holy Spirit that when the church gathers corporately to become the body of Christ in the world, there is a level of protection that God gives it. That's what the picture of measuring is. Is he saying, this is my my people. This is where my protection lies. This is where my presence dwells.

Ramin Razavi: 19:17

I don't know if that fires you up this morning, but you constitute the kingdom of God on the earth when you come together and gather as the people here in Huntington Beach. You become an embodiment of God's beachhead of salvation that's crashing on the shores of this broken world. You inaugurate and announce to the world that Jesus has come, that Jesus has won, that the reign of God is here and now and always and forever. And he says, so measure that. Make sure you know that's who you are.

Ramin Razavi: 19:50

And he says, but here's the confusing part. He's like, but don't measure the outer court because the place of worship is always protected, but the praise of witness will always be contested. The place of worship will always be protected by God. It was always designed to be the place where his followers came together and drank deeply of his presence, had their minds renewed by the scripture, had their hearts pierced for the cause of Christ so that you could go back out into the world carrying what you had received in his presence. Now you carry his presence with you.

Ramin Razavi: 20:24

We know that theologically that you've become a habitation of the holy spirit and he doesn't just happen to live in a building. He goes with you wherever you go, and yet we also know that there is a way of receiving when we're together corporately that God uses to fuel your life on mission in the contested spaces of the world. And he's saying, so don't measure those outer courts because that's not the place of protection. That's actually the place of witness, which is what frame 2 is all about. And so the invitation here is simple for some of us today, and it is to make the presence of God your home.

Ramin Razavi: 21:01

I love the way that Hebrews chapter 10 specifically encourages us to that. As soon as I get to Hebrews chapter 10, I'll read it. I promise. It says, therefore brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way open for us through the curtain that is his body. Just think about that.

Ramin Razavi: 21:24

You have confidence to enter the most holy place. That's the invitation you've been giving. And since you have a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart, with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold on swervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.

Ramin Razavi: 22:04

What Hebrews was getting after was what the psalmist wrote about in Psalm 84, when he said, better is one day in your courts, Lord, than a 1000 days elsewhere. He said, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the inner tents of the wicked. Why? Because when I'm in the presence of God, the Lord is my son and my shield. When I'm in the presence of God, I go from strength to strength.

Ramin Razavi: 22:28

When I'm in the presence of God, I can walk through desert territories and they become places of bountiful springs of living water. See, when we get in the presence of God, our minds get renewed, our hearts get renewed, we take on what Timothy heard from Paul when when he said, you didn't receive a spirit again that makes you fearful, but you've received a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. A sound mind is a redeemed intelligence. It's a different way of thinking about the world around you. So when you're in the presence of God and you walk out into the world, it does not mean that all the circumstances are gonna change.

Ramin Razavi: 22:59

It means that you are going to be the transformative agent in the circumstance because you've been baptized in the presence. You're carrying the glory. You're moving out as a witness to the world because you have been met by eternal love in the presence of God. See, this is the design of God. Gathering is not something to be taken lightly.

Luis: 23:20

And for some of

Ramin Razavi: 23:20

us, we have treated this casually. Yeah. And we have a lot more scheduling and preparation for the time that

Luis: 23:25

we're gonna

Ramin Razavi: 23:28

get together to watch a football game

Luis: 23:34

Then we do coming into

Ramin Razavi: 23:35

the house of God. And this

Luis: 23:37

becomes optional. This becomes a second or third tier thing.

Ramin Razavi: 23:38

Let me just tell you, if you're walking through life constantly de calibrated without hope, without a sense of God's faithfulness in your life, without encouragement, without a sense of witness and faithfulness, it's because you're not spending time in the presence of God. His presence is our life. His presence is our breath. This is how we are renewed for life in the world. And this is the very beginning of witnessing.

Ramin Razavi: 24:13

And John's hearing this. He said before anybody's called to go out and be a witness, make sure you sit and linger in the presence of God. Make his presence your home. That's the first frame. 2nd frame is about the work of the witnesses.

Ramin Razavi: 24:27

This gets even crazier because so many people been asking who are the witnesses. Well, I'll do my best. And it says, I will appoint my well, one little note about the the the place, the 42 months. We gotta get that. 42 months is is out of Exodus, and and and it's also out of Daniel.

