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Sabbath, December 4, 2004Sabbath, November 20, 2004 Pastor: Tom Hughes
Revelation 14:6, 7 Newark Seventh-Day Adventist Church
“THE FIRST ANGEL’S MESSAGE”
The first angel’s message is a Christmas message. The whole meaning of Christmas is wrapped up in the first angel’s message. The angels appeared and announced Jesus’ birth, and the angels appear at the end of time to announce the last message to a dying world. In chapter 14 of Revelation there are three angels talked about each with special messages to be given to the earth just before Jesus comes. And, as you can see by verses 14 and 15, immediately after the three angels’ messages of Revelation 6-14 are proclaimed, Christ comes and reaps the earth of its harvest of souls.
Now we’re going to talk a lot about the three angels’ messages but I want to focus today on the first angel’s message. In this beautiful church, during this beautiful Christmas season, God has a message for the world and it can’t wait. It’s an immediate message that has to be proclaimed!
Revelation 14:6,7…
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
The first point that we notice in this text is that it is a worldwide message. It is proclaimed loudly from heaven, and it says it is proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people - every nationality, every clan of relatives, in every language, and to every racial and ethnic group. Now I don’t want to offend you, but this says this message is proclaimed loudly. If you read Revelation, whenever God is worshipped, He’s worshipped loudly. That’s why the pastor has no problem with exuberant worship and praise to God! Every once in awhile I raise my voice and I praise the lord – loudly!
Now sometimes we think the church should just be a quiet rest home helping us to gently go over to the “other side.” Okay? That is not what God has in mind for the church! Even if you are a senior citizen, and even if you may be called upon to go over to the other side, God does not want you to go gently! He wants you, until your dying breath, to proclaim His love and salvation to your fellow man and to take as many people with you as you can! And you can do that; it doesn’t matter how old you are. I know somebody in this church who’s got a passion for soul winning (!) and she’s a senior citizen. I know a guy who’s a senior senior senior citizen who has a passion for soul winning and told me, “I’ll help you give Bible studies!” I like that! The don’t want to just put their feet up and gently go over to the other side! Oh, no!
We’ve got a message to preach! We’ve got a Gospel to carry to all the world (!) in every language! Is “rap” a language? Rap music? Is it a language? I hate to say this, but it is. Now I hope all of you could see by proclaiming the truth I’m not your enemy. I hope you understand that Jesus will set you free. Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be “rappin’,” I should be preachin’! D.C. Talk is a rap group; only they go out to these concerts and they get all kids that love rap and they tell them about Jesus. Now I wouldn’t do that on Sabbath morning but if they want to go tell them about Jesus in their own language, that’s fine. The Bible says every nation, kindred, and tongue – every language.
Have you ever heard these heavy metal people? They call it heavy metal because in Detroit the machines pound out the cars - Gushunk, gushunk, gushunk. And the music is like - dun, dun, dun, dun; dun, dun, dun, dun! And the kids have the long hair and they go like this: dun, dun, dun, dun; dun, dun, dun, dun! Doesn’t do a thing for me. But if somebody wants to say, “Satan is a punk, and give Jesus your heart!” that’s fine, I don’t care. Doesn’t bother me a bit. If you can speak their language and you can go to them and you can carry the gospel to them in their own language, that’s fine. I have no problem with that. Now I might not do it Sabbath morning in church. It might not belong here. It might not be appropriate here. But in all these languages.
The Catholic Church used to say you cannot preach the gospel in English because English is a vile, common language of the people. Only Latin, the pure and holy language of the Church should be used. And sometimes I think we’re a little like that. Oh, no, Jesus, you can’t carry the gospel in some of these other languages that are “common” and “earthly.” Well, I say to you that, whoever is not against us, is for us. And if they want to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in these unusual ways, I say let ‘em go ahead. (It) doesn’t bother me a bit.
