Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

The Identity of the Two Witnesses The Two Witnesses are introduced and explained to be the fulfillments of various Old Testament prophecies as well as the means by which the 144,000 heard the gospel to begin with. Their ministry will end at the halfway point of the Tribulation, but all attempts to silence them before God's timing will fail as totally as the world's attempts to silence us today. The key is to follow their example. Disciple or die. Trust in God to protect you where He wants you to be. And understand that the worst the world can do to you ultimately accomplishes nothing against you. 1. More information is always better than less when coming to conclusions. 2. If you haven't read the first 65 books of the Bible, the 66th isn't going to make a lot of sense to you. 3. The man of God is indestructible until the Lord calls him home. Scripture References: Revelation 11:4-11, 2 Timothy 2:22, Psalm 91:9-13, Matthew 10:28

Faithfulness in Ministry Jesus reminds His disciples once again about what's most important in the kingdom of God. Their view is the same as everyone else. Who is going to get rewarded the most? Jesus reminds them how He will reward them in the first place. The world rewards on the basis of who has done the most. God rewards on the basis of just hanging in there. The people who stick around in the Christian life will be surprised how much God did through them as they continue to just show up. 1. The world serves based on how they benefit from others. Jesus' followers serve based on how God sees them. 2. Judgment can be positive or negative. There is no negative judgment for those who belong to Jesus. 3. God rewards faithfulness. Scripture References: Isaiah 26:3, Matthew 6:1-4, Philippians 1:6

The Two Witnesses The Two Witnesses are introduced and explained to be the fulfillments of various Old Testament prophecies as well as the means by which the 144,000 heard the gospel to begin with. Their ministry will end at the halfway point of the Tribulation, but all attempts to silence them before God's timing will fail as totally as the world's attempts to silence us today. The key is to follow their example. Disciple or die. Trust in God to protect you where He wants you to be. And understand that the worst the world can do to you ultimately accomplishes nothing against you. 1. More information is always better than less when coming to conclusions. 2. If you haven't read the first 65 books of the Bible, the 66th isn't going to make a lot of sense to you. 3. The man of God is indestructible until the Lord calls him home. Scripture References: 2 Timothy 2:22, Psalm 91:9-13, Matthew 10:28

The Last Supper - What Difference does it make? Jesus enters the last few hours of His earthly ministry by ending the Passover Ceremony with its fulfillment. Communion was given as a remembrance of what He was about to do. This wouldn't save those who participated in it, like Judas Iscariot. It would be the most intimate and personal reminder to those who already were of how they were saved to begin with. 1. What communion does NOT do 2. What communion DOES do 3. What communion CAN do Scripture References: James 1:21, John 11:45-57, Ephesians 2:8-10, Colossians 2:16-17

The Angel and the Little Book John is taken aside after seeing the sixth trumpet judgment to see an angel who repeats an action modeled by the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Some of the themes and traits in this chapter are controversial, others are very clear. But this is what gives us all the opportunity to ask ourselves what is most important in personal Bible study. Do we need to know what we don't understand, or clarify the things we actually can? 1. There are issues Christians can disagree on and things they shouldn't. It's key to know the difference. 2. What God doesn't tell us is just as much an opportunity to trust Him as it is with what He does tell us. 3. Reading the last book of the Bible without reading the first 65 will leave you lost and confused.

The Nature of Angels John is taken aside after seeing the sixth trumpet judgment to see an angel who repeats an action modeled by the prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Some of the themes and traits in this chapter are controversial, others are very clear. But this is what gives us all the opportunity to ask ourselves what is most important in personal Bible study. Do we need to know what we don't understand, or clarify the things we actually can? 1. There are issues Christians can disagree on and things they shouldn't. It's key to know the difference. 2. What God doesn't tell us is just as much an opportunity to trust Him as it is with what He does tell us. 3. Reading the last book of the Bible without reading the first 65 will leave you lost and confused.

