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"Here as in Heaven."
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Welcome to Garden Church podcast. We're in part two of a series on the book of Revelation. We're doing a deep dive into how to read and interpret this amazing book. Enjoy.
Darren Rouanzoin:Eleven, what's up? So much is going on in our church and it's good to be with you. I was gone the last couple weeks so this is my first 9AM with you or 11AM, one of those. Uh-oh. I I had a weekend off which was great over the July 4.
Darren Rouanzoin:My family and I went up north. That was so fun. I didn't preach for the first time since being back on sabbatical. And then, I preached at a friend's church last week that's starting the book of Revelation now. So I started Revelation for them chapter one verse nine.
Darren Rouanzoin:And to be honest I'm feeling all sorts of emotions finishing the book today. This is the end of Revelation. Yeah I got one applause. I see you. This book has definitely shaped and changed my life truly.
Darren Rouanzoin:I'm not just saying that. And you know every book is powerful in the scripture but this one is wild and worship filled. Are you guys leaving? Are you headed out? Thanks for staying for the testimony.
Darren Rouanzoin:Yeah? We got four seats up here. People outside wanna come in. I'll let you guys fight for that. But this is really not the ending.
Darren Rouanzoin:This is the last word in the bible today but it's the beginning of something new and I'm excited to preach to you. I I really am excited to preach today at this church. I I preached at my friend's church last week and I was with pastor Ramin and I I don't preach very often anymore other places. I preach with friends and I I just wanna say by way of experience, I'm so grateful for our church. And I I'm grateful for what has become a normal ecosystem of hosting God's presence.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I mean that sincerely from from set up to tear down to hospitality volunteers, to kids volunteers, prayer team, worship team, AV volunteers that make it their priority to get in the presence of Jesus to the fact that before I get here on Sunday, this space is saturated every Sunday with prayer. And it starts on Tuesday for us in our celebration gatherings where we seek the Lord and ask him to speak and then we contend with our elders and our leaders throughout the week. So by the time we get here at the 11:00, you are the beneficiaries of deep work with the Holy Spirit. And I just have to say like, I take it for granted. Therefore, I know you take it for granted.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I know God's doing something so lean in. Don't take it for granted. Say thank you. And just keep your hearts open to what he's doing and I I believe the Lord's doing amazing things right now. So anyways, the end of Revelation.
Darren Rouanzoin:You ready? Yeah. Let me see those Bibles. Let's see. 11:00.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's a good sign. Someone commented about we don't have dusty bibles at Garden. I didn't know it was referring to a song. Apparently there's like a young kid singing about that and I had to Google it so someone's like, oh yeah it's a song but we don't have dusty bibles here because we read ours, yes? I'm gonna read this to you.
Darren Rouanzoin:Maybe let's should we stand again? Yeah. Would you stand as we read the last words of the bible? It's a long one but you can manage. I believe.
Darren Rouanzoin:I believe in God the father. I believe in Christ the son. I thought the girl who shared her testimony said when Darren was singing about the Holy Spirit. Yes. But she was saying when Darren says receive the Holy Spirit.
Darren Rouanzoin:I did sing though at the youth event and I apologize to all the youth that were there. Alright. Here we go. Verse six of chapter 22. You ready?
Darren Rouanzoin:If you went to the maps, just turn left, you'll be at the end. Lord, would you bless us as we read your word? The angel said to me, these are the words trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. Look, I'm coming soon.
Darren Rouanzoin:Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in the scroll. I John am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, don't do that. I'm a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of the scroll.
Darren Rouanzoin:Worship God. Then he told me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of the scroll because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong. Let the vile person continue to be vile. Let the one who does right continue to do right and let the holy person continue to be holy.
Darren Rouanzoin:Look, I am coming soon. My reward is with me and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the alpha and the omega. The first and the last. The beginning and the end.
Darren Rouanzoin:Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexual immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you the testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star. The spirit and the bride said, come.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let the one who hears say, come. Let the one who is thirsty, come. And let the one who wishes to take the free gift of the water of life. I warn you everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll. If anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in the scroll.