I will say this – in darkest Africa, the gospel will be proclaimed. In the ghetto of Washington, D.C., in southeast Washington where I used to go and sell books, and people would come up to me with guns in their pockets, the gospel will be proclaimed. Ten o’clock at night in southeast Washington, D.C., in the middle of the ghetto I was down there selling Bible books! I’d only been in the church a few years; I was too foolish to know that is wasn’t the best idea! I didn’t care, I had God with me, and I was just going to do what I had to do! And the funny thing was, God was with me and He did watch over me and protect me. And I saw mothers in poverty with Food Stamps and a prayer trying to raise their kids, and they would take part of their money and buy Christian books so they could teach their children about God.
“…in every, nation, kindred and tongue.” The Christian Motorcyclists Association sponsors a video and that video went down to Africa, and they took projectors and a screen out in the middle of the bush and they showed the picture about Jesus. And they had a dozen interpreters trying to interpret into the language of the people. And as they watched that video; when it came to the part where the Roman soldiers crucified Christ, the natives took their spears and threw them through the screen at the Roman soldiers. In every language this gospel will be preached (!) to the Chinese and to those in the Amazon basin, and those in Africa, to the old, and to the young.
It’s nice to see young people who are willing to serve the Lord. Don’t miss next Sabbath when our preacher will be the young Ally and the testimony will come from the young Jessica Irizarry sitting right there! Aren’t you glad to see all our youth coming to church and praising the Lord here? There is no generation gap in Jesus! Whether you’re 95, or whether you’re nine, or anywhere in between, Jesus is relevant to you! And we’re going to minister to all those age groups in this church.
So, in every language, every age group the gospel goes forth. The message is preached in the entire world! Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, “When this gospel shall be preached in all the world as a witness to the nations then shall the end come.”
The second point we notice in this text is that it’s an everlasting gospel.
The gospel that God preaches to the world is as old as the universe and will never end. Salvation is by grace through faith alone. Total trust in the merits of Jesus alone for salvation - this is the gospel. Righteousness by faith “is the only kind there is.” Jesus’ merits alone can save us from our sins. It was true when Adam sinned; it was true when the Israelites looked upon the serpent in the wilderness. It was true for Abraham, Moses, Peter, James, and John. It will be true a thousand years from now, a billion years from now, and it’s true today. “Everlasting” means as long as time shall last. We will be saved one way by the merits of Jesus alone for our salvation, period.
The third point we notice in this text is that it calls us to fear God and give glory to Him.
The word used for “fear” implies a respect or a reverence for God. . The angel is challenging us to listen, to pay attention to this God who is admonishing us to hear his message. Glory represents the character of God in the Bible. God covered Moses with the palm of his hand when he passed before him and showed him His glory. Then he declared that the Lord is merciful and gracious. God’s character is God’s glory. To give God glory, we must have a relationship with Him that is so close that we allow Him to develop a character like His in us, by living like Jesus lived and doing the things Jesus would do. Having mercy and compassion for others: loving people, as Jesus loved people. So this angel is calling the world to have a reverent respect for God, and is calling people to have a faith-based righteousness that yields the fruit of a godly, Christ-like character.
The fourth point we notice in this text is that it’s a warning of judgment.
It says, “…the hour of his judgment has come.” You probably think that this all happens at the end of time on that day known as “The Great Judgment Day.” Most people think that. But, if you think it through, that would hardly be logical. In Revelation 22:12, Jesus said, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
So when Jesus comes, He’s already judged you, the Judgment is over and now He hands out His rewards. So the Judgment can’t take place after that. Luckily, in Revelation 11:18, it tells us when the Judgement takes place.
“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged…”
Notice that it is while the nations are angry the dead are judged. Right now in the courts of heaven, God is judging the earth. The court is open for business in heaven, the books are open, and each and every man will give an account of every single word he has ever said or done. Daniel described the trial phase of judgment in vivid language.
Daniel 7:9, 10…
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.”
I like that. God’s throne has wheels, and it has fiery flames shooting out! That kind of reminds me of somethin’ else! It says, 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him…” Hundreds of thousands of angels just crammed into this judgment hall! And it says, “… the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
Then in Daniel 7:13-14, it says, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven…” Jesus! He comes before “…the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
So Jesus comes before God and pleads our case! And God pronounces you not guilty because Jesus paid the price for your salvation on Calvary’s cross. He is our advocate in the Judgment: our lawyer. He is our great high priest, ministering for us in the sanctuary in heaven!
