Sermon Central
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Studies In Revelation
Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 2, 2021 (message contributor)
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1. The Beginning Of The End
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The first lesson we learn from this last book of the Bible is from the author. We learn that every year of our lives should be a year of labor for the Lord, and a year of expectation that He will use us for His purpose. The rest of life can be the best of life is to be our motto at any age.
The Apostle John is the patron saint of everybody, for he is the hero of young and old alike. Jesus called him to be His disciple when he was likely in his late teens. He was the youngest of the 12, and is an example of the faith that Christ had in young people. John also lived the longest of the ...read more
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2. The Blessed Life
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
In this third verse of the first chapter John spells out most fully the actions that lead to the blessed life. The three things you can do with this book that leads to blessings are: You can read it; you can hear it, and you can keep it.
The famous medical missionary Dr. Grenfell of Labrador once came to John Hopkins Hospital in America looking for a head nurse to go back to Labrador with him. He made this appeal: "If you want to have the time of your life, come with me and run a hospital next summer for the orphans of the ...read more
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3. The Seven Churches
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The idea of 7 being symbolic of perfection and completion is almost universal, and, therefore, it is the easiest of all symbolic numbers to understand. It usually means all of the category being dwelt with in the context.
A math teacher asked one of her less enthusiastic students, "If I take 23 away from 30, what is the difference?" He responded, "That's what I say, what's the difference?" In other words, it made no difference to him. Not everybody enjoys math and working with numbers, ...read more
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4. The King Is Coming
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The Lord will return and wreak vengeance upon those who seek to entice His bride away. Those who try to lure the bride of Christ into the arms of the world need to hear the warning of the Word, for their will be hell to pay when the Bridegroom comes.
Joanna Baillie, and English dramatic poet of the last century, told the touching tale of a maiden whose lover had gone off to the Holy Land. The report had come back that he had been slain. She refused to believe he would not return to her, and so every night she kindled a fire on the shore of ...read more
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5. The Priority Of Love
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The messages to the seven churches are vital to the survival of the church in any part of the world at any time in history. The lights of the church go out all through history and produce dark ages when Jesus is not heard and heeded.
If someone asks you, "What is the modern name of the country where Paul was born?" Would you know? If someone asked you, "What is the modern name of the country where Christians were first called Christians?" Would you know? If someone asked you, "What is the modern ...read more
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6. Return To First Love
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
Revival; renewal, and repentance: They are all the same experience of getting back to first love-to the love that puts Jesus in the center of life. This is not a rare need, but a constant need, because we, as Christians, tend to decline.
O Henry tells a short story of the lad who grew up in a small village and sat next to a lovely young lady so innocent and sweet. He left that village for the big city where he got in with the wrong crowd and became a thief and a pick pocket. One day as he was working the crowd, doing quite well, ...read more
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7. Rich In Poverty
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
There are rich Christians who live in utter poverty says Jesus. But to the church in Smyrna He says, "I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich!" So you have in the judgment of Jesus your poor Christians who are rich, and your rich Christians who are poor.
One of the great paradoxes of life is the fact that the poor can be richer than the rich. Poverty is no necessary hindrance to being wealthy. Wealth, on the other hand, is no guarantee of being truly rich. Even rich Christians are often not rich just because they have wealth. Charles Schultz, ...read more
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8. The Capital Of Hell
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
I want to call your attention to the fact that Jesus says in verse 13 that the throne of Satan was in that city. He ends the verse by saying Satan lives there. So here is the city where Satan lives, and where he has his throne. This is none other than the capital of hell.
Is there any truth to the popular idea that hell is right here on earth? There were a lot of Minnesotans who believed it in Jan. of 1873. The morning of the 8th was beautiful and the snow was melting. Masses of people made plans to travel, visit, and shop. But about 4 in the afternoon the wind ...read more
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9. The Road Of Repentance.
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
Change is the essence of repentance. It is to stop doing what you are doing that is not making you an effective Christ-pleasing Christian, and to start doing what does make you that kind of Christian.
For decades the American people have been lulled into complacency by hearing the Gallop Pole say that over 90% of Americans believe in God. This led to a false security that we were a godly nation. But now Gallop decided to get more specific, and he discovered that only 10% of Americans ...read more
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10. Getting In
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
So often we hear stories about dying and coming to the golden gate and dickering with Peter whether we should be allowed in or not. This would be a tragic mistake to wait until you die to find out if you can get in.