The Key to God's Prophetic Plan Jesus continues His point regarding the destruction of the Temple as a trend that will continue into the End Times. The Last Days we are living in are known as the Time of the Gentiles. And while we have seen a significant period of time take place where Israel's land has been trampled under by a majority population of non-Jewish people, that time is quickly coming to an end as more and more Jews return to their homeland as well as come to a saving knowledge of their Messiah. God has and will continue to use His Chosen people as an example to the entire world of His faithfulness. They are and should remain the foundation of all prophetic study and the perspective we view world events through. 1. Israel is where all of our attention should be and remain when it comes to significant world events prophetically. 2. God always provides a prophetic warning and a provision of escape for His people before Judgment takes place. 3. God's faithfulness to the Jewish people is our sole assurance that He will be faithful to the promises He's made to us.

The Sixth Trumpet Judgment The sixth trumpet judgment demonstrated the same thing we saw in the sixth seal judgment. When mankind is given a direct demonstration of the wrath of God, they won't take a hint and ask God to spare them. The mindset of those experiencing the wrath of God isn't that He is unfair or unknown. At this point in human history, people will know what is causing this astronomical loss of life and the reason why it is happening, but would rather die than repent. 1. If the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense lest you believe in nonsense. 2. Where death was proactively denied in the previous plague, death will be dealt out in abundance in this plague. 3. The only people who go to Hell are those who consciously reject God's mercy.

God's Faithfulness to Israel's Restoration Jesus gives His disciples an overview of the prophetic calendar as far as God's restoration of Israel is concerned. While the information He gives us is concerning, it wasn't intended to make us despair for the future. The more certainty God has about our future, the more certainty we can have that the promises He's made in spite of it will still be kept. 1. Prophecy produces confidence in God's Word. 2. Prophecy provides peace through God's Word. 3. Prophecy gives us perspective through God's Word.

The Fifth Trumpet Judgment The first of the three woes is horrifying. Creating an atmosphere of total vulnerability, the world is given over to the alternatives to God they have been choosing. These creatures, much like the prior trumpet judgments, are restrained to a point. However, the greatest lesson in avoiding something can be allowing someone to see exactly why you're being warned about them. If God has to show Himself the better option than the devil by contrast, He'll allow as sharp a contrast as possible if it gets the message across. 1. If the plain sense of scripture makes sense, seek no other sense lest you believe in nonsense. 2. Fear is a good thing from God. It recognizes when you're in danger and vulnerable along with the motivation to get out of those circumstances. It can potentially be what God uses to save souls. 3. The only answer to the demonic is through proximity to our Lord. Anything less is foolishness. Anything more is nonexistent.

The Widow's Two Mites Jesus goes from answering the challenges of the Scribes and Pharisees to taking preventive steps with His disciples. The state of spiritual pride that prevented them from recognizing the Messiah is one we can easily fall into as well if we aren't paying careful attention to our motives. How we pray, how much we give, and where we worship are irrelevant if we forget why we're doing those things in the first place. 1. Prayers have an audience. It will either be God to deepen our fellowship with Him, or others to build ourselves up. 2. Giving has a purpose. It will either be to express outwardly how much of a priority God is to you, or to build ourselves up. 3. Worship has a goal. It will either be to focus us on who God is, or to focus on our magnanimity.

The Trumpet Judgments In the opening Trumpet Judgments, we are shown a systematic deconstruction of what God introduced at Creation. He introduced the stars to give us light and heat, and now takes a third of them away. He introduced a certain division between land and sea, and now a meteor makes that division a questionable reality. He introduced water and plant life to preserve it, and now it's only serving to take that life away. We don't know how good God has been to us. And it shouldn't take the removal of those things to appreciate that. 1. If the plain sense of scripture makes sense, seek no other sense, lest you believe in nonsense. 2. God's Wrath against sin is mostly found in taking away the good things we take for granted. 3. Thankfulness is recognizing the good things you have as the gifts they are.

Discussing Politics and Religion Like Our Lord Jesus demonstrates for us exactly how and when to properly engage with people about the difficult questions of life. When it comes to politics, religion, or the reasons you have to provide any explanation about the two, it all has to come back to two things. Who is Jesus and what does His Word say? If you can stand on those foundations, you're following the example of the One who stood His ground against the very same challenges before us. 1. Don't engage in topics that won't ultimately point people back to the person of Jesus Christ. 2. Understand what you believe before you're put in a situation where you have to explain it. 3. Recognize why the Bible is where you derive your beliefs from.