Then in Revelation 20:12, it says God has everything on record – right there in heaven. It says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
So you’re judged according to your works. So if you don’t have Jesus as your Savior, God’s going to judge you according to your works. If you do have Jesus as your Savior and you’re name’s in the book of life, then when God looks at your name, what works does He see there? He sees all the works that Jesus has done written down under your name. So all the good works that Jesus did are in the book under your name. Wow! I like that. Don’t you? God has everything on record in heaven. Your entire life is one giant depository that is admitted into evidence in court. Your whole life has been recorded. It’s there, every conversation, every thought every embarrassing thing you ever did or said, in picture and sound, it’s all there.
Ecclesiastes 12:14…
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
It's all there. It will all come up in court. But the good news is there will be forgiveness there too. Let me tell you this. No matter how tangled your life has been, no matter how bad you’ve been, your case could not be safer than in the hands of Jesus who pledged His own life to save yours. Across the record is written “Forgiven.” All your sins are blotted out in the Judgment, all the good things you’ve done are written in the book of remembrance, your sins are blotted out, your name’s in the book of life, it has “Forgiven” written there, and every good deed Jesus ever did is accredited to your account. I like that.
Now, if you’re lost and you don’t accept Christ as your Savior, “Forgiven” isn’t written there, and your life is actually written down in the book of death and every single thing that you’ve ever done good is blotted out and only your evil will be remembered and you’ll be destroyed in hell because you did not take advantage of the Savior when He was offered to you.
Isn’t that glorious truth that we can be forgiven completely? That we can have eternal life, and that this everlasting gospel that His angel is recommending we accept is available to each and every person? When Jesus died, Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” At that moment at Calvary when He died and said, “‘It is finished,” every sin, every vestige of sin was conquered. He made the atonement for us. He is the Lamb that was slain and at the altar of Calvary, He was the Lamb. At the throne, in the heavenly sanctuary, He is the priest that applies His own blood on our behalf.
Try to picture the scene in your mind. God the Father is on His throne. God the Son stands before Him. The angels, those heavenly beings who have watched the controversy through the eons of time are there. They have been there from the very first accusation of Satan until the last. They have heard both sides and they have seen both the love and mercy of God in action.
Calvary demonstrated forever the mercy that God poured out for fallen sinful man. The judgment demonstrates forever that God is just in His dealings with the righteous and the unrighteous. The record is open. The evidence is weighed. At Calvary, God justified the sinner. In the heavenly sanctuary, He justifies Himself before the universe by demonstrating openly and honestly. No “Watergate” here! God isn’t trying to cover up anything. Everything is right there for everybody to see, and God comes out both merciful and just. The record is open.
Picture if you can the scene. It is a court. The judge is God. The jury is the angels and the beings from the unfallen worlds. The law of God, the Ten Commandments are the foundation of this Judgment. The Law of God accuses us as being guilty and, of course, that is correct. The prosecutor steps forward: Satan and his evil angels. And, of course, he knows all about our evil lives.
Christ is not on trial, we are. Gethsemane and Calvary were His trial and He has won the right to judge. But, you and I stand condemned. You and I have nothing to offer in our defense. We have broken, and shattered, and fragmented God’s law. We have failed miserably to be unselfish and kind. Everything about us has been filled with selfishness.
Satan has the right to accuse us. In Romans 6:23 it says “…all have sinned.” So, “Why shouldn’t all die?” Satan says. “They’ve all sinned, they deserve to die.” But our attorney, with wounded hands, steps forward and pleads our case. He does not beg God the Father for forgiveness, for our Father loves us. He has already forgiven. He does not approach the Father to change His mind because it was the Father’s idea send Christ in the first place but, rather, to convince the universe of God’s mercy and justice. The sinner has been forgiven, and God can be just because Jesus lived a perfect life and died even though He didn’t deserve it. And even though we’ve lived an imperfect life, because of Christ, we can be saved. The sinner is forgiven. It is written in blood “Forgiven” across his name. He is redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
Think of it, Abraham, the liar, Moses the murderer, David the adulterer, and murderer, Peter the coward, John the vengeful, all forgiven! Do you want God to write “Forgiven” across your name?
