Signs and More Signs - Matthew 24:1-35

               

When you listen to the news, it seems as if persecution is growing in our world. People from many faith backgrounds are being killed for what they believe, but followers of Jesus are often the main targets. Christians are being killed in the Middle East and Africa, while persecution also happens in China and other parts of the world. The Western World is becoming more secular and the Christian faith has become a target in our culture. Since the pandemic, I hear more people talking about the end days, convinced Jesus’ return is close. But how can we know?

A good place to start is Matthew 24. Israel is proud of her temple. It's a sign of the presence of God among his people. As Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple, the disciples call Jesus' attention to the magnificent building. But rather than marvelling at the wonder of the temple, Jesus tells them, "Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down." Then they all go to the Mount of Olives outside the city overlooking Jerusalem and Jesus continues his teaching as the disciples ask, "When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus has mentioned a number of times that he has to die, but the disciples are still looking to the beginning of a new kingdom of Israel with Jesus on the throne as king. Jesus isn’t first of all teaching here about his second coming, he's talking about the more immediate future using images from the Old Testament prophets. Jesus warns them that there will be a number of signs so that they won't be deceived and led away from following Jesus. When Jesus leaves, there will be many who will claim they've been sent by Jesus with special messages.

Israel had a problem with false Messiahs, many coming from among the Zealots, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem. One historian writes, "The Jewish zealots, reacting in opposition to Caligula’s campaign began a revolt against Rome, a revolt which led to Roman legion soldiers from Syria destroying the food stocks of the Zealots and the local Jewish population. The inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem died in great numbers via starvation. Roman General Titus encircled the city, and began the siege of Jerusalem in April, A.D. 70…. On the 10th of August, in A.D. 70 ..., the very day when the King of Babylon burned the Temple in 586 B.C., the Temple was burned again. Titus took the city and put it to the torch, burning the Temple, leaving not one stone upon another.  Thus, Jerusalem was totally destroyed as Jesus had predicted, and not one stone was left upon another."

As for signs of Jesus' coming, Jesus tells them, "There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines, persecution, hatred against Jesus' followers, increase in wickedness, and more, and because of all these things, the love of many will grow cold." Jesus talks about "the abomination that causes desolation" that will stand in the holy place which the prophet Daniel predicted. Daniel 9:26 says, "After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."

This first happened when Antiochus, emperor of the Seleucid Empire defeated Jerusalem. He devastated Jerusalem in 168 BC, defiled the temple, offered a pig on its altar, erected an altar to Jupiter, prohibited temple worship, made circumcision illegal on pain of death, sold thousands of Jewish families into slavery, destroyed all the copies of Scripture he could find, savagely torturing the Jewish people to force them to renounce their faith. This led to the Maccabean revolt.

Studying predictions and prophecies in the Bible is like coming up on a mountain range. When you drive through the prairies towards the Rocky Mountains, at first all you see are the majestic mountains rising up from the earth reaching up to the heavens. It all looks like massive range of mountains, but as you come close you see that there are a series of mountain ranges all standing in a row, beginning with the foothills, then comes another line of ranges that are higher and then another range that stands higher still. Prophecies are like that, they may be fulfilled once, like Daniel's prophecy of the abomination that causes desolation standing in the holy place first being Antiochus who sacrificed pigs on the altar in the temple, then it was Titus who raised the Roman Legion's standard in the temple and also offered sacrifices there, and some say that the mosque that stands on the original site of the temple is another fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy.

The Old Testament prophecies pointing to the coming of the Messiah aren’t completely fulfilled with Jesus' first coming. The prophecies of the Suffering Servant who comes as a lamb to save his people are fulfilled in Jesus' first time here, but the prophecies that talk about the Day of Judgment will only be completely fulfilled at his return. When the disciples talk about the end of the age, they’re talking about the Roman oppression, not about Jesus' return. We need to be careful not to read back into Jesus' teaching more than what he's talking about. Too often we’ve been influenced by theologies and people who’ve tried to figure out the time of Jesus' return. There are many preachers who’ve made a fortune off of Christians' desire to know the exact time of Jesus’ return. Jesus himself said that he doesn't know when his return is going to be, only his Father knows.