Darren Rouanzoin:And if anyone takes words away from the scroll of prophecy, God will take away from the person any share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in the scroll. He who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.
Darren Rouanzoin:Amen. The word of the Lord. Alright. Go ahead. Grab a seat.
Darren Rouanzoin:Standing. Sitting. What is all this liturgy going on? Welcome to church. This is what we're doing.
Darren Rouanzoin:For the last seven months with a little interlude while I was gone, we have been looking verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the book of Revelation. And today we conclude this epic series. It has definitely changed me and in the last words there's so much here to call us to. But I wanna give you a quick review to remember what Revelation is about. First of all, Revelation is apocalyptic, it's prophetic and it's pastoral or epistle.
Darren Rouanzoin:Apocalyptic means it unveils unseen realities. It wants you to see behind the things that are present and future. Prophetic means it speaks to the truth to power in Sorry. Speaks truth to power. It calls people to faithfulness and announces what is and what will be and it's pastoral.
Darren Rouanzoin:And what that means is that John as a pastor writes to the local churches that he loved. Churches that were facing pressure and compromise and fear and he reminds them to stay faithful to Jesus. It's for the church today to remain faithful to Jesus. Revelation has given us seven visions Framed by songs of worship and symbols of resistance that centers around the lamb who was worthy to open the scrolls. To unseal God's redemptive plans.
Darren Rouanzoin:So we've had seven visions over the last seven months. The first is simply this. Here's a review. That Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. Amen?
Darren Rouanzoin:Amen. That the risen Jesus walks among the churches with eyes blazing like fire like a voice rushing like rushing waters. And his word to the church that it's same as it was two thousand years ago is do not be afraid. The second encouragement vision is that the church must overcome. Jesus tenderly speaks to the church.
Darren Rouanzoin:Two thousand years ago and today, that the call for the church is to resist compromise. To endure suffering, and to stay loyal to Jesus. And we overcome by the blood of the lamb. Is that good news? Yes.
Darren Rouanzoin:The next vision is a vision of heaven pulling itself open at the center of reality. Is heaven ruling even when the earth shakes. Behind the curtains of reality, as we're drawn into God's perspective, is a throne. And the throne of God has a lamb who was slain and the worship of the cosmos is directed to Jesus. And then from there we experience the reality of life that history is hard but not out of control.
Darren Rouanzoin:And so we see seals and trumpets and bowls of wrath being poured out as mercy and as judgment depending on what side of the coin you find yourself in relationship to God. God's people suffer but they also bear witness. And as they bear witness, they proclaim the truth unto death. And then we get to my favorite section of scripture. The the center of the book of Revelation chapter 12 which we call the apocalyptic Christmas.
Darren Rouanzoin:And it reveals the war behind every war that there are actually dragons and beasts. Not designed to scare you into believing something about Jesus, but designed to pastorally encourage you to recognize you have an enemy. And all of God's people throughout history have had an enemy. His name is Satan. The devil, the ancient serpent that deceives the nations.
Darren Rouanzoin:That uses political power and empire to will people into worshipping him through force and then corrupts religions to become a false prophet, anti Christ like to draw them to be marked by the beast to worship the false gods of the age. But what we know is that on Mount Zion the people of God stand with the lamb and sing a new song. And then we see chapters 15 through 18, Babylon will fall. And I encourage you to remember that this seductive power of empire, economics, violence, and immorality will all collapse. And Babylon, the mother of prostitutes is thrown down in a single moment.
Darren Rouanzoin:She's destroyed. And we made the case that for many of us we think Babylon's some future city. No. No. No.
Darren Rouanzoin:Babylon is present now as it's always been throughout history. Anytime powers of this world display their salvation through something other than Jesus Christ but looks like wealth and comfort and convenience. And Babylon shouldn't be afraid of something out there as much as it is within our hearts every time. We allow the meaning of this world to give us significance and purpose, wealth or or our four zero one k or our jobs or our career or relationships. If that becomes the idol of our life, Babylon lives in our hearts and Babylon will fall.