Ramin Razavi: 24:46

And what it represents is just the time that the Earth and the church are in collision with the forces of darkness. It's just a time period. Got it. Cool. Frame 2, the work of the witnesses.

Ramin Razavi: 24:59

And he says, and I will appoint my 2 witnesses, and they will prophesy for 12 60 days, which if you do the math on 30 day months, that's actually three and a half years, 2 or 42 months, clothed in sackcloth. They are the 2 olive trees and the 2 lampstands, and they stand before the Lord of the earth. If any one tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. That's good news. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.

Ramin Razavi: 25:22

They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying, and they have power to turn the waters into blood, and to strike the Earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. So the work of the witnesses is to prophesy, to speak of the realities of God into culture, to declare what they have seen and heard. And it says that they are appointed, so they're not self selecting. Like, you know what? I think I'd like to do this.

Ramin Razavi: 25:49

They're appointed by God to go out and declare and announce his kingdom, and they go into contested spaces. And so the question is, who are they? And if you were to read 10 great bible scholars, you would probably get 6 to 10 different responses on exactly who these witnesses are. But the interpretation that we're going with at Garden is that they are people from the past, they represent the church during the time that John was writing, and they represent the church in the future, which is us. And you get these pictures from the different images that that John is describing to us.

Ramin Razavi: 26:25

Remember, it's about the symbolism in Revelation and getting underneath that to understand the meaning. And so, he says, first of all, they are the 2 lampstands and they are the 2 olive trees. Zechariah 3 and 4 talk about this being an image of Zerubbabel, the great ruler, and Joshua, the great priest. And it says, so they're the fulfillment of those things. But what I love even more is it talks about how they are an image of both Elijah and Moses.

Ramin Razavi: 26:54

And you get this by going after what they were doing. And if you read the Old Testament, you know the things that it says that these witnesses are given power to do. You're like, hey, Elijah did that. Moses did that. This sounds familiar to me.

Ramin Razavi: 27:09

And what he's trying to say is that the witnesses are anyone who are given authority by God to go out into the world, testify to the power of God, and see it validated by God's work going forward. And we see this in both Moses and Elijah, who are the the fullness of the law and the prophets. Now if we think about a new testament lens, where do we meet Moses and Elijah in the new testament? Transfiguration. Yeah.

Ramin Razavi: 27:37

And why were they on the transfiguration? Because Peter, James, and John were stinking clueless on the Mount Transfiguration. And they're on the Mount Transfiguration and Peter's like, bro, let's set up some tents and we can go glamping up here. Moses and Elijah here. This is amazing.

Ramin Razavi: 27:53

I've got some stew going. This is gonna be a great campout. And Jesus is like, no, that's not what this is about. They witnessed to Jesus. And what did the law and the prophets always do?

Ramin Razavi: 28:04

The law and the prophets witness to Jesus. That's why Jesus says in Matthew 5 17, I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets. I have come to fulfill them. And so the witness's role is to point full attention to Jesus. And so these witnesses are both Zerubbabel and Joshua.

Ramin Razavi: 28:25

They are both Moses and Elijah, but then they are also the church. And I love this part of it. Because remember when we saw lampstands last? Anybody remember way back in the beginning of Revelation? When he's talking about the different churches, and he said they each have a lampstand, and Jesus walks among his people, he walks among the church, among the lampstands.

Ramin Razavi: 28:47

The lampstands are this picture of the presence of God, the channel of God, and the 2 olive trees are a picture of the oil of God, the spirit of God. And so he's saying what I wanna see are is our churches, and may it be our church garden, churches that are ignited by the fire of God and fueled by the presence of God, witnessing to the world. And guess what he promises to do? Validate our witness with the outpouring of his power, just like he did then. And he said, and anybody that opposes them, I'm gonna demonstrate my power.

Ramin Razavi: 29:18

I'm gonna demonstrate my glory. Now hold on. It's not what you think it's gonna be. We're gonna get to that next. But that's what he says.

Ramin Razavi: 29:23

I'm gonna demonstrate my power. I'm gonna demonstrate my glory. And I'm gonna do this for that period, that same period of time, 12 60 days, 42 months, it's the time of the collision of the kingdoms before Jesus comes and wins through the final victory. And so what is the invitation for us? The invitation for us is to be a people who receive mercy to be witnesses, who receive mercy to be witnesses.

