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Muskegon SDA Church

Keys of Revelation

Kameron DeVasher

1. The Next World Superpower

2. Watch Out!

3. Did God Make the Devil?

4. God on Trial

5. Your Two Biggest Problems

6. Antichrist Evidence- Part 1

7. Antichrist Evidence- Part 2

8. Blood in God’s Tent

10-1. The Prayer God Interrupted

10-2. The Prayer God Interrupted

11. Sin Is A Four Letter Word

12. Satanic Amnesia

13. The Antichrist’s Accomplice

14. The Mark of the Beast

9. The Prophecy No One Understood

15. The Return of the King

16. The Day the Devil Dies

17. What Happens When I Die

18. The Good News About Hell

19. The Last Faithful Daughter

20. The Testimony of Jesus- Part A&B

21. Burying the Dead

22. Opening Lazarus’ Tomb

And today's message is entitled Opening Lazarus' Tomb.

And how is it found in the book of Revelation?

The burden of our study opening Lazarus' Tomb.

But of course, before we begin any study of God's Word, what do we need to do first?

So let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for so many things.

We thank you for sending your Son to redeem us and for communicating your will to us in your Word.

Please, Lord, help us to be faithful to that word, help us to understand it, and help us not be mere receivers of it, but help us to be messengers for you.

Revelation chapter 1, we're gonna start right back where we began the entire series.

The very first passage we looked up in this series of meetings was Revelation chapter 1, starting with verse 1, and we're gonna do the same thing again today.

Revelation chapter 1 in verse 1, and again for visitors, the little number next to the passage in the study guide is the page number in the Pew Bible.

So if you're not familiar with the books of the Bible, please feel free just to go by the numbers and follow along with us as we study God's Word.

Revelation chapter 1, starting with verse 1, the opening lines to the book of Revelation.

Please don't be afraid of the book of Revelation.

But the focus of the book of Revelation is not the Antichrist, the focus is whom?

Which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place.

And he sent it and signified it by his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all the things that he saw.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

And of course the time that is near that the book of Revelation continually points us to is the time of Christ's return.

His second coming is near, even at the door.

But what I want you to notice in this passage is the way that God sends out the message of His soon coming.

Remember, it's the revelation of Jesus Christ, but God gives Jesus this message to give.

But then how does Jesus, does Jesus stand over the world and proclaim it himself?

He sends his angel, so the angel's going to go give it, right?

The angel gives it to John, But then John writes it down to give to the 7 churches at that time, which are little churches, but we receive the message as well.

And apparently the people hear it by this chain of transmission, God to Jesus, to his angel, to his servant, to the letter that is read or heard.

And then you think, aha, that's the purpose.

That those mess, that message is supposed to go to those people, and the people are blessed who hear it.

But now notice, after you go through the entire book of Revelation, go down to the last page of the book of Revelation.

And after reading this message from God, or hearing this message from God, notice what the counsel from God is again.

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David, a bright and morning star.

And the Spirit, which is of course the Holy Spirit, and the bride say, Come.

So there's an invitation at the very end of the book of revelation.

It's an invitation for others to hear this message.

The bride, which of course represents in this context, the church says come.

Now sometimes you might hear that mistranslated.

You might let him who hears come and receive the message.

But apparently once you have heard and received the message you in turn then say to someone else, come.

At the beginning of the book of Revelation, the chain goes from God to the Son, to the angel, to the prophet, to the letter, to the individual.

But by the end of the book of Revelation, now he who hears is supposed to turn and say, come.

That apparently God expects those who receive the message now to in their turn, once they've accepted it and understood it, to become messengers themselves, yes?

So revelation starts with a blessing for those who hear and that it ends with a mission for those who hear now you say come Which this is 1 of the most powerful keys of revelation is that God uses people to reach people God uses people to reach people Clearly we see that the Lord God, of course the answer to could God do, regardless of what you fill in the blank, is always yes, Right?

He could light up the night sky and paint his message across.

He could send his Holy Spirit to speak the truth.

He could just infuse his information that he wants in your head right into your cranium.

He says, I have this message I want the whole world to hear.

And Jesus is like, all right, angel, you send it.

And John writes it down and the letters go to the church and the people hear it themselves.

And then they in turn are supposed to hear.

It's 1 of the most vital keys of revelation.

And this has been God's method all along.

This has been God's intended purpose for every created being that has ever existed.

That if he has a work to do, if he has a message to give, that he wants their cooperation with his efforts.

Go back to the very beginning of the Bible, to the book of Genesis.

Genesis chapter 12, the beginning of God's organized church on earth, the very headwaters, if you will, of the children of Israel, Here God's call to Abram to come out of his people and to become a special nation for his glory.

Let's check it out and see what the scripture actually says.

We're going to Genesis chapter 12 and we're looking at verses 1 through 3.

Now the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house to a land I will show you.

By the way, that's an Old Testament concept and a New Testament concept from the lips of Jesus himself.

We should prioritize following God's lead regardless of what's around us.

So sometimes God calls us out of things so that we can be in his will, yes?

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Series

Keys of Revelation

22. Opening Lazarus’ Tomb

Transcript

Parent Series

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Recorded

2. Live

45m

GYC SE 2013 Plenary Sessions

The Model Ministry

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Plenary

Why is Jesus Always Talking About Plants

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GYC SE 2013 Plenary Sessions

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Morning Devotional: It's War Time

It’s Wartime - Part 8: Marching Orders

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Emmanuel Institute Bootcamp

6. Timing and Signs of Second Coming

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A Famine in the Land

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Everything Depends On

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Acts: First Generation Lessons for Last Generation Believers

2. Discipline

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IMPACT Scandinavia 2012: Workshop A

Powerful Biblical Teaching

1h 27m

Leading Souls into the Truth

1h 5m

Sound Doctrine