Darren Rouanzoin:And then we get to the epic ending where Jesus wins and makes all things new. He comes on a white horse. Satan is judged. The dead are raised. The books are opened.
Darren Rouanzoin:Heaven and earth are fulfilled with a new heaven and new earth and the dwelling place of God is filing with humanity, which leads to this epic line in chapter 21 verse five, behold, I am making all things new. Revelation in five minutes. So as a reminder, today I wanna finish this series. I feel like I'm just giving you my last thoughts. We'll talk about this and then I'll just encourage you.
Darren Rouanzoin:Does that sound okay? The apocalypse is not about escape but encounter. The apocalypse means unveiling or better yet breaking through or breakthrough and the curtain is lifted and the veil is pulled back and the urgency of the moment is not to get the circumstances of the future right. The urgency of the moment is to see Jesus for who he really is. Darrell Johnson writes, things are not as they seem.
Darren Rouanzoin:So we look around and see delay, chaos, decay, war. But the deeper reality, the unseen truth that revelation unveils is that Jesus is already on the move. He is the king and he already reigns and will bring things to right once and for all. Richard Bockham says, the purpose of the visions is to purge the Christian imagination and transform it by an alternative vision of the world. To purge all of the false narratives you believe about the way the world works.
Darren Rouanzoin:And submit your life and mind to Christ so that you see the world the way God intended you to see it through relationship with him. We don't look to revelation for escape. We look for revelation through revelation to see things in light of who Jesus really is. One of the things I was thinking about this week because I had a I have I'm in seminary. I'm getting my masters in biblical studies.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I have done two years. I got one more year left, but all of the theology was done. So the last two days, Thursday and Friday, all about eschatology, the study of the end times, which I was like, I just finished the book of Revelation. Let's go. I have a bunch of pastors in this cohort from all over.
Darren Rouanzoin:And we had lots of lively debates all year round round, but especially last Friday. But one of the things that my professor said was so fascinating. I wanna submit this to you now. In light of this conversation of how to see revelation. As he said, I find it interesting that the way Christian talk about Revelation and the end times in the second coming of Christ is actually very similar to how the Jews of Jesus' day missed the first coming of the Messiah.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's like, oh, what do and he's like, why did they the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Herodians, why did they miss the zealots? Why did they miss the first coming of the Messiah? We all started shouting out our ideas and we all got it wrong. He's like, actually, they all have something in common even though they have a diverse opinion about the way the Messiah would come. They all shared how they missed the first coming of the Messiah.
Darren Rouanzoin:Jesus tells them how. And he says, Jesus will say to them, you don't know the father. And it hit me that the way we often interpret revelation is similar to the Jews two thousand years ago that wanted God to come and smite their enemies. Wanted God to come and justify their righteousness and bring out justice to the evil doers. Wanted God to come decisively through a rapture.
Darren Rouanzoin:You guys missed it. We got it right. Because they have the wrong view of God in mind. He says the reason, my professor says, the reason those Jewish communities missed Jesus as the Messiah is because they had an angry God in their mind. They didn't have Exodus 34 in their heart that God, when he says, this is what I'm like, says, I'm slow to anger.
Darren Rouanzoin:I'm patient. I abound in loving kindness. And the attributes is a merciful God who is longing for his children to know him. And many Christians today want God to judge with anger. And they need to submit to the vision of Jesus that was expressed in his incarnation, but most appropriately on the cross.
Darren Rouanzoin:And Revelation isn't a reverse on that. It's the fulfillment that the lamb who was slain is waiting now for his children to come and return. And so revelation is about having the right view of Jesus. It's not about speculation of events. Please hear me.
Darren Rouanzoin:Next time a country invades Israel, don't think we're starting the end times. No. It started two thousand years ago with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the church, with the arrival of God's kingdom, and it will be culminated once and for all when he returns. And we will be surprised. But the invitation of revelation is to not be so surprised that you missed it.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's designed to teach you now to live in eternity. Yes. That you right now live everyday ordinary life breathing in the kingdom air so that when he comes, you're like, oh, there you are. But you keep on living like you already were trained now. 11, you're getting some special oil.