Ramin Razavi: 29:52

Think about it in Acts chapter 1, the followers of Jesus have seen Jesus crucified. They've met Jesus resurrected. There's this kind of tension building of we're gonna go make disciples of the nations and but he keeps telling us to wait. He's like, don't go anywhere. Hang out in Jerusalem.

Ramin Razavi: 30:12

And so they're in Jerusalem in the upper room, and the doors are pretty securely locked, because they like the fact that Jesus is back from the dead, but they're not quite sure what he means that you're gonna go do greater things than I did. And all of a sudden, as they're in a prayer meeting, the Holy Spirit moves into the room. And they start to clue in, he told us that would happen. He said, You're gonna receive power to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And so he's saying, I'm clothing you with this same power in order to be witnesses to the world.

Ramin Razavi: 30:50

And for us, we have to take on the mindset of saying, God, you have clothed me with power to be a witness to the world. It is a gross misunderstanding of the gospel to believe that it is about our personal salvation, while relinquishing us of responsibility for the life of the world. It's a misunderstanding of everything Jesus taught. If we think that the gospel is a call to personal salvation while relinquishing us from a responsibility for the light to live for the life of the world. This is the call of Jesus.

Ramin Razavi: 31:21

This requires us as God's people to onboard a mentality that Peter will talk about in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9. I love this passage. It says, but you are a chosen people. That feels good. A royal priesthood.

Ramin Razavi: 31:38

That's even better. A holy nation. This is amazing. You're God's special possession. Why?

Ramin Razavi: 31:46

That you may. Not that you have to, not that it's a obligation, but that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. So beloved, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

Ramin Razavi: 32:18

Live such good lives among the pagans, that though they accuse you of doing wrong, and they will, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day that he visits us. This is the call to be witnesses. And embedded in it is something that the witnesses in Revelation embody too. It says, remember that once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Once you were not a people, but now you are a people.

Ramin Razavi: 32:45

Did you catch what the witnesses were wearing in revelation? Sackcloth. Sackcloth is repentance. And so the work of witness is a repenting work. It's a repenting over the brokenness of the world around us, but it's a constant repentance over our own sin, our own brokenness, our own need for God.

Ramin Razavi: 33:03

Why is this so important? It's so important because a repentant heart is a merciful heart. A repentant heart understands the economy of God, which is to receive grace and to give grace. This is why Jesus in the constitution of the kingdom in the beatitudes, in talking about what it means to live the kingdom life here and now, he gets to the pinnacle of the beatitudes and he says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled. And all the people who hunger and thirst after righteousness are like, Yes, Lord.

Ramin Razavi: 33:33

We're hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and they're not. And what's the next beatitude? Blessed are the merciful,

Luis: 33:40

for

Ramin Razavi: 33:41

they will be shown mercy. See, Jesus gets us like crazy. He understands that the proclivity of the human heart, as soon as we begin to attain to something, is to judge those who aren't there yet. The work of witnessing is a work of mercy. And if you find yourself lacking fuel for witnessing, maybe ask yourself, when is the last time you've called out to God for mercy in your own life?

Ramin Razavi: 34:07

Say, God, I need you. I need to preach the gospel to myself again. I will never forget. I had just come to know Jesus, and I went to seminary, and I got involved in a discipleship group with a guy named doctor Robert Coleman, who's one of the great bible teachers of the day. And I thought I was just gonna learn a bunch of awesome ideas and cool bible theology to blow people's minds.

Ramin Razavi: 34:28

And what I saw was a man who began every day, he said this, I preach the gospel to myself every day, because it roots me in mercy. It roots me in grace that that's where this is all coming from, and it pushes me to be with Jesus. Do you know the deepest motive for mission is simply to be with Jesus? Leslie Newbigin said it brilliantly. He said, the deepest motive for mission is simply the desire to be with Jesus where he is, on the frontier between the reign of God and the already usurped dominion of the devil.

Ramin Razavi: 35:03

Let's go. I mean, this is the call to mission. I wanna be where Jesus is. And if you think about it, that's not over here in comfort land in, like, a Christian Disney World where everything is just catered to me and satisfies me, and the Jesus I walk with doesn't call me to do things that are hard, difficult, or uncomfortable for me. But instead, it pushes us towards what Newbegin would later call the redemptive edge.

