If its not worth doing, then don't do it!
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If its not worth doing, then don't do it! |
    
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The Song of Triumph Revelation 15: 1-4
Quite a few years ago during my first pastorate a several of us were studying through a book of the Bible. One member of the group mentioned her concern that perhaps the Scriptures were becoming a little too real in her life. She observed that the previous six months in the life of the Church had taken on a pattern that too closely paralleled the passages of Scripture we were studying. It seemed as if our group in following the Word was really fulfilling some ulterior plan of the Pastor and wondered what I was planning to accomplish within the context of the upcoming chapters which she had been reading ahead in. She was especially concerned about some calamitous events which were about two chapters or two weeks ahead! Her experience then reminds me of a similar experience that I had in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on a tour of the battlefield monuments. We walked through the Union positions in Devil's den, Round Top and stood in the vicinity of the tombs on Cemetery Hill. Then we drove over to the Confederate side on Seminary Ridge. In each place we were able to get only a small view of the entire battlefield. However, there were several large towers where you could climb up about seventy feet to gain a panorama view of the whole area. The family easily climbed to the top and leaned on the rail! About twelve feet up, my legs became very heavy and my heartbeat increased tremendously! At sixteen feet I decided that the oxygen was thinning out too much for my taste, so I went back down to ground level. Sometimes, even though we are curious there are things that we would rather not know. During World War Two, Albert Speer was cautioned by friends that he should not ask too many questions about some things that were going on in the eastern provinces of Nazi Europe. Later, at the Nuremberg trials his ignorance about the death camps saved his life and he was only sentenced to twenty years for his participation in the Nazi governing of conquered Europe. Very many other Germans took the same attitude of non-involvement and while they could smell death on certain breezes, they would not drive down certain roads or ask too many questions! Today, we come to the fifth division in the book of Revelation. Again, we are given a view of the panorama of God's perfect plan for His people and for the millennic age we are currently living in. Each chapter in our studies gives us bit by bit more information that allows us to understand the ongoing realization of God's perfect providence. Each time we are invited further up and into the revealed knowledge given by our Lord and our God. And this particular book of revelation consistently exposes the wickedness of this old world we find ourselves in. Yet, we may hesitate to accept some of the realities of the devil's work in attempting to frustrate the providence of our Almighty Creator! We have learned in the course of our studies that we are caught up in the midst of the struggle between Satanic forces and God's heavenly power and purpose. We are like the children in an article I had my history students read recently. It was titled "The Children of Gettysburg". This article was based upon the diaries and newspaper reports of several months in the lives of the civilians who made their homes in Gettysburg. While some of the children thrilled in the experience and three young lads even pooled their money to buy chewing tobacco to peddle to the troops and made a small fortune, most were hidden in cellars and basements with their parents for the few bloody days of combat. After the battle, there was an immense job of cleaning up and caring for the wounded and the dead. For the rest of the summer and even for a few years afterward there were souvenirs to be collected. One souvenir hunter regularly pounded unexploded shells with a hammer to vent a hole and pour out the powder with never a problem. Another young boy was killed in an explosion when he simply stepped on such a shell by accident. And so it went, there were dozens of incidents related to the leftover debris of conflict. Such is the nature of our world today. Amidst the spiritual warfare between our Father and the devilish hosts that oppose Him, we need to realize that like the children of Gettysburg we are living in the time after the battle. There was still to come the great speech at Gettysburg, there were still to occur the final conflicts in the trenches of Petersburg and the hounding of Lee's men to their surrender at Appomattox Court House. But these events were over two years in the future. There at Gettysburg the essential victory had been won, then it was only a matter of time. There at Gettysburg was the great watershed of the War between the States. Southern fortunes fell gradually ever after! We like those civilians and soldiers of that war every once in a while uncover evidence of and experience directly the events in the great spiritual conflict between our own God and all those who oppose Him! Perhaps we don't want to know some of these realities? I know that I could live more comfortably not knowing about some of Satan's little beasties living in Central Ohio. Perhaps in the context of Chapter fourteen, our prayer requests of this last Thursday are a bit unnerving. Perhaps you feel like my friend in our group studies years ago who began reading ahead to get a sense of where we were going in our studies and how livid would these visions of John become? Well, I want to assure you that while God may decide to open our eyes to the realities of the spiritual warfare going on in our times, He especially wants us to notice that He is indeed in control and that the victory is indeed won. Like the experience of the children of Gettysburg, chapter fifteen of Revelation is an interlude similar to Lincoln's address. The war is not yet over, but we are challenged to trust and obey a little while longer. We too will gather at the edge of the sea of glass to celebrate the victory of our Christ and of our God. We too will be invited to sing the song of triumph at the edge of the crystal sea. To that vision let us now turn our attention. The vision of the glassy sea is related to the Israelites gathered to cross the Red Sea. All is calm, there are no waves, the glistening surface reflects the spiritual flames that refine the Saints but destroy the Wicked! The same waters parted for God's people and then destroyed the armies of Egypt. So, here we see the Church triumphant and victorious at the end of the age. Like Israel on the further shore of the Red Sea, we are gathered to sing the Song of Triumph. The triumph here is the utter and complete victory of God. At the end of this chapter and into the next we find described the seven bowls of wrath which God will pour out on all of those not washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. The fires of His wrath and the destruction of the forces of darkness are perhaps mirrored in the glassy sea. But like Israel safe on the shore, we too will be safe by God's grace. Safe to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. The Churchly host here assembled is given victory over three things. First they have been victorious over the beast,
Just as Israel ascribed its victory to God, so this victorious company joyfully proclaims that God is the One who has granted triumph to His New Israel. Our song of victory includes four great and glorious themes. These themes are the same for the time of Moses as well as for the time of John. 1. Great and marvelous are God's deeds. Now, we have to remember that we are still very much of this world. You know that I really have a difficult time climbing up very far above the surface of good old terra firma. So too we all need to remember that there are many things we do not understand, many things that perplex us, many things that confuse us. If we will allow Him, the Lord will unveil for us the realities of His presence, the realities of the spiritual conflict and for our comfort and the building up of our faith He will show us that He has won the essential victory through Jesus Christ. But before we can celebrate that victory in heaven, there is still a little time, there are still a few more to be brought into the Kingdom, there are still some events of God's purpose to be worked out. Our last verse affirms this thought, look at it closely. See there: God's complete justice must be worked out according to His will. May we learn to wait patiently for Him to accomplish this. Amen.
Christ Covenant REFORMED (Presbyterian Church in America) Box 13926 -- Columbus, OH 43213 Rev 15a 25 March 90
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