Darren Rouanzoin:That holy spirit gravy running off the plate right now because nine didn't get this. Usually, it's the twelve. Do I have any twelve o'clockers in here normally? Like, yeah. But it's because of you.
Darren Rouanzoin:The eleven's being benefited. So the call is to live now. Why? Because the time is near. Jesus says this in the beginning of Revelation chapter one.
Darren Rouanzoin:He says it at the end of chapter 22. He says, the time is near. So the question I have is the time is near for what? Let's get specific. Revelation answers this question so we're not speculating.
Darren Rouanzoin:I wanna give you three things that the time is near for. Number one. The time is near for Jesus to be known by all the world. He says, look, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him.
Darren Rouanzoin:He's not standing off in the distance. He's not waiting for permission to return. The movement has already come. This is a present tense verb. He is near now.
Darren Rouanzoin:The kingdom has broken in. We don't serve a distant savior. We serve a god who is present now, and he's always been moving towards us. It's not he will come. The verb he the time is near is connected to he is coming now.
Darren Rouanzoin:Which means he's already near. And if he's coming, then we must live and anticipate his arrival. Not with fear, but with faith. Not with hiding but with witness. Not not because he's gonna mess us mess things up when he shows up but because we're recognizing his presence.
Darren Rouanzoin:And this is so important for revelation. For unveiling. Because in the beginning of this book, I I told you back in August, in case you forgot. There's this the picture we have that shapes the entire book of Revelation is chapter one verses nine through 20. John turns to to see this voice speaking and he describes this voice of of being someone like the son of man and it's this he's got hair like wool, he's got, an outfit that's like the high priest, he's wearing a king sash, a belt around his chest, which is a symbol.
Darren Rouanzoin:Because if you wore a belt around your waist, it meant you had work to do. But when you wear up high, it means the work is finished. All the symbolism of this description, his voice is a double edged sword. His face like the sun shining. Remember the greatest blessing in numbers is that God's face will shine upon you.
Darren Rouanzoin:So here's the greatest blessing incarnate. I mean, I could go off because I just preached this last week at that other church. But my point is there's something hiding in this text that we need to see. Right? There's something hiding.
Darren Rouanzoin:What's hiding is where is this glorified Jesus? Where is the eyes, the hair, this powerful horse guy riding a white horse. Where is he? It says in verse 12. And when I turned and saw seven golden lampstands.
Darren Rouanzoin:What are the seven golden lampstands? The churches. And among the lampstands was someone like the son of man. Where is the Where is this glorified Jesus? Amongst us.
Darren Rouanzoin:Now think about this. If you have the wrong vision of God like I did, he's way out there angry. He's way out there waiting for me to mess up like a a cosmic traffic cop. He's a he's some deity distant that wants to bless us like a vending machine. No.
Darren Rouanzoin:No. No. Is the cosmic Christ, and he's right here. He's right there in the midst of the struggle, right there in the midst of the unanswered prayer that still weighs heavy on your heart. He's right there in the grief that you're carrying that some days is so overwhelming that you put on Netflix Netflix all day because you can't stand the weight of the grief because it chokes out breath and you can't respond to text messages and everything is a burden.
Darren Rouanzoin:He's where? There. And I don't know what you need to hear, but this is what I need to hear. That in the midst of all the things that I've messed up, he still draws near and the time is now, and he's drawing closer and closer. And the only thing that matters is your ability to reject the false versions of Jesus that have been given to you by history and bad Christians and say, submit, Lord.
Darren Rouanzoin:Help me to say yes to this because everything inside of me wants to say church hurt, corruption, pain. But this Jesus gets so close to you. Not like us, but to you. To you. To you.
Darren Rouanzoin:And he wants you to know that he's there. And that's what's pressing in his nearness because the time is near. Yeah. I'm preaching. It's not a teach.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's not a TED talk. The time Second, the time is near for Jesus to finally have his way. You see, Revelation is framed with divine declarations of Jesus' identity, not your identity. This book is not about you and how you can code and map out the events of the future. I can make a lot of money on a website trying to prep you for the end times.