Ramin Razavi: 35:29

I love that word, where the kingdom of God is literally pushing back the kingdom of darkness. And if you study the scriptures, what you'll find fast is Jesus spent all his time on the redemptive edge, either that or seeking the father in private. He didn't spend a lot of time in religious comfortability. He was either sourcing his life from God or he was pushing back the darkness in the authority of God. So we have to ask the Lord for mercy to be witnesses in the way of Jesus.

Ramin Razavi: 36:01

3rd frame, the death and the resurrection of the witnesses. You guys were, like, all on board until this part. You're, like, oh, man. This kinda hit you, didn't it, when you read it? You're, like, okay, the witnesses are doing it, man.

Ramin Razavi: 36:12

Like, they're they're doing it. And and then this beast comes. Darren's gonna describe the beast more in coming weeks. This is a a tendency in Revelation is to introduce a character who's later gonna be more fully developed. But the 3rd frame is the death and the resurrection of the witnesses.

Ramin Razavi: 36:33

So after they finished and and kinda let that phrase hang in your mind, after the witness had finished, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them over power and kill them. Then their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which is called figuratively Sodom and Egypt, where also the Lord was crucified, so Jerusalem. So we got one place, three names. For three and a half days, some from every tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, dead witness day gifts, because these 2 prophets had tormented those who lived on the earth.

Ramin Razavi: 37:14

So, what in the world is going on here? The first thing that I think we have to see is that our battle in the world and what the spirit was revealing to John is our battle in the world is not against flesh and blood. Our enemies are not other people. Paul writes it, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, and against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And it's just a recalibration of saying, like, okay, this beast is the antichrist, and he's taking out the witnesses.

Ramin Razavi: 37:48

And what's powerful about this, it says after the witnesses had finished their work, which is a sense, as I read that, I just can't help but thinking about Jesus' words in John 10 where he says, The good shepherd, he lays his life down for the sheep. Nobody takes his life from him, He lays it down on his own volition. It doesn't say that the beast came up and he had an agenda to take out the witnesses. It said, guess what? The witnesses had actually finished their work.

Ramin Razavi: 38:14

They had run their race. Their assignment was complete. So there was an allowance for something to happen to them, which we know that anything the enemy works for evil, what does God do? We'll see in a minute. But these witnesses then have their bodies laid out in the middle of the town squares, the town square, and it uses these three cities as a symbol or as a representation of any great city that turns its heart from God.

Ramin Razavi: 38:41

The great city is every city that embodies self sufficiency in place of dependence, achievement in place of repentance, oppression in the place of in the place of faith, and the the mark of the beast instead of the mark of the lamb. And you see these in these great cities. So Sodom is representative of of immorality. Egypt is a representative of militarism, of pride, of power. And Jerusalem, where the Lord was killed, is representative of an elitist religious spirit.

Ramin Razavi: 39:12

And it's in the center of these great cities that they all mock the death of the sacrificial witnesses. And scripture said they're there for 3 and a half days, which if you remember our other witness timeline was 3 and a half years. So this is a very short period of time where it seems like the spark is going out very short period of time, comparatively to the time that the witnesses have sway. And so in this very short period of time, he's saying, it's gonna seem like the darkness is overwhelming. It's gonna seem like there's a a tide rising against the ways in the kingdom of God.

Ramin Razavi: 39:45

And people don't in the earth during that time, it says, are actually gonna have a party. And this is this is pretty revealing because it says they're gonna exchange gifts, so there's like a whole new market for dead witness day, you know, festivities. I don't know. That'd be weird gifts. What would that be?

Ramin Razavi: 40:01

But it's they're giving gifts to each other because these witnesses are there, and they will no longer torment them. Now, why would the witnesses feel like torment to cultures that are bent on rebellion from God? Because what happens with the witness's prophecy, the message of the witness is it pricks the consciousness of those who are trying to enjoy sin. And all of a sudden it's like, gosh, I can't enjoy that anymore because he's over here testifying to truth. I can't I can't indulge myself in that in the same way because I've got this tape I'm old rolling in my mind of what that witness was saying about the righteousness and the the mercy of God.