There are always going to be wars and rumours of wars, famines and drought, plagues and natural disasters. There will be false Messiahs rising up and calling on people to follow and trust in them for meaning, purpose and salvation. Satan’s loose in this world, and while the Holy Spirit limits the damage Satan can do, Satan still has a lot of power. When Jesus talks about cutting the days short or the abomination in the holy place, he's talking about the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. Jerusalem's defences had never been fully completed, allowing the Roman legions to defeat the Jews more quickly than expected.

The mountains were the only safe option left to the Jews after the city walls fell. When Jesus talks about being on the housetops and not going onto their houses to grab anything, it’s because rooftops were living spaces and the houses were built close enough together that you could go from rooftop to rooftop without having to go into the streets. They could reach the city walls this way and escape as long as they didn't go into their homes to grab things they thought were too special to leave behind. Jesus' reference to the Sabbath referred to those who would refuse to run away on the Sabbath because their religious rules forbid certain acts as being work and running was one of them.

When Jesus talks about his return, he emphasizes that everyone will know so if someone tells them to go out into the wilderness or an inner room, don't trust them. Jesus uses lightning as an example, you can see lightening for miles around, especially when you're on a mountaintop like Jerusalem. There's no hiding a lightning storm that's coming. Jesus quotes Daniel, "The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." Jesus uses Daniel's Son of Man imagery. Part of this happens at Jesus' crucifixion; the darkness shows Jesus has conquered the forces of evil on the cross, and darkness during the second coming of the Son of Man is a sign of his power over all forces, especially Satan. It also points to political and spiritual upheavals. The Son of Man coming down on clouds is from Daniel; while trumpets called Israel to gather for announcements from the king, pointing to Jesus’ coming back as King.

Signs will always be here to remind us that even though evil is active in the world, Jesus is returning, and we need to be ready for his return at any moment. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, but focus on today and the works God’s prepared for us to do. Be a presence of grace and extend grace so that the world can know there’s a God and a way that builds community and wholeness. Jesus is returning and until that time, we have the privilege of inviting others to follow him so that the world might look more and more like God's kingdom; a place of shalom; peace with God, each other, creation and ourselves. You’ll hear the trumpets when Jesus returns. Until that time, we’re called to live as disciples, following Jesus as he taught us to live; with love for God and others guiding us in everything we do as we work in his kingdom as we wait for Jesus’ return.

 

The King is Coming - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

 

There’s a lot of strange ideas out there about Jesus' return. Some believe that Jesus is coming to take his people out of the world for a time and then let the world destroy itself over 7 years before Jesus comes back again. If your faith isn't strong enough, you’ll have to survive those years of tribulation. The Left Behind books teach this, saying you still have a chance to repent in those 7 years. I call this second chance theology; if you miss out on being with Jesus the first time, you get seven years to get it right. There’s a fear aspect to these views of Jesus’ return. That’s always bothered me. We should have a joy-filled anticipation.

Jesus has gone back to heaven and Paul doesn't want the Thessalonian church to grieve without hope like the pagans do. In Jesus there's great hope, even when death comes. Paul takes them back to the cross where Jesus died, but then he reminds them that Jesus rose again. Death is not the last word; Jesus is. Jesus has returned to heaven and he's preparing to return again as king. This is “Day of the Lord” imagery from the Old Testament; when the Lord comes to claim his people and punish those against him. Even those who follow God and died will be with Jesus when he returns.

Paul uses the picture of a king coming to visit one of his cities. Notices would be sent to the leaders of the city that the king was planning to come visit his subjects. Time is given so that the leaders can mobilise the citizens to clean up the city and prepare for the king's arrival. The streets are cleaned up, the buildings in the city are repaired and whitewashed so that as the sun is rising or setting on the city, it gleams and shines and sparkles. The king will time his arrival for sunrise and approach from the west so that the rising sun shines on the city, making it beautiful. This is where we get a lot of our images of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven; gleaming in splendour. Watchers are set outside the city and on the city walls to let everyone know as soon the king comes into sight so everyone can get into their finest clothes to greet the king as he approaches.