Darren Rouanzoin:I'll pull out my maps and say a decisive date and we'll just get you all hyped up and ready to go every time some new article comes out. AI clearly the Antichrist like it's obvious. Just kidding that was a joke. He says I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the first and the last and I am the beginning and the end.
Darren Rouanzoin:Now these are clever words but no no these are deeply theological. For Jesus to say at the end, I am the beginning and the end. He is saying I am the archae. I am the source in Greek. The source of all things.
Darren Rouanzoin:I am the archetype. I am the prototype. The I am the pattern of what life was supposed to be for humanity. And I'm the telos. The end.
Darren Rouanzoin:The goal. The promise. The destiny. I hold all things together. GK Beale says, Jesus Jesus' I am statements affirm his sovereign authority over the entire course of history from the beginning and end.
Darren Rouanzoin:So everything, every revolution in history, every ache in creation, every longing within your soul finds its coherence and conclusion in Jesus Christ. So what's the goal for humanity? What's to tell us of humanity? To become like him. To reflect his glory into the world.
Darren Rouanzoin:To walk in his way. To be filled with his love because the time is near for the people of God to become the likeness of the son of God. Creation longs for this. Which is in Romans. Right?
Darren Rouanzoin:Which gets to my third point. The time is near for all creation to realize its destiny. Romans talks about the creation groaning, aching, longing for the children of God to be revealed. That there is this curse on creation and it's waiting to be lifted up. And the only way it's lifted up is through the work of Jesus and then Jesus empowers his followers with the power of the original Genesis mandate to redeem all of creation.
Darren Rouanzoin:And that will be once and for all realized in Christ. But right now, we go to work on his behalf. Being a part of this epic story being unveiled. So revelation doesn't end in annihilation. It ends in restoration of all things.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's not about escape. It's about the arrival. It's not about obliteration. It's about the incarnation. The garden becomes the city.
Darren Rouanzoin:Exile becomes a wedding. The dwelling place of God is with his people. Michael Gorman writes, Revelation's end is not evacuation but transformation. The curse is finally broken. Nations are healed.
Darren Rouanzoin:The tears are wiped away. The time is near for all things to be made new. Not just one day. Not just someday. But right now, in and around you, this time is happening amongst us.
Darren Rouanzoin:Which is why as a bride we say come. Come have your way. That last word, that last phrase come Lord Jesus is an Aramaic phrase. Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus creation suffers.
Darren Rouanzoin:We need you Jesus. And the invitation is to become like him, but we're here because Jesus is longing for these things to move forward. Revelation ends with another name of Jesus. And I was wondering why does it end with the king of kings or the line of Judah? Why does it end with this last phrase?
Darren Rouanzoin:So I I someone told me in the last service I gotta move away from the screen. I'm gonna come over here. And I should have like a a beat to this so worship No, I'm just kidding. Worship could say. But like when you read these are all the names in Revelation.
Darren Rouanzoin:Jesus Christ, faithful witness, first born of the dead, ruler of kings on earth, the alpha, the omega, the son of man, the first and the last, the living one. He who holds the seven stars in his right hands, he who walks among the seven golden lampstands, the first and the last who died and came to life. He who has the a sharp two edged sword, the son of God. He whose eyes are like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze. He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, the holy one, the true one.
Darren Rouanzoin:The one who has the key of David, the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, the lamb, the lord, holy and true, the lamb who was slain, the faithful and true, the word of god, The king of kings and lord of lords. We've already said this. The alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the root and the descendant of David. And the last one, the bright and morning star. The bright and morning star.
Darren Rouanzoin:Why not king of kings? Well, bright and morning star is connected to the time is near. You see, the morning star only appears when the night has reached its greatest darkness. It doesn't end the night. It signals that the night is over.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's still dark but daybreak has come. When you see the morning star, here's what one author says, you know that the night has been defeated. The star pulls the morning in behind it as certainly as Jesus pulls the kingdom in behind him. Darkness never gets the last word. Remember, live in the light of revelation.
