The Winning Team
Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-8
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I,
John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard
a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor
sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things
have passed away.”5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I
make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are
true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life
freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly,
unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The scripture I read begins with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven
and all things becoming new. No more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain.
Then the One who sits on the throne, Jesus Christ, the Father, the Holy Spirit,
tells John to write down the words because they are faithful and true. The first
thing He says is that it is done! So, what is the ‘it’ He was talking about. Let’s
take a look at John 16:33: These things I have spoken to you, that in Me
you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world. It is done! Jesus has overcome
the world. He warns us that we will have tribulation in this world but can remain
cheerful because He has overcome the world. We can have peace but only in
Him will we find it.
We’re not going to find that peace with the things of the world like the world
claims. If you watch commercial you’d think that’s all you need. A beautiful
man or woman by your side, a fancy car, some sharp clothes, a bunch of
friends; these are the things that make the world happy or so you would think
if you watch movies or television. Yet, you’ll find plenty of people with all of
those things and no peace. In fact, many times, those whom the world would
say have it all, are the ones in the most despair. As Christians, we have to be
very careful not to get caught up in the things that we have and lose the focus
we should have on Christ on Christ. It’s not our friends, or our cars, or our
jobs, or our house or any other thing that will give us peace. Our peace is
found in Christ alone.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid.
Back to Revelation 21, He goes on to say that the one who overcomes will
inherit all things. That sounds pretty awesome. So, what do we need to do to
overcome? Well, what did Jesus overcome? The world; selfishness, greed,
pride and other things of the world. How do we overcome those things?
John 12:49-50
49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who
sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should
speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore,
whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
He says here that He does not speak on His own authority but speaks what He
has heard from the Father. We have to keep our focus on Yeshua as our
guide. When He says follow Me, He means in word and deed. When Peter
kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on water but when he began to focus on
the things around him, he sank. That sounds too simple but really, that’s it.
We have to focus on the things of God and not on the things of man. So
much of our lives are built around getting things and having things, just by the
nature of the flesh we live inside. Even as Christians. The importance of the
things in our lives must decrease and the importance of Christ and His will
must increase.
Back to the passage in Revelation. He tells John who will end up in the lake of
fire, which is the second death. I’m just going to focus on the first two and the
last one that He mentions. The cowardly are first on the list. Now, this is not
the group that we with our human minds would. In fact, we would probably
think that the cowardly are a bit out of place when considering the others
mentioned, but scripture would tell you differently. One of the things God
emphasizes repeatedly throughout scripture is that we should be fearless; fear
not, be not afraid and so on. How many people do things or don’t do things
because they are afraid of what people will think of them or say about them.
We’ve learned in our study that faith is the opposite of fear. The word tells us
that without faith it is impossible to please God, so it seems pretty clear that
with fear it is impossible to please God. That doesn’t mean that we will never
experience fear but we should definitely not let it control us. It is something we
must overcome. In fact, I think there’s a very good reason the cowardly is at
the head of this list.
Next on the list is the unbelieving. Doubt is indeed deadly. Again, doubt is
another antonym of faith. Faith is so crucial in our Christian walk. Does this
mean that we will never have second thoughts? Of course, not but what we
must do is overcome those thoughts. That’s why it’s so important that we
know the word of God. He’s given us everything we need to overcome when
we are tempted. Everything is right there in the word of God. If you’re in a
plane at 30,000 feet that’s going down, does the parachute help you in
anyway if you don’t know where it is? How about if you don’t even know there’
s a parachute, does that help? It’s the same with the Bible. There’s plenty in
there that could really be helping believers but unfortunately, too many either
don’t know it’s there or have no idea how to find it so it does them know good
in their quest to overcome.
The last on the list are all liars. Who here has never told a lie? So you can
see what we all deserve. This should remind us all of God’s amazing grace to
all who believe and accept their righteousness through Jesus. This is also a
way that the enemy uses to get us out of God’s will, many times with the
stupidest things. I’ve caught myself lying about things that don’t even benefit
me by lying. Ridiculous things. Jesus said that He is the Truth and that the
truth will make us free. We must strive to be truthful in all things. Sometimes
you just need to stop an think before you answer.
As I close I’d like to leave you with some of the prizes we get when we
overcome.
(Revelation 2:7) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
(Revelation 2:11) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second
death.
(Revelation 2:17) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden
manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new
name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
(Revelation 2:26) And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the
end, to him I will give power over the nations.
(Revelation 3:5) He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,
and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess
his name before My Father and before His angels.
(Revelation 3:12) He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the
name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New
Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will
write on him My new name.
(Revelation 3:21) To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on
My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His
throne. (Wow!)
And as we read in our scripture, (Revelation 21:7) He who overcomes shall
inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
There is much to be gained if we overcome, and much to be lost if we do not.