Ramin Razavi: 40:47

But they're dead now so we can just go after it, man. Like, we feel good about ourselves. And the invitation here for some of us is to hold fast because the invitation is to trust that the same God who brought resurrection to the witness can bring resurrection to our stories. Because here's what's very true. There are many of us in this room who have been called to the sacred calling of suffering on behalf of Christ.

Ramin Razavi: 41:16

We've got to get this as the western church. Jesus ended his beatitudes by saying, blessed are those who are persecuted for those is the kingdom of God. And there is a reality that the new testament comes around. This is the invitation to ask for mercy, to to hold fast in the suffering that we might find in this life. Because there is a thread through the new testament that there is a kind of glory that God brings for those who are faithful through the suffering.

Ramin Razavi: 41:45

This is why Paul would write, I want to know Christ, and I want to know him in the power of his resurrection, but I also want to know him in the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. This is why Paul in Colossians would say, I continue to fill up in my body what is lacking in regards to Christ's afflictions on behalf of the church. This is why Jesus's invitation was to come and take up your cross daily and follow me. There are some of us who have faced such hardship, such suffering, such brokenness in the world, and we've wondered and asked ourselves, God, what is this all for? And it is for a greater revelation of his glory in the world.

Ramin Razavi: 42:27

This is what Paul talks about in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. He says, we have this treasure. He's talking about the person of the Holy Spirit in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not in despair.

Ramin Razavi: 42:51

We are persecuted, but not abandoned. We are struck down, but we are not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death or dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life may be also revealed in our mortal body. So then death is at work in us, but life gets at work in you.

Ramin Razavi: 43:24

What he's saying is that God took his glory, his beautiful presence, and he planted it like a luminary candle inside of this regular ordinary clay pot. And as this clay pot goes through life, it gets persecuted. It gets pressed down. It faces suffering, and sickness, and hardship, and unresolved circumstances, and enmity, and strife. And the more that this clay pot takes on the suffering of this world, the more holes are in the pot and the more you see the glory.

Ramin Razavi: 44:01

And for some of us today, we need that encouragement to hold fast, to not waste the suffering that God has allowed in your life because the suffering that he's allowed in your life is for the revelation of his glory to others. It doesn't mean he he intended it. It doesn't mean he's the one who did it. I know there are circumstances beyond description that are contained within this very room, but what it does mean is that there is a power in the gospel that even the darkest grave can be reversed because of resurrection power. And that's what happens in this story.

Ramin Razavi: 44:35

Right? 4th frame, revival happens now. How does revival happen? Those who are willing to be faithful unto death have resurrection life. And in the resurrection life, we get an exact picture of Ezekiel chapter 37 when the wind and the breath of God comes upon the valley of dry bones and brings the dead things to life again, the earthquake happens.

Ramin Razavi: 44:57

And a tenth of the city, it says in scripture, a tenth of this great city dies. But 9 tenths of the great city turn and they fear God and they praise God. This is a great reversal. If you've studied scripture all through the old testament, when God is bringing judgment against people, he allows 1 tenth to survive. He's like, I'm just gonna set aside 1 out of the 10, 10 out of the 100.

Ramin Razavi: 45:23

See how far I can go. A 100 out of the 1,000, a 1000 out of the 10,000, 10,000 out of the 100,000. That's all I can do. And I'm gonna work with that little stump, he would call it in the book of Isaiah, a 10th, just a stump of my and something new is gonna come. But here's the great reversal, is now 9 tenths of the city fears God and worships him.

Ramin Razavi: 45:44

This is a great revival. In fact, this is the only evangelistic victory recorded in the entire book of Revelation. And how did it happen? Because there was a group of people willing to be faithful to Jesus even unto death, believing that he is the one who holds the keys to death and hell. He is the one who gives life.

Ramin Razavi: 46:08

He himself is the faithful witness. I don't know if you remember this from Revelation chapter 1. We've got the slide. Let's throw that Revelation chapter 1 slide up. It's a little out of order.