The last part of the text says, “Worship Him that made heavens, the earth, the sea, and the fountains of water.”
Once you have asked God for forgiveness, then you can take the judgment seriously. Once you’ve repented of your sins and receive the everlasting gospel, then and only then, you are truly ready to worship God. Only those who have truly repented of their sins, and been pronounced not guilty can worship God.
God is holy. God is just and good. He only accepts worship made by pure people who have been sprinkled with the purifying blood of the lamb. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth! The Creator who made the earth in six days, rested on the Sabbath (seventh) day, and commanded that we keep it even though the world says “Forget it.” He is the one who created us, and who calls us to be born again. He is the one that wants us to worship Him! It says, “Worship Him that made heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is.”
All the songs that the church school kids are learning and singing in their worships each week are about worship. They are proclaiming the three angels’ messages. There is a worldwide movement going out all over the world: worship and praise songs. Now you know the difference. “Give me the Bible, holy message shining…” is a wonderful song about a doctrine: the Bible. Jesus Is Coming Again is a wonderful hymn about a doctrine: Jesus is coming again. But How Great Thou Art is a praise and worship song. Because it doesn’t sing about God, it sings to God. Do you see the difference? And in the last days, God turns our mind to worship Him. It’s all about worshipping Him. You don’t just come to Sabbath and rejoice in the 27 Fundamentals of the truth, you come on the Sabbath and rejoice in Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus who is coming again, and it’s all about Jesus, it’s all about worshipping Him. And these worship and praise songs are about worshipping Christ, and that’s what it’s all about. Right before Jesus comes, He turns the hearts of the fathers to the children and turns all their hearts toward God.
Do you want to repent of your sins and receive the everlasting gospel of forgiveness? Do you want to respect God and give glory to Him with a faith-based character of goodness and mercy? Do you want to heed His warning of a judgment to come? Do you want to accept Him as your Savior, have your sins forgiven before the time of judgment is over and there’s no more time; now, while the hinges of mercy are swung wide? The grace of God is the door of salvation! Do you want to go through that door today?
Father in heaven, these angels have flown into the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, and tongue and every language.
Father, today, our hearts are open to Your leading. We want to be forgiven. In the Judgment, we want our sins blotted out and we want to worship You with a pure and holy heart, and develop a Christian character that will be a good testimony to those around us.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, if you want to say, “Jesus, forgive me for my sins, write “Forgiven” on my name, blot my sins out in the Judgment, represent me, Jesus, in the Judgment. I want to accept Your message of the everlasting gospel. I want to worship You and give glory to You today” would you just raise your hand?
Father God I thank You and praise You for the decisions made here today. Everyone raising their hand, lifting their hand high to have their name written in the lamb’s book of life!
We’re not worthy, but You are. We’re so glad that You accept us even though we’re sinners. We’re so happy that You’ve written in blood “Forgiven” over our name! We’ve got a great reason to be happy even though we’re going through trial. We thank You for our dear one (Shannon) who’s suffering at this moment. We ask for Your healing or mercy – Your healing or mercy according to Your will, O Lord. And we’re happy with whatever Your decision may be. We praise You and thank You that “Forgiven” is written on her name and every name of every person who will come to You by faith and ask for forgiveness.
We commit the keeping of our church to Your hands; to Your watch care. Every member, Lord, watch over. May this be a wonderful, blessed time where we can focus on Jesus.
Thank You that that babe in Bethlehem proclaims the everlasting gospel. And the angels that went forth with that message are also going forth with this: to fear God and give glory to Him, and to “…worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that in them is.” In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen, and Amen.
Closing Hymn: No 672, “Spirit Of The Living God” (Seventh-Day Adventist Hymnal, Review and Herald Publishing Association, ©1985)
All Scriptural References: King James/New King James Version
www.BibleGateway.com, and www.StudyLight.org
Ellen G. White References: www.whiteestate.org
Transcription: Wendy J. Riebel
This sermon is also available on cassette tape.
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