As the king and his entourage come closer, the king's trumpeters sound their trumpets to let everyone know the king is close. The nobles of the city quickly gather all the citizens together and go out of the city to meet the king, kneeling before him and acknowledging him as their king. Everyone then escorts the king with honour, fanfare, and celebration into his city. The word Paul uses here is 'parousia' which has often been translated as 'rapture.' The goal of the parousia is not to escape and leave the world to its sin and suffering, but the people loyal to the king come out to meet him in order to escort the king into what belongs to him. After everyone enters the city, all those who had stayed behind are rounded up and thrown out of the city since they’re considered traitors for not coming out to acknowledge the king as theirs. I hear Palm Sunday happening here but on a cosmic scale now, instead of just a few hundred people cheering Jesus into Jerusalem the week before his death, now all the followers of Jesus are escorting him back to his world.

Jesus is coming back. He’s the king Paul’s referring to. Luke tells us that when Jesus left, as everyone had their eyes glued to the skies trying to get that last glimpse of Jesus before he disappears out of sight, two angels appear, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” The problem is that it happened so long ago that we really don't let this promise affect how we live anymore. We have the same priorities as everyone else; get a job, pay our bills, save a little so we can retire, make sure our kids get a decent education so they can get good jobs, help out others when we find some time or a few extra dollars, try to be good people, and so on. We try to get some devotions in each day, pray over our meals, and come to church on most Sundays. All good things, and yet I wonder if we took Paul and Luke more seriously if our lives might not look different from what they do right now.

Paul encourages the people in Thessalonica to live like Jesus is coming back soon. This is about preparing yourselves, getting dressed in your best, making sure you're sober. This isn't about being dour, but being awake with all your senses tuned to Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Put on faith and love, Paul encourages us a few verses later, let these two virtues shape who you are and how you live with each other because this is who God is. Faith trusts that the way of life Jesus has laid out in his teaching and life is really the best life for you, and then living it. Love’s about how we treat each other. It’s grace in our words, peace in our actions, patience, self control and kindness towards others, especially towards those we might find hardest to be kind to when they know how to push our buttons. Paul adds hope to the list of things to shape our lives with. This is confidence that Jesus is with us, no matter what we’re going through, that we belong to him and he doesn’t let go of us.

Paul reminds us that we belong to Jesus, we’re his subjects. We are not our own, but belong, body and soul to our Saviour Jesus Christ as the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us in Lord's Day 1. Our king cares about his subjects, loving you so much that he died for you so that, whether you are awake or asleep, you may live together with him. Nothing can separate you from Jesus' love; nothing can tear you away from him, not even death. One of the most promising scenes in Scripture is Jesus' conversation with the thief on the cross who asks, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," and Jesus tells him, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

You belong to Jesus and he wants you to keep an eye out for his return. It's like the teenage girl who stands by the window eager for that first glimpse of her boyfriend's car coming down the street to pick her up. Paul wants you to have that same sense of anticipation as you walk through each day, making yourself as beautiful or handsome as you can for when Jesus shows up; building each other up so you all can be who God has created you to be as you get ready to greet his Son. This reminds me of what Paul talks about how a husband should love his wife in Ephesians 5:25–27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Jesus is working to make us beautiful, but we need to accept the work of the Holy Spirit in us that guide and shapes us into a radiant church and people.

But there's that second part; getting the city ready for the arrival of the king. We do this work because the king’s important to you and you want to honour him. This is about putting your beauty, putting your life at the service of the city to get everything ready for the coming of the king because the king is your king and he means everything to you. You can go back to the beginning of time and God's call on us to take care of creation and to discover and develop the potential and wonders in his creation to God's glory.

This means getting involved in a deliberate way in the world, in our culture and neighbourhoods as part of developing creation. It's not just the physical creation we're called to be part of and grow, it's the arts, culture, music, business, sports, politics, and more because these are all pieces of how God’s created us to be as humans in relationship with him and each other. God has given you skills and abilities to develop and help your family, your church, your community, your workplace, your places of play to flourish, and he calls you to invest in these things as part of preparing for Jesus’ return so they reflect who Jesus is.