Darren Rouanzoin:This is all coming from this last section of scripture to remind us of what we are called to. But as I was reflecting, the question is, why are we waiting? Why the waiting? Time has always been near according to Darrell Johnson so that why? He says, so that one more will come home.
Darren Rouanzoin:Why are we waiting? Well, this has to do in my opinion with that first conversation about what kind of God do you have in your heart. What kind of vision of Jesus did you learn from this text, from this prophetic apocalyptic epistle? What did it reveal to you when you look for the lion but seeing the sea, the slaughtered lamb? When you look for conquest but there's no Armageddon, there's just defeat because he spoke a word.
Darren Rouanzoin:When you look for vindication, how long, oh lord, must we wait for you to bring justice for our martyrdom? He says a little bit longer. Why? Because he's a loving God that longs for your neighbor, your family member, your friend to know him. He's like the father who's waiting for the son to return home.
Darren Rouanzoin:And the moment he sees him, he takes off running. That's the God we're given in Revelation. The God throughout scripture that he's he's revealed himself over and over again. He's patient. He's so patient that he waits four hundred years for his people to remain in slavery in Egypt.
Darren Rouanzoin:And if you read about it, he's he reveals his heart so that Canaan would turn, but they don't. Our God is so patient. He's longing for another child to be made whole, to reflect that this is the morning star because Jesus reveals the loving God who is patient and waiting for more to come to him. The time has always been near and there's a reason for the delay because God is a God of mercy. He's a God of slow patience, not an angry God with a countdown clock, but a patient God waiting for more to see his face.
Darren Rouanzoin:If this is true, if this all of what I've preached the last seven months is true, how do we live? This is what I need you to hear as a preacher that when the word of God is preached, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's anointed, sometimes it's not. That's true here and everywhere by the way. But when God shows up and there is a prophetic, proclamation of the word of God, it requires a response.
Darren Rouanzoin:And here's the thing, wanna train you to see because you need to see this as people of God. We need to be trained in the presence of Jesus. We need to be trained to to respond to the word of God. Not Ted talk, not clever ideas, Not acronyms that make your life better. Although all that's fine.
Darren Rouanzoin:But when the word is proclaimed, the church responds. And you can reject it or you can allow the spirit of God to plant that seed and respond appropriately. Every message should have a, well, what do we do? If it's true, what do we do? And I wanna speak to the last seven months.
Darren Rouanzoin:If revelation is true, if the time is near, if all this is true, how then shall we live? How then shall we live? Number one, burn the bridges to Babylon. What's so clear for our context right now is you can't follow the lamb and sleep with Babylon. Revelation pulls no punches about what your allegiance costs.
Darren Rouanzoin:You must sever the ties that you have with systems that seduce your soul. So practically, followers of Jesus in our context today, delete what numbs you. Confess what shames you. Break off what binds you and name the false gods in your life. Success, safety, sex, screens, and self and throw them down to Jesus and participate in Babylon no more.
Darren Rouanzoin:Otherwise like the church in Laodicea, you might recognize that you are neither hot nor cold and he will say to you on that day, I'll spit you out of my mouth. But he says to that very church which I would say the lukewarm church is the cool church today. The church that likes comfort and convenience but not costly faithfulness to Jesus. And he will say, be earnest and repent to the Laodicean. Be earnest and repent.
Darren Rouanzoin:Take seriously the small micro habits because they have macro eternal impact. Where is your faith in those things? And how can you show allegiance to Jesus with your phone? With your obedience in the workplace? On the play As you watch your kids on the playground, at work, where does Babylon creep in?
Darren Rouanzoin:And how do you burn the bridge back to Babylon? Number two. How then shall we live? Live like the new creation has already started. If the future is not far off, if if it's breaking in now, if that's the message of revelation, that would By the way, that was always the message of Jesus.
Darren Rouanzoin:The kingdom of God is at hand. It's right here. You can grab it and touch it. That means the resurrection wasn't just the beginning of new life for Jesus. It means it's the beginning of new life for the world.
