A sermon by Owen Rogers derived from the first and last chapters of Revelation.
With this week’s readings in Revelation those of us who have been doing the E100 Bible Reading Challenge have read the whole Bible story. I am sure the reading has blessed everyone who has done it.
As we have seen, the Bible covers the entire span of the created universe in which we live. We know the beginning of the story and we know how it ends and we’re living in the middle somewhere – perhaps in the latter part – who knows?
The story began with nothing and out of that nothing God created everything. Actually everything is built of many tiny electrical charges. That’s a mind-blower. Everything we perceive with our senses is a composite of electrical charges. Everything, including our senses. That doesn’t just happen by accident. God made it happen and keeps it happening – he sustains his creation.
God created humans – creatures similar to himself in many ways. God called the creation ‘good’, while people he declared were ‘very good’. But it all went wrong when people tried to step out of God’s story and write their own. Instead of giving glory to God they gave glory to everything but. The basic building block of creation is electrical charges; the basic building block of human society is interpersonal relationship. Having stuffed our relationship with God we’re having a hard time relating with one another. Therein lies both the problem and the solution. Through his death Jesus did what was needed to sort out our relationship with God and when that is sorted we can make good progress in our relationships with one another. The Bible talks about this in terms of a new creation – us re-created in Jesus Christ.
Indeed, the Bible story ends with the recreation of everything. The existing creation is wonderful and glorious but the new will be far more glorious than the old. Every new thing God creates is better than that which it replaces.
The book of Revelation speaks much of trials and tribulations. In fact the whole Bible does. God’s enemies attack God’s friends because they figure they can hurt God by damaging or destroying those whom God loves. There is some truth in that – God hates those he loves being hurt. However, for God’s loyal people the alternative to life here is re-creation into a much better life. Who wouldn’t want that?
In the meantime, there won’t be any let-up on the hassles. Who was it centruies ago who referred to life on earth as “this vale of tears”? (The phrase comes from the Latin in Psalm 84:6 in the Vulgate Bible: “in valle lacrimarum …” (in the vale of tears …).) Trouble doesn’t visit everyone in the same way or to the same extent. Jesus said his people would be persecuted, but he didn’t say all the people all the time. There are degrees and phases of persecution. These will cease permanently when God’s enemies are defeated and eliminated. We’ve read the last chapter, we know how the story ends – we win! No matter what we go through in the meantime, in the end, we win. And God gets the glory.
Glory and exaltation is throughout the Bible and throughout the Revelation. Indeed, it would appear that this is the point of it all: that God will be glorified by all his ceatures. That’s why we worship and that’s why it’s good and right that we worship God, our Creator, Sustainer, Saviour and King.
Worship is for always but we aren’t up to the last part of Revelation yet. The end of the world is yet to come. Life will continue to be a mixture of good, bad and mundane. Therefore, I repeat the admonition from last week – be ready. And be ready means: don’t give up, keep following Jesus, keep together, carry the wounded, don’t let stragglers get picked off, be the best you can be, and do it all in the power and the name of Jesus the Messiah.
Talking of being the best we can be – today is Fathers’ Day. Fathers’ Day is an encouragement to fathers to be the best we can be. Fathers’ Day is to remember our fathers and to commend them in their work. I’ve learned so much from being a father, I could do a much better job now. Good for the grandkids – they’ll get the benefit of my learning on their parents. Keep going, Dads, and keep getting better at it. God is the best father of all and the model for us all to follow.
As I was watching news of the earthquake that hit Christchurch this weekend, I saw again how things like that can straighten our values remarkably well and remarkably quickly, though often not for long. I was taken by the old lady who was keeping some nice crockery for her grandkids and she was sad that they’d been broken. Her daughter’s comforting words were, “Never mind about that. We’re all ok and that’s what mattters.”
Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.
In Jesus is always the best place to be and where we get the most fulfilment and enjoyment out of life. Go for it in this life – the next one will still be better.