What we believe matters. The Reformed view of Jesus’ return fills us with hope for the future and a call to be deeply invested in the day to day living out of our faith in Jesus; good news that can shape our lives, the lives of those around us, and the flourishing of the communities we live in.

Run the Race Well - Hebrews 12:1-3

                      

Over this past week, we hosted our Athletes in Action soccer camp. We learned new soccer skills, played lots of games, and cheered each other on. I enjoyed watching the different age groups; the older teams were focused on growing their skills, while a number of younger players were distracted by dandelions, butterflies, and pets walking by, especially by the end of the day. I noticed how cheering each other on made a difference in our energy levels.

Competition was a big deal in Greece and Rome. It’s from Greece that we get the Olympic games. The games then were about celebrating and worshipping the physical body. Today, no matter where you grew up, games and competition are a natural and normal part of being human with soccer being one of the most popular sports in the world.

The author of the book of Hebrews describes life as a race. This isn’t a 100-yard dash though; life is a marathon, a gruelling long-distance race that takes, training, focus, and determination to run. I can’t expect to sign up to run a marathon for next weekend and expect to do well, or even to finish. I need to do some serious training with someone who knows how to run long distances if I want to finish the race and run the race well. Knowing what to expect is important and having someone who has run before is a huge blessing. There are predictable times in a race when all you want to do is stop because your body’s telling you that it’s done. Knowing this is coming helps you prepare for it, giving you the determination, strength, and ability to push through it, knowing that on the other side of that wall you’ll find the strength and will to carry on.

In Bethel we focus on mentoring, especially our youth because following Jesus is a marathon. We’re on a life-long journey following Jesus and it takes training, encouragement, and the wisdom and experience of others to help us run our race well. Hebrews talks about a great cloud of witnesses. The writer talks about some amazing faith stories in chapter 11; reminders of people who leaned on their faith in hard times, some even dying because of their faith in God; people like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Rahab, and many others.  

Life isn’t always easy. Hebrews 11, “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” I won’t promise you easy, but I will promise you it’s worth it to run your race to Jesus instead of away from him.

A Taizé website shares that “The “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us are people from every age whose lives were determined by their faith in God. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews compares them to sports fans in the stands of a stadium. They have already finished their race. But they do not lose interest in those who are still struggling and running. They urge them on and applaud them. That is how witnesses support our faith.” It’s like when we were playing soccer this past week, it’s much more fun when your team and coaches cheer you on. The encouragement of the witnesses comes because they understand how hard the race can be. Yet they kept their eyes on God; they ran their race even when it included suffering because they know God’s at the finish line. Our children and youth need coaches and encouragers, teachers who are investing them. Grandparents and older members are especially important in these roles; you bring a wisdom that’s so needed for our children and youth. Ministries like Sunday School, Children in Worship, Treasure and Truth Seekers are beautiful ways for older members to share their wisdom and life experiences with our children and youth, and they’re eager to learn from you how to run the race of life, keeping their eyes on Jesus.

We’re called to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” This gives us 2 different images of what it looks like to get distracted or side-tracked from running our race well. There are those things that can hamper us from running or keeping our eyes on Jesus. They’re not even bad things or sins, and can even be blessings that God gives us. These good things can be family and children and allowing their desire and wants to draw you away from Jesus and his desires for you. We’re constantly being told to put ourselves and our wants first, and these messages sink in so when it comes to making choices to please ourselves over kingdom activities, the kingdom is often our second choice. It can be our toys and pleasure activities, which are blessings, but can take precedence over spending time with God or engaging in engaging in activities that are focused on blessing others and creating a community of blessing. Often, our first priority is to bless ourselves, our eyes are on our mirrors instead of Jesus and our race suffers. As Tim Keller reminds us, “We take God’s good things, and make them gods.” Faith looks to God and neighbours before ourselves, we live into a sacrificial faith.