Darren Rouanzoin:So we now live in response to the resurrection. We now live in response to what God is doing in our life. We now live in response to the reality that heaven is here. So live here as in heaven. What does that mean?
Darren Rouanzoin:Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Practice radical forgiveness. Open your homes. Practice hospitality.
Darren Rouanzoin:Pray for healing. Care for the poor. Speak truth in love. Live generously, courageously, and self sacrificially. Do things for the father in secret so not everyone sees what you've done.
Darren Rouanzoin:Fast. Pray. Don't worry about your life. Live the sermon on the mount. What am I getting at?
Darren Rouanzoin:Well, the culture wants you to live a certain way but we're called to live in heaven now. So we're training ourselves in light of what God's done, in light of who Jesus is that we see, we now live with eternity on our lips. With the breath of the kingdom in our lungs. And so as I already shared, I'm sharing it again. The way we live now with each other is to put on display what's coming.
Darren Rouanzoin:Once and for all when he returns. So that when he comes, oh hey Jesus, we just keep it on. We keep on keeping on. We keep on living in that self sacrificial love, in that grace given away, in that generosity, in that stewardship of resources for the sake of our brothers and sisters, in that caring for one another in such a way that there are no needs among us. Are you with me church?
Darren Rouanzoin:Yes. Do you see what I see? Yes. So Michael Gorman says, Revelation invites us to be citizens of the new Jerusalem while still living in Babylon. So live today like the kingdom is already here because it is.
Darren Rouanzoin:And the third point is this, step into the world with fire in your eyes and the lamb's name on your lips. Step into the world with the fire with fire in your eyes and the lamb's name on your lips. I think this is the urgency that I feel for the church. That I think in the last up until this series, I haven't sensed the the need for urgency for the gospel. And it's probably it had to do with my view of the eschatology that sounds changed since preaching this series.
Darren Rouanzoin:When I started Revelation, I was far more confident in what I believed. Now, I'm less sure. I'm more confident in Jesus. Less confident about how it's gonna end. And I think that's the point.
Darren Rouanzoin:We have to stay humble. But one thing for certain is that we are part of God's redemptive plan. And if he's patient, waiting for others to turn, then he's waiting for us to continue his ministry today. If we're empowered by his spirit, then what? Preach the gospel.
Darren Rouanzoin:Cast out demons. Heal the sick. Make disciples. Fight for justice. Speak out in truth.
Darren Rouanzoin:Go where it's dark and light it up. There's a speaker I know last service I said, a friend of mine. She's not a friend of mine. There's a speaker I met on. She's a famous preacher.
Darren Rouanzoin:I saw her at the airport. She had headphones on. My family and I were leaving a church that I had preached at that weekend in Portland. And I was like, hey, I know who you are. And she's like, I like, I you're a great preacher.
Darren Rouanzoin:I just wanna say hi. She's like, thank you. Put them on. I'm like, okay. I got it.
Darren Rouanzoin:I got the signal. You do this all you get it all the time. Thank you. Bless you. Bless.
Darren Rouanzoin:But she shared at this event, I was preaching it as well. She shared this story that I couldn't get out of my heart because it's shaped everything for what I'm trying to get at. She told a story and she's such a master storyteller. Her name's Christine Cain, so she's insane. You're like, yeah, now you get it.
Darren Rouanzoin:Because she tells she shares a story when she was somewhere in the South or somewhere in in The United States, she went to like a Walmart and her kids like were going crazy and they have it's like the everything store. They're from Australia. They have like stores for every individual thing and you like go in and it's got everything. Obviously, we love Walmart. So she goes and her kids buy a flashlight and she like, run around with this giant flashlight and the kid goes, mommy, look.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let's go find some darkness. That preaches. Right? Church, look. Jesus.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let's go find some darkness. Right? Isn't that the call? That as things get darker, you wonder why it's getting darker? It's because the church has forgotten its salty mission.
Darren Rouanzoin:I don't mean church like we got a new website. By the way, we got a new website. Thank you people that build the website. I mean church. Jesus is Lord.