The Introduction of the Trumpet Judgments As we transition from the seal to the trumpet judgments, we're not only given a proper context of the Tribulation, but also of the prayers we've prayed in the mean time awaiting this day. While judgment is something God delays, Justice will be done. While God is patient with the people who persecute His own, this world will see what it deserves. In the mean time, we only do ourselves a favor by putting our hope and our hurt in the same place. Before the Throne of God. 1. The purpose of the Tribulation is as much for mercy as it is for judgment. 2. God enjoys when His people pray to Him, especially when they do so honestly. 3. Where your hope is, there your peace will be also."

The Thessalonian church had been dealing with false teachers and reached out to Paul for clarification on these things. Instead of just stating an outright yes or no, he equips them to think for themselves by reminding them of other truths they had heard from the Old Testament. Then reminds them that their love for the truth will win out the day. The enemy will be destroyed by Jesus' arrival, and the enemy's words likewise will fall into proper order when God's word comes into the equation. 1. The only response to a lie is with the truth. 2. If you want God, you'll have Him. If you don't, He won't force Himself upon you. 3. Grace and truth are two sides of the same coin regarding our relationship with God.

Revelation 4 is a major turning point for what is to take place during the last days. The door of heaven opens, signaling the gathering up of his Holy Saints to be brought before the throne of God. This absence of the church on earth will put into full motion the 7 year tribulation and the focus of God's dealings with humanity directly on the nation of Israel and the Jewish peoples.

Joshua was a textbook example of how to effectively see God do a new work in his life. He kept God's word close, His promises closer, and the people closest to him never stopped hearing about it. With a perspective of preparation, application, and discipleship concerning God's word, we will see the same good success Joshua saw. 1. Where we were yesterday is preparation for where we are today. 2. Application makes God's Revelation personal in our lives. 3. Ministry isn't a marathon. It's a relay race. It's only meaningful if we effectively hand it off to the next generation.

On the day we remember Christmas, a very special event took place. God physically entered this world as a baby. The first witnesses of this event were shepherds. Singled out by Angels, they were told exactly who was here and why He had come. It wasn't to destroy us, but to redeem us from destruction. It wasn't just to inspire good things, but show us just how good God is first-hand. 1. God has visited us personally. 2. God has redeemed us perfectly. 3. God has pursued us passionately.

The Church of Laodicea had many problems, but one solution. Everything they needed, they could receive freely from Jesus. The only thing that was lacking was their willingness to receive those things from Him and pursue Him. 1. You won't find something apart from Jesus that you can only receive from Him, 2. Correction is the greatest security we have in our relationship with God. 3. God has more to offer us than this world could possibly offer.

The Incarnation of Jesus tells us certain things about God that can be known. The world we live in apart from God tries to maintain the status quo by denying or dismissing this as a pointless pursuit, but a personal God doesn't allow that kind of conclusion to be rational. If God has come to this world and proven Himself to be who He is, then all goodness, truth, and purpose come from Him. The alternative is freedom at the cost of meaning. 1. God is Real. 2. God can be Known. 3. God is Good.

When Jesus took on flesh, we understand what God considers valuable. He didn't become a soul after His resurrection or only appear as an apparition in order to communicate what He saw as most important about mankind. He saw life, the pleasures and pain that comes with it, and our ultimate relationship with Him all valuable for the same reason. If we abandon purpose, all we can do is reflect on the past. If we understand that even the good things in life have a purpose, the bad will be put into perspective through joy. 1. What we do in this life matters in eternity. 2. Nostalgia is discontentment with the present rather than hope for the future. 3. Life proves that suffering is worthy.

Jesus came to this world with a willingness to sacrifice His own well being for our benefit. The Christian life is then defined as the living out of His example. We can do this through our churches and family, or we can neglect it by focusing on ourselves. 1. Our Identity will either be established by God or something less. 2. Our Identity will either be developed through our relationships with each other or something less. 3. People are eternal beings living in the midst of a temporary world. Invest your time accordingly.