It’s way too important to just leave to chance. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus
and run the race to get the prize.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: November 16, 2008
Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-8
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I,
John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard
a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor
sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things
have passed away.”5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I
make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are
true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life
freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly,
unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The scripture I read begins with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven
and all things becoming new. No more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain.
Then the One who sits on the throne, Jesus Christ, the Father, the Holy Spirit,
tells John to write down the words because they are faithful and true. The first
thing He says is that it is done! So, what is the ‘it’ He was talking about. Let’s
take a look at John 16:33: These things I have spoken to you, that in Me
you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world. It is done! Jesus has overcome
the world. He warns us that we will have tribulation in this world but can remain
cheerful because He has overcome the world. We can have peace but only in
Him will we find it.
We’re not going to find that peace with the things of the world like the world
claims. If you watch commercial you’d think that’s all you need. A beautiful
man or woman by your side, a fancy car, some sharp clothes, a bunch of
friends; these are the things that make the world happy or so you would think
if you watch movies or television. Yet, you’ll find plenty of people with all of
those things and no peace. In fact, many times, those whom the world would
say have it all, are the ones in the most despair. As Christians, we have to be
very careful not to get caught up in the things that we have and lose the focus
we should have on Christ on Christ. It’s not our friends, or our cars, or our
jobs, or our house or any other thing that will give us peace. Our peace is
found in Christ alone.
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid.
Back to Revelation 21, He goes on to say that the one who overcomes will
inherit all things. That sounds pretty awesome. So, what do we need to do to
overcome? Well, what did Jesus overcome? The world; selfishness, greed,
pride and other things of the world. How do we overcome those things?
John 12:49-50
49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who
sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should
speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore,
whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
He says here that He does not speak on His own authority but speaks what He
has heard from the Father. We have to keep our focus on Yeshua as our
guide. When He says follow Me, He means in word and deed. When Peter
kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked on water but when he began to focus on
the things around him, he sank. That sounds too simple but really, that’s it.
We have to focus on the things of God and not on the things of man. So
much of our lives are built around getting things and having things, just by the
nature of the flesh we live inside. Even as Christians. The importance of the
things in our lives must decrease and the importance of Christ and His will
must increase.
Back to the passage in Revelation. He tells John who will end up in the lake of
fire, which is the second death. I’m just going to focus on the first two and the
last one that He mentions. The cowardly are first on the list. Now, this is not
the group that we with our human minds would. In fact, we would probably
think that the cowardly are a bit out of place when considering the others
mentioned, but scripture would tell you differently. One of the things God
emphasizes repeatedly throughout scripture is that we should be fearless; fear
not, be not afraid and so on. How many people do things or don’t do things
because they are afraid of what people will think of them or say about them.
We’ve learned in our study that faith is the opposite of fear. The word tells us
that without faith it is impossible to please God, so it seems pretty clear that
with fear it is impossible to please God. That doesn’t mean that we will never
experience fear but we should definitely not let it control us. It is something we
must overcome. In fact, I think there’s a very good reason the cowardly is at
the head of this list.
Next on the list is the unbelieving. Doubt is indeed deadly. Again, doubt is
another antonym of faith. Faith is so crucial in our Christian walk. Does this
mean that we will never have second thoughts? Of course, not but what we
must do is overcome those thoughts. That’s why it’s so important that we
know the word of God. He’s given us everything we need to overcome when
we are tempted. Everything is right there in the word of God. If you’re in a
plane at 30,000 feet that’s going down, does the parachute help you in
anyway if you don’t know where it is? How about if you don’t even know there’
s a parachute, does that help? It’s the same with the Bible. There’s plenty in
there that could really be helping believers but unfortunately, too many either
don’t know it’s there or have no idea how to find it so it does them know good
in their quest to overcome.
The last on the list are all liars. Who here has never told a lie? So you can
see what we all deserve. This should remind us all of God’s amazing grace to
all who believe and accept their righteousness through Jesus. This is also a
way that the enemy uses to get us out of God’s will, many times with the
stupidest things. I’ve caught myself lying about things that don’t even benefit
me by lying. Ridiculous things. Jesus said that He is the Truth and that the
truth will make us free. We must strive to be truthful in all things. Sometimes
you just need to stop an think before you answer.
As I close I’d like to leave you with some of the prizes we get when we
overcome.
(Revelation 2:7) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
(Revelation 2:11) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second
death.
(Revelation 2:17) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden
manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new
name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
(Revelation 2:26) And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the
end, to him I will give power over the nations.
(Revelation 3:5) He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,
and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess
his name before My Father and before His angels.
(Revelation 3:12) He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the
name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New
Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will
write on him My new name.
(Revelation 3:21) To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on
My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His
throne. (Wow!)
And as we read in our scripture, (Revelation 21:7) He who overcomes shall
inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
There is much to be gained if we overcome, and much to be lost if we do not.
It’s way too important to just leave to chance. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus
and run the race to get the prize.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: November 16, 2008