Inspiration – Rev. 11 and 19
LIfe is full of its ups and downs, it’s a fact of life, indeed everyday has something to answer for- some for joy and some – well perhaps best forgotten.
Sometimes these situations make us laugh and even sing for joy, other times to just hold our heads in our hands in despair.
Each day offers a different challenge, some we have to face, others perhaps best forgotten.
In Zachariah the exiled people faced a destroyed temple and city - utter ruin, utter despair where could they get their inspiration.
Psalm 137 - By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
Its sometimes difficult to be positive when everything seems to be going wrong – we need inspiration, but where do we get it from.
But always remember it is far better to laugh than to cry - so don’t lose your sense of humour… it is important to have a positive approach to life.
The last thing we want is to end up in the cycle of depression which is so difficult to break free from.
We need inspiration, a light to lead us out of the gloom into the light of joy and love, happiness and a positive attitude to life itself.
Even Jesus suffered in this gloom of despair and endured pain, especially on the cross.
My God, My God why have You forsaken me?
In shouting out that verse from Psalm 22 Jesus showed that He was in-fact fulfilling the prophecy within that Psalm - it was not just a cry of despair.
Jesus knew where to turn when He wanted inspiration, His Father and the Scriptures.
Even Psalm 22 ends on a positive note and what follows in the book of psalms is even more positive and constructive – Psalm 23
LORD, You are my shepherd, I lack nothing.
You make me lie down in green pastures,
You lead me beside still waters,
You restore my soul.
You lead me in paths of righteousness for Your name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me! Your rod and your staff, they comfort me!
What do you do and where do you go when you want inspiration? – there are so many God given gift and resources that we can turn to:
• The beauty of nature and God’s creation
• Prayer and scripture – a real bounty
• The quiet and stillness we find here in Church
• Music and when you watch musicians they put their hearts and souls into their performance
• Our hymns the words are an inspiration and the music brings them to life
• Our friends and loved ones – especially the children
• …. The list is endless, we have so much to be thankful for!!
Something to fortify our prayer and faith - to give us confidence that everything will be OK, to be the result we believe to be the best solution?
We have to pause there - because as Christians we might know what we think is good for us but (and it's a big BUT) God knows what's best for us and it might be totally different to what we want or even expect.
In the words of the Master, Jesus said, 'Not my will be done but Your will be done.'
Our reading from the book of Revelation for me has the answer – God is in control, the kingdom is His and He will reign forever.
Revelation was written for a persecuted Church, those who feared for their lives, who lived in desperation, so they turned to God for inspiration.
The same is true today – we only have to watch the news to realise how lucky we are and how much we can thank God for.
When I was a student getting ready for the stressful anxiety of sitting exams - naturally I would pray wishing for success and a relatively stress free experience.
But I also needed inspiration - I needed to put my hand into the hand of God to lead me through this darkest valley.
I needed spiritual inspiration to boost my Confidence.
There is a beautiful collect that says it all for me, 'Go before us O Lord in this and all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with your continual help that in all our works begun, continued and ended in You we may glorify Your holy name and finally of Your mercy obtain everlasting life'
So what do you do to gain spiritual inspiration?
I love religious choral music the words and the music cut to the heart and the soul and takes our minds, thoughts and feelings to the realms above.
This is especially true for me with Handel's Messiah - it's a masterpiece of pure inspiration and if I want inspiration I know exactly where to go; and its totally based on Scripture – so you can’t go wrong!
So every morning before I left the house to go to college for an exam I would listen to and be inspired by this wonderful piece of music especially the Hallelujah chorus and possibly have a small glass of spirits as well.
Of all the choral music I know and love Handel’s Messiah must be at the top of the list but it’s not just the music - it's the pieces of scripture that makes up the content, two thirds of which is from the OT.
The OT being fulfilled through the life and ministry of Jesus - OT prophecy coming true in Jesus.
Handel's Messiah comes in 3 parts, Part 1 is 'Christ's birth and its foretelling'- and that's why it's such a popular piece at Christmas.
Part 2 is Christ's passion and resurrection, ending with the Hallelujah chorus, and then part 3 is Christ's eternal reign.
The Hallelujah chorus is taken from the book of Revelation, chapters 11 and 19.
Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. (Rev. 19:6) The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15)
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. (Rev. 19:16)
Legend has it that in 1743, the British monarch King George Il was so moved by Handel's Hallelujah chorus that he stood up out of respect for the “Lord of lords” the only authority above his own.
AND When the king stands, everybody stands.
And since then everyone has followed suit when the Hallelujah chorus starts, but I think there is more to it than that.
And it's all in that one word Hallelujah - Praise the Lord- the Hallelujah chorus is God's anthem.
These verses which make up the Hallelujah chorus from the book of the Revelation is, at its heart.
It is a book of consolation, a vision of comfort for a people persecuted and in distress.
A book of inspiration for people in the greatest spiritual and physical need.
John of Patmos, exiled during a time of severe persecution, writes a letter of comfort to the seven churches undergoing persecution.
He is urging their members to remain steadfast and assuring them that despite all appearances to the contrary, the Roman Empire’s power is NOT absolute – it is God who reigns supreme!
God's supremacy is Handel's emphasis as well, with closed eyes, one easily imagines the concert hall as the gates of heaven, overwhelmed with the majesty of the heavenly host's song of praise: 'Praise the Lord - Hallelujah'
This image of God's ultimate victory must have been comforting and an inspiration to the imperilled early Christians who faced an uncertain future, death, torture, and all perils of deprivation.
It's hard for us today to realise what persecution was really like - a life lived in fear and trembling, always on the run, always faithful, never sure.
They were Christians in a Roman world, where they were seen as members of a heretical wing of a minority faith barely tolerated by a brutal empire.
How these people suffered,
• how they recanted,
• how they died,
• how they escaped such persecution - of these matters very little is known to us.
But through John's letter, we do know how they imagined their freedom, should it ever come.
And even after 2000 years, in this startling vision of God’s triumph, contemporary Christians can catch a glimpse of their own fears and hopes.
Psalm 27:1–3?- "LORD, You are my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? You are the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”
What these people saw was extraordinary.
No matter what things looked like at that moment, a greater reality held sway:
The emperor rules most of the known world? - yes
But - The Lord, the Omnipotent God, reigns over all.
The kingdom of the world oppresses and persecutes us? - yes
But – The kingdom of the world is the kingdom of our Lord, and of his anointed one.
These trials seem never ending? - yes
But – The Lord’s reign will last for ever and ever.
Kings and lords hold all the power? – Yes
But – Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Hail Caesar? – God NO - Never
Praise the LORD our God forever, Hallelujah and thank God for Jesus the source of our inspiration.
Where do YOU find your spiritual Inspiration?