The final church Jesus addresses is the church that had conformed to their culture at the expense of their relationship with Christ. Their luxury and comfort had caused them to be willing to make compromises with truth. Yet instead of abandoning them in kind, Jesus continues to pursue fellowship with them and correct them regarding what was keeping them from enjoying Him. 1. Jesus corrects Laodicea about conforming to culture at the expense of His Word. 2. Progress isn't a virtue if you're progressing away from truth. 3. Jesus still sought fellowship with a church that no longer saw a need for Him.

As the earthly ministry of Jesus enters its final weeks, Jesus gives His disciples three examples of the kind of people that genuinely benefit from a relationship with Him. First, He exposes their unwillingness to listen to the truth regardless of the fact He's explained the truth of His crucifixion to them three times already. Second, He seeks out the blind man that recognized Him as the Messiah even to the neglect of the crowds that hadn't made up their mind yet. And finally, He singles out a man named Zaccheaus as the kind of man who can be saved even when his entire culture had written him off as a lost cause. All three examples were meant to drive this single point home to His disciples. What was Jesus here to do? To seek and to save those who were lost. 1. God's word is the lens through which we need to discern God's work. 2. God's work in our lives should be something people can see more than they should hear us talk about. 3. God's will is the salvation of those who understand their need for it.

Jesus speaks to the church of Philadelphia with no words of correction. He commends them for their abiding relationship with Him through His Spirit and His Word, and makes copious references to the Old and New Testament to clarify very personal and intimate details about all that their continued fellowship with produce in their lives. 1. The most faithful Christians are those who do everything they can with what little they have. 2. An abiding relationship with Jesus is never more evidenced than their regard for His Word. 3. Our only security with God is through the Son.

As the rich young ruler departs, Jesus' disciples remain. They ask what they have to gain for what they've given up in order to follow Jesus, and His answer is one we need to take to heart if we're to remember what motivates us to live the Christian life. Not only is knowing Jesus its own reward, but God knows how to give us rewards for our sacrifices that will last forever. 1. God cannot give us a treasure greater than Himself because such a thing doesn't exist. 2. God is emotionally invested in how we respond to His offer of a personal relationship with Him. 3. God knows how to reward us for the things He's done in and through us.

Jesus speaks to the church in Sardis about their negligence and forgetting their responsibilities as a church. While they called themselves a church, they weren't functioning like one. And with copious references to the Old and New Testament, He reminds them of what they have and will continue to have as a result of coming back to an abiding relationship with Him. 1. Sardis was a city known for taking their wealth and ease for granted, and it got them conquered three times. 2. Sardis wasn't fulfilling their responsibilities as a church as was the equivalent of a corpse in God's eyes. 3. Sardis still had faithful people in it who simply remembered what it means to be a Christian and lived accordingly.

Jesus speaks to the church in Sardis about their negligence and forgetting their responsibilities as a church. While they called themselves a church, they weren't functioning like one. And with copious references to the Old and New Testament, He reminds them of what they have and will continue to have as a result of coming back to an abiding relationship with Him. 1. Sardis was a city known for taking their wealth and ease for granted, and it got them conquered three times. 2. Sardis wasn't fulfilling their responsibilities as a church as was the equivalent of a corpse in God's eyes. 3. Sardis still had faithful people in it who simply remembered what it means to be a Christian and lived accordingly.

Jesus is approached by a rich young ruler with the right question, for the right reasons, and with the right attitude. He receives his answer and realizes what the real ostacle between him and peace with God was. The problem wasn't what he did or had, but his attitude towards them. Without a new heart, he couldn't recieve the peace Jesus lovingly offered. 1. Jesus is God and we are not. 2. The Commandments show us our problem, not the solution. 3. Receive what you can't achieve.

Jesus is approached by a rich young ruler with the right question, for the right reasons, and with the right attitude. He receives his answer and realizes what the real ostacle between him and peace with God was. The problem wasn't what he did or had, but his attitude towards them. Without a new heart, he couldn't recieve the peace Jesus lovingly offered. 1. Jesus is God and we are not. 2. The Commandments show us our problem, not the solution. 3. Receive what you can't achieve.