Darren Rouanzoin:Anyone wanna confess that Jesus is Lord raised from the dead? Hands up if you've ever said that. Church. So some of you don't have your hands up. Don't know.
Darren Rouanzoin:Okay. Raise your hand. Jesus is the Lord raised from the dead. If you acknowledge me before a man, I'll acknowledge you before. Don't be denied.
Darren Rouanzoin:Alright. You're like, remember that time Sunday you didn't raise your hand? Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Oh, no. Wrong view of God, by the way.
Darren Rouanzoin:Anyways, it's not that easy. Just just ruined all my teaching. It's for you. What if he's waiting for you to triumph over him, satan, through the blood of the lamb? Yes.
Darren Rouanzoin:What if you didn't hold on to your life so much that you shrink back from death? Right? This is the key verse of chapter 12 that marks the entire book. They overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They didn't love their life so much that they shrunk back from death.
Darren Rouanzoin:What if today, you just go all in for the real Jesus, and you recognize that eternity is now and coming. That Jesus is near and victorious. That you are part of this new creation event. This new creation project where God is wanting to use you and your ordinariness to display his glory. That God wants to use your little courage to just share your faith with your coworker and invite them somewhere where they might taste the tree of life.
Darren Rouanzoin:That's what he's drawing us to as a church. That there will be famines, there will be wars, there will be kings and kingdoms and empires. You will face Babylon every day of your life. You will see the manifest powers of the dragon displaying his war and anger against you through powers of this world, through false religion religions and false belief systems that you've already believed. But he right now is empowering you in all of that going on to be a little flashlight that shines a little brighter as the world is covered in darkness because he's the morning star and darkness has an end.
Darren Rouanzoin:So don't waste time playing church. Don't waste time protecting your reputation. Don't waste time waiting for the right conditions. Go for it. And the last thing I wanna say is what are we looking for?
Darren Rouanzoin:Are we looking for the apocalyptic images of revelation to make sense the world events, the timelines and trumpets of tribulation? No. We're looking for Jesus. So fix your eyes on him. The Aramaic phrase, come Lord Jesus is Maranatha.
Darren Rouanzoin:And the final word is amen. Come Lord Jesus. And that's our our posture. Our posture is not countdown clocks and conspiracies conspiracies. Not headlines, but hunger.
Darren Rouanzoin:Our posture is longing, expectation for Jesus and Jesus alone. So we say, amen. Amen. Which means so be it. I agree.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I'm in. Amen is not just how we end our prayers. It is how we enter into what God is doing now. It's not just an agreement with what was said. It's a personal realignment with the will and work of God.
Darren Rouanzoin:It signals participation in the life of God, bringing it into being. Amen is not a wish. It's a pledge. Amen is our active response to God's word and promise. When we say, amen, we're saying, yes, I trust you.
Darren Rouanzoin:Yes, I follow you. Yes, I'm in. So what do you see when you look at the world? Do you see chaos and fear and anxiety and darkness? Look again.
Darren Rouanzoin:The curtain is pulled. The throne is occupied. The lamb of God reigns. The star has risen because the time is near. So church, stay awake.
Darren Rouanzoin:Stay faithful. Resist Babylon at all costs. Follow the lamb. Worship with heaven. Live like the bride.
Darren Rouanzoin:Pray with urgency. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. The end. Amen.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let's go. Yeah. Eleven. Can we all can we all stand together? If you need to use the restroom, we're gonna do ministry time.
Darren Rouanzoin:It was quite powerful at the nine. You can go right now, but the rest of you that are ready, would you just quiet yourselves, close your eyes and open your hands. This is a posture if you're new to our church, we just open our hands as a physical posture of openness to a God who deeply loves us and longs for us to know him. He's near and he wants to fill us afresh every time we gather. As Paul commands, he says, be filled with the Holy Spirit which is in the Greek translated better to mean, keep on being filled.
Darren Rouanzoin:So as a response to that command, we obey and we say, come Holy Spirit. Come Lord Jesus.
Intro/Outro:Thank you so much for listening. For more information, please visit us at garden.church.