Ramin Razavi: 46:18

I know you got it. Awesome. John, to the 7 churches in the province of Asia, grace and peace to you from who is and who was and who is to come, and from the 7 spirits before his throne. There we go. And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Ramin Razavi: 46:39

So Jesus himself embodies this in the resurrection life that we get to experience is because Jesus himself was willing to be the witness that wins. The witness that is willing to die, to sacrifice so that life can come to other people. I wanna invite the team up now as we respond to God. But one of the things that has just been in my heart for today so much is that there's some of us today who need to know that we are also gonna be witnesses who win. That perhaps the suffering and the pain that you faced in life has been almost overwhelming at times, and you have wondered time and time again, why, God, why, God, what are you doing, God, where are you, God, in what feels like the darkest of nights?

Ramin Razavi: 47:27

And I believe today, God wants to give you a purpose in your suffering. He wants you to see that it's part of the witness that he wants to bear in the world, that you are willing to be faithful to him. So let's stand together. Just wanna offer a few simple invitations today. Here at Garden, one of our core beliefs is that when the holy spirit moves, we wanna respond to him.

Ramin Razavi: 47:57

And so, I wanna give a few simple invitations and then after that time, I'll pray. And if one of those you sense God speaking to you, we just invite you to come forward and receive prayer from our team who's here. But that first invitation is simply what we saw in the text that some of us need to make the presence of God our home again. And maybe you have been someone who's known his love, known his power. Maybe you've never really known the love and the power of God, but you have found yourself walking out into the outer courts of the world, not protected without a sense of his presence, without a sense of his faithfulness over your life.

Ramin Razavi: 48:42

And today is the day that you can come home to the presence of God. And you can say with the Psalmist, better is one day, Lord, in your courts than a 1000 days elsewhere. A second invitation invitation is for some of us who need to receive mercy from the Lord to be witnesses in this world. And there's a instinct in us. There's a desire in us to do it.

Ramin Razavi: 49:10

But if we're honest, fear has a greater sway than the call of witnessing. And there is a timidity that has come over us because we are so afraid of what people might think about us. We're so desperate for the approval of people around us. We're so bent on comfort instead of living on the redemptive edge. And and so maybe today, you wanna come and receive the anointing of the holy spirit to have courage to live as a witness in this world.

Ramin Razavi: 49:38

To be able to say, it's not by my strength. It's by the power of God in me. But I know this is what I want. This is what I want more than anything else, is to reflect the glory and the power of God to the world around me. The third invitation is the one for those of us who have walked through what feels like unimaginable suffering and hardship.

Ramin Razavi: 50:00

When I read that passage as a clay pot, you could literally hear the hammer chipping away at your soul. And you've endured a lot. You've walked through a lot. And today is a invitation to receive mercy from the Lord. To say, God, I wanna receive your mercy so that the suffering that you've asked me to steward in this life, it will become a testimony to your glory.

Ramin Razavi: 50:24

That the scars of my healed wounds will become a witness to the world of the healing power of Christ. Carries his wounds. He's the lamb who is slain. So your wounds don't disqualify you from the kingdom of God. They're an invitation for more of his power, more of his glory to come.

Ramin Razavi: 50:45

And so if that's you, come forward today. We're going to pray for you. And finally, there's this revival now. Some of us are revivalists. I know they're here.

Ramin Razavi: 50:55

And we have been praying and asking and seeking God for revival in our day. Forward to receive the grace and the anointing of God to be revivalist in this generation, to be people who see that that 9 tenths come You say, I'm tired of the statistics. I'm not paying attention anymore to the decline of the church. I see the rise of the church. And I'm praying that in the midst of the pressure, there are faithful witnesses.

Ramin Razavi: 51:24

And that from those faithful witness would come a revival that would cause 9 tenths of the great cities to see the power and the glory of Christ. So if any of those invitations are for you, come forward right now. Our prayer team is here. They wanna minister to you. Holy Spirit, would you come now?

Ramin Razavi: 51:50

Would you touch our hearts with healing power? Renew our minds with the truths of Christ? Would you revive our spirits, Lord, where we have suffered? Where we have held fast in the hard places? Would you revive us by the power of Christ?

Ramin Razavi: 52:10

And would you cause all of this to point towards Jesus Christ and him crucified, Lord? We offer ourselves to you and we say, Lord, on this altar, Holy Spirit, would you fall now with the fire of God, call us up, raise us up in the power and the authority of Christ, we pray.

Intro/Outro: 52:30

Thank you so much for listening. For more information, please visit us at garden.church.