Thankfulness is the recognizing of something as good. When we are thankful to God, we're proactively choosing to see the good things in our lives with Him in mind as the reason we got through them. A loss of security, control, freedom, and everything else we take for granted are things God restores to us regularly in our lives. The more we take the time to notice, the better off we are in remembering just how good He is. 1. Thankfulness keeps us from entitlement. 2. Thankfulness puts our trials into perspective with God seeing us through them. 3. Thankfulness allows us to see God and ourselves for who we really are.

Thankfulness is the recognizing of something as good. When we are thankful to God, we're proactively choosing to see the good things in our lives with Him in mind as the reason we got through them. A loss of security, control, freedom, and everything else we take for granted are things God restores to us regularly in our lives. The more we take the time to notice, the better off we are in remembering just how good He is. 1. Thankfulness keeps us from entitlement. 2. Thankfulness puts our trials into perspective with God seeing us through them. 3. Thankfulness allows us to see God and ourselves for who we really are.

Jesus gives a series of parables that explain what it means to have a dynamic prayer life. The first is illustrated through point of contrast between an unjust judge who ignored those who needed his help with God who eagerly invests Himself in those who come to Him for help. The second is illustrated through another point of contrast between two prayers divided by honesty before God. The last was an actual situation where children came to Jesus for a blessing and were proactively welcomed and described as the kind of people who truly fellowship with God. Through these examples, we are given the path to powerful prayer; knowing who we're talking to, who we are, and what attitude we need to bring to the conversation. 1. God is more invested in answering our prayers than we are in praying. 2. Dishonest people won't speak truthfully with God. 3. The Heart of a prayer warrior knows who they're talking to, who they are, and that they're loved more than anything.

Jesus gives a series of parables that explain what it means to have a dynamic prayer life. The first is illustrated through point of contrast between an unjust judge who ignored those who needed his help with God who eagerly invests Himself in those who come to Him for help. The second is illustrated through another point of contrast between two prayers divided by honesty before God. The last was an actual situation where children came to Jesus for a blessing and were proactively welcomed and described as the kind of people who truly fellowship with God. Through these examples, we are given the path to powerful prayer; knowing who we're talking to, who we are, and what attitude we need to bring to the conversation. 1. God is more invested in answering our prayers than we are in praying. 2. Dishonest people won't speak truthfully with God. 3. The Heart of a prayer warrior knows who they're talking to, who they are, and that they're loved more than anything.

Jesus addresses the church of Thyatira as a church who had a lot of good things going for them, but still needed things they had to address if they were going to see the growth they had seen continue. A woman compared to the Old Testament queen Jezebel had become prominent in this church and taught that the cultural views of sexuality and idolatry were acceptable for Christians to approve of and participate in. While not everyone in the church had submitted to this false teaching, Jesus addresses them all with a very serious warning not to follow where this false teacher was headed because it didn't lead to Him. 1. False teachers can occupy very prominent positions in ministry. 2. Be careful spiritual consumers, even when it comes from people you trust. 3. The best way to answer a false teacher is with true teachings.

Jesus addresses the church of Thyatira as a church who had a lot of good things going for them, but still needed things they had to address if they were going to see the growth they had seen continue. A woman compared to the Old Testament queen Jezebel had become prominent in this church and taught that the cultural views of sexuality and idolatry were acceptable for Christians to approve of and participate in. While not everyone in the church had submitted to this false teaching, Jesus addresses them all with a very serious warning not to follow where this false teacher was headed because it didn't lead to Him. 1. False teachers can occupy very prominent positions in ministry. 2. Be careful spiritual consumers, even when it comes from people you trust. 3. The best way to answer a false teacher is with true teachings.

When it comes to the End Times, Jesus doesn't want us to be unaware of what He intends to be accomplished through all the of the wrath and terror that follows. God has demonstrated a consistent prophetic pattern throughout history whenever His judgments were tangibly demonstrated. First, a prophetic warning was provided. Second, a means of escape is provided. And finally, judgment falls after everyone who would receive mercy has. 1. God always provides a prophetic warning in anticipation of judgment. 2. God always provides a means of escape from the judgment He has plainly and publicly warned us about. 3. God only judges after every possible provision of mercy has been rejected.