Everybody wants to get in on the action. Back in 1982 a crowd began to form one Monday afternoon in December at the River Front Coliseum in Cincinnati. By the time the police arrived at 3:00 P.M., hundreds of fans had gathered at the doors, even though they would not open until 7:00 P.M. The rock ...read more
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11. Relatively Impossible
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
Paul said he could do all things through Christ who would strengthen him. Nothing is impossible if Jesus wills it. He wanted John to come up an see heaven, and in a split second John was in heaven.
God expects us to do the impossible. He expected Luther H. Bridgers to play the role of Job and keep on singing. He was a young pastor who was away in another city for a series of meetings. The phone rang late one night and a friend had to tell him of the tragic news. Fire had swept through ...read more
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12. Progress In Heaven
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The knowledge of eternal progress can be so encouraging to the those who feel this life has not been all they wish. Ian Maclaren wrote, "Heaven is not a Trappist monastery, never is it retirement on a pension. No, it is a land of continual progress.
The story is told of an old farmer who frequently gave his testimony at prayer meetings, and it was always the same. He would say, "I am not making much progress, but I am established." One spring this farmer was hauling was logs when his wagon sank into the mud in a soft spot in the ...read more
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13. The Ultimate Wedding
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The new heaven and the new earth will be their wedding gift from God. This is the beginning of the most romantic adventure conceivable as this happy couple, perfect in themselves, enjoy together a perfect universe forever.
Romance is the greatest power in the universe. It is the motivating power that will produce the new heaven and the new earth, and it is the power behind much of what has been created in this earth. The spectacular Hilton Hotel chain that goes around the world is a good example. It was not just ...read more
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14. A Pain Free Paradise
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
Positive pain has played a major role in everything we call our blessings in time. Our life, our freedom, and our salvation are all based on the pain of others. Pain has many positive purposes in time.
If you are rich enough, you can even enjoy your own funeral. Colorado farmer Jim Gernhart proved this over and over. It all began in 1951 when he decided to rehearse his own funeral. He rented the Armory in Burlington, Colorado, hired a pastor, and had a lavish display of flowers and a good meal ...read more
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15. The Joy Of Heaven
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The Scriptures do emphasize the glorious worship we will offer to God in eternity because of the great joy that will be ours, and the everlasting gratitude we will have for the Lamb of God, who died for us.
Two friends were walking along a country road and precisely at the same moment that one saw a lovely wild flower the other spotted a poisonous snake. When the one had killed the snake and the other had put the flower in his button hole, they walked on in silence for a while, and then the one with ...read more
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16. The Motivation Of Heaven
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
The Christian not motivated by the heavenly hope will soon be a worldly Christian, for he will not be able to pull away from the value system of the world, since he has no higher value system that makes it look shabby in comparison.
In the 15th chapter of Gibbon's Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, he says that the promise of heavenly bliss was one of the five major causes for the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The leaders of Rome mocked the idea of immortality, and they did not live this life with any ...read more
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17. No Cowards In Heaven
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
Heaven is for heroes only, so there will be no cowards in heaven. All cowards will be cast into the lake of fire which is the second and final death. They played it safe and took no risks for Christ, and like all safety first people, they end up as total failures.
On January 18, 1912 Captain Robert F. Scott and four companions at last reached the South Pole only to discover that they had been beaten by another explorer named Amundsen. It was a terrible disappointment, for they had gone through unbelievable hardships to get there. The return journey was ...read more
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18. The Mountain Perspective
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
This is why people fly and why they climb mountains. They want to see things differently. If you can just get high enough you can see from heaven's perspective, and from that viewpoint you can always be optimistic.
\ Mary Crowley is one of the richest women in America. She is founder and president of the multi-million dollar empire of Home Interiors And Gifts Inc. She was the first woman to sit on the board of directors of the Billy Graham Assoc. In reading her book Think Mink, I discovered she has a retreat ...read more
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19. The Presence Of God
Contributed on Apr 2, 2021
It is love that longs to experience all that can be experienced of the presence of God within time. The ideal of both the Old Testament and the New Testament is to enter the presence of God to the highest degree possible. The ultimate goal being to be in His objective presence.
A four year old attended a prayer meeting with his parents, and that night when he knelt to say his prayers before going to bed he prayed, "Dear Lord, we had a good time at church tonight. I wish you could have been there." The child was not critical of the church as being godless, he ...read more