We’re given an image of a fishing net entangling us. A fisherman would go out in his boat and cast his net into the water and hope for fish to swim into it, making it possible for the fisherman to pull them into the boat. If a fisherman’s not careful, a fishing net can get all tangled up, and if it’s bad enough, it can become useless and need extreme measures to salvage it. Think of Jesus’ need to leave heaven and become human and die on the cross for our sin. We get so entangled in sin, distracted by God’s blessings instead of keeping our eyes on Jesus, that Jesus needed to become one of us and take our punishment on himself to untangle us from sin and free us to run our race again.

We don’t run our race on our own. Just like runners have people along the road handing out water or oranges to help us keep up our strength, and coaches who run alongside us for a bit to tell us how we’re doing and how to run the next stretch, we need others to help us run our life race. From parents, to teachers, counsellors, coaches, mentors, faithful friends, we need others to help us run the best race we can. Just like we need others to help us, we need to use our gifts to help others run their races well. Seeing a number of our youth step up as assistant coaches this week was wonderful. There are no spectators in the Christian race of life; we do it together as a team, as a family. You’re never too young or too old to run your race well. In the history of the church there are children and youth who did great things for Jesus, as well as senior members of the church.

The best way to run our race is by keeping our eyes on Jesus. The call is not to keep our eyes on the heroes of faith; they’re there to encourage us, our goal is Jesus. Jesus is called the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Pioneer means “originator” or “founder.” A pioneer is at the beginning of, and center of, something new. Jesus is the one through whom everything is created, he’s the founder of creation and the universe and as the origin of everything, he’s the center of our faith; he’s God. Jesus is the perfector of our faith. The word used is “telos” meaning finishing, end goals, and completeness. For our soccer camp, the goal was for the kids to learn about Jesus, to gain soccer skills, and to play the game. We keep our eyes on Jesus because he’s our finish line and knows what it takes to get there and how to help us complete our race through life. It’s not just about finishing, it’s about running the best race we can. A great race is about representing Jesus well, about creating peace, living with grace, and equipping others to run their race for Jesus.

Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit who keeps pointing us to Jesus, reminding us that he is our best coach and guide in life, that he lived life with us and knows how hard it can be, but he also knows exactly what we need to make it to the finish line and gladly gives it to us. My encouragement to you is keep your eyes on Jesus, allow him to be your coach and guide, and he will give you everything you need to run your life race well and finish strong.

 

 

Covenant of Redemption Fulfilled - Revelation 5

          

This morning we’re wrapping up our series on covenants. In Revelation, we see how the covenants get wrapped up in Jesus. We’re given a glimpse into the throne room of heaven and a foretaste of what’s to come and an overview of history and our place with the spiritual kingdom that we can often sense but normally not see. God is on his throne surrounded by fantastic creatures worshipping him, confessing their allegiance, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” We see a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.

John the Baptist calls Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” David Bast writes, “That is an imperative. Behold him; look at him; look at him. This is God in our world. This is how God is God in our world. This is what it means to be God. It means to have your hands bound and your feet bound and maybe nailed to a cross, and like a lamb, your throat is cut – in this case, maybe it is a spear in the side – but in all of that weakness and suffering and sacrifice and death, the life and power of God is there. So look; look at him; this is who he is; this is how he is…. the Agnus Dei: Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; have mercy on us, grant us your peace.”

There’s so much imagery here from the Old Testament; there’s the scroll of destiny echoing back to Psalm 139. There are strange images that echo back to Ezekiel, Daniel, Genesis and other books. This Lamb is first referred to as the Lion of Judah in Genesis when Jacob blesses Judah, but it looks like a lamb that has been sacrificed, deliberately pointing to the sacrifices of Israel, especially the Passover lamb, reminding the people how God saved his people from slavery, pointing to Jesus’ death on the cross, the moment that changed the history, setting it on God’s path as revealed here in Revelation.

John’s overwhelmed with what he sees. Then his eyes are drawn to the person sitting on the throne and John notices a scroll in his right hand with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. John knows this scroll is the book of God’s decrees. The story on this scroll is a long and crowded story and needs both sides of the scroll to tell it. It’s sealed with seven seals like a Roman will, only to be opened when the legal representative appears. The seals tell us this is a scroll filled with secrets, secrets only God himself knows. Now they’re waiting for the one who can open the scroll.

A mighty angel calls out in a loud voice. It carries through all creation, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one’s found who can open the scroll and John weeps because it looks as if God’s plan can’t move forward. He weeps because the world has moved so far away from God that there’s no one left that God can reveal his secrets to. John senses that the people have become so focused on themselves that they’ve left God behind. He weeps because he knows that this means pain, hurt, and loneliness for the world.

The elders turn to the Lamb, to Jesus. Jesus takes the scroll, “because you were slain, and with your blood purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The image John gives us here is of a slave market where people go to buy slaves. This is a business transaction, treating people like livestock. This is a common image for John’s readers. The slaves come from defeated nations, or are people who’ve fallen on hard times and can’t pay their bills and so sold into slavery, or people who deliberately sold themselves into slavery so they could be sure of eating everyday.   

The purchase price isn’t money, it’s blood; it’s life. The Lamb buys these slaves from every nation, tribe, and language at the cost of his own life blood, “with your blood purchased people for God.” We’ve been bought for life. We sold ourselves into slavery by allowing Satan and our own hearts lie to us that we are free when we listen to them instead of God, echoing back to Adam and Eve. Jesus pays with his blood for people who should never have been slaves; he pays the blood price for rebelling against God, all so we can experience freedom. Jesus pays our ransom; paying for what’s already his.

Jesus is able to reveal the secrets that are in the scroll and carry out the plan of God written in it. He’s more than just a Lamb. This Lamb has seven horns which are horns of power. There’s no one more powerful than the Lamb that was slain and then raised up to the throne of God. This Lamb has seven eyes. There’s nothing it doesn’t see happening on the earth, under the earth, or in the heavens above. There are no secrets hidden from him; he sees everything, including what the devil does in the darkness.

The Lamb takes the scroll from his father’s hand. The heavens erupt in adoration. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall to their knees in front of the Lamb. They carry golden bowls filled with incense. These are our prayers. They’re so precious to God that they come to him in precious bowls, through the fragrance of incense, making them pleasing in all ways. They’re carried to him and offered as part of the worship of God. Our prayers that seek relief from pain and suffering, looking for God to come and carry us through the valleys and deserts of our lives, are priceless and brought before God.

The reason we’ve been purchased is “to make them, us, a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and to reign on earth.” Those people Jesus bought with his blood are us; you and me and all those people God is calling to become his children, to become followers of his son Jesus. Peter puts it this way, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness 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.”

God takes us from slavery and gives us a new identity by making us a new kingdom, echoing back to the covenant with David. As priests, we connect people to God and his kingdom, which is what the priests’ role is, echoing back to the covenants with Abraham and at Sinai. God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us be priests and grow God’s kingdom through telling others about the new life that’s possible in Jesus and inviting them to be part of it by following Jesus. This is done in a context of praise, which is why coming together as God’s people on a Sunday is important to who we are, but also important in showing the world who we are.

Pentecost is the moment where God equips us to be kingdom builders; turning our focus towards the world, fulfilling the charge to Abraham to be a blessing to all the nations. Jesus gives us his Spirit to remind us of what we’ve been taught in order to reassure us, echoing to the new covenant in Jeremiah. This challenges us to go out and share the good news of Jesus with the world; a world God loves so much that he sent his only son to die so that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. God’s so generous in his love that he wants the entire world to know of the new life he offers and his desire for everyone to come to him. Paul writes Timothy, “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” In the Old Testament, God tells Ezekiel, “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.” Peter writes, “The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

God gives John a vision of the Lamb who’s won the battle against sin; filling us with a hope that never fails because Jesus is King over all creation. The future’s in Jesus’ hands; directing his Father’s plan written on the scroll; preparing everything for his return when every knee will bow and confess that he is Lord and all God’s covenant promises are completely fulfilled. We’re all part of our Father’s plan!