When it comes to the End Times, Jesus doesn't want us to be unaware of what He intends to be accomplished through all the of the wrath and terror that follows. God has demonstrated a consistent prophetic pattern throughout history whenever His judgments were tangibly demonstrated. First, a prophetic warning was provided. Second, a means of escape is provided. And finally, judgment falls after everyone who would receive mercy has. 1. God always provides a prophetic warning in anticipation of judgment. 2. God always provides a means of escape from the judgment He has plainly and publicly warned us about. 3. God only judges after every possible provision of mercy has been rejected.

Jesus writes to the church of Pergamos addressing the compromises they have made concerning their teachers. While they had endured a great deal of persecution, it didn't justify or excuse the areas they had allowed culturally accepted practices to take place among His church. He introduces Himself as their solution and their reason to keep fighting the Christian fight until they see Him face-to-face as He modeled for them first-hand. 1. Jesus intentionally introduces Himself as the Word of God as a solution for the problems He's going to address. 2. Christian warfare is a battle of ideas. We silence lies by answering, challenging, and debating them with the truth. 3. Fellowship with Jesus Christ is its own reward.

Jesus gave us a masterpiece on teaching people. Four times Jesus uses the word watch! Jesus always saves the most important for last…”remember this” “What I say to you I say to all...watch!” Jesus is very concerned about us watching for his sudden return. But how do you watch for his return? How you answer that question is important as to how you view the days we are living in! 1. To prepare yourself for the 2nd Coming of Christ, look to the impact of his first coming 2. Some will mock Jesus' first coming just as the Pharisees. Others will become distracted and forget the amazing prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His first coming. 3. We can rest assured that Jesus' second coming is rooted in the sure facts surrounding His first coming.

Jesus is speaking to the church of Ephesus exactly like He spoke to the nations in the Old Testament. Addressing their hearts and lives, He calls them to greater fellowship with Himself the way God's word always does. He commends them for what they're doing right, corrects them concerning what they're doing wrong, and telling them exactly how to keep growing in their love for Him and each other. 1. God speaks in the New Testament book of prophecy the same way He did through the Old Testament Prophets. 2. Jesus speaks to the Church of Ephesus the same way God's Word speaks to us individually. 3. The goal of Jesus' correction and commendation is always to encourage restoration.

Leprosy was a death sentence physically just like sin spiritually. No one got healed from leprosy before the time of Jesus, yet it seemed to almost be a regular occurrence during His ministry. This was intentional. The lengthy investment of the Old Testament to set people up for how they'd know Jesus when He arrived are not only significant in how He healed, but why. Jesus didn't heal for healing's sake, but to ultimately make us realize that He is the source of those good things. While only one out of ten received the greater blessing, this passage is meant to be an encouragement. Be the person who not only obeys God's word when and how healing is offered, but uses every good thing form God as an opportunity to share how good He is to those around us. 1. Leprosy was an apt physical comparison to the work sin does in our lives spiritually. 2. God can use miracles just as often as doctors and medicine to answer prayers for healing. 3. The gift of healing is a secondary payoff to what God truly desires, which is restored fellowship with us.

John is given a revelation of Jesus Christ. Each and every trait is a direct reference to the Old Testament that intentionally all had God in mind. From the way He spoke to the way He looked, all were demonstrations of power and holiness that left John in a state of complete and utter terror. The only thing that brought peace to this proper reaction was a clarification of who He was and what He had done to prove it. God is bigger than us and beyond our control. Those are the key elements that inspire horror. Yet we know peace with God because this source of power didn't use it to destroy us, but to redeem us. 1. Jesus is described in the way He speaks and acts the same way God spoke to Israel in the Exodus. 2. Jesus is described in the way He looks the same way God revealed His glory to Daniel in his prophecy. 3. Jesus comforts John's terror in reaction to this holiness the same way He does to us. By pointing us to who He is and what He's done.

Jesus is addressing His disciples about the Christian life. Now that the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus has debunked the idea of material wealth as the mark of what makes someone right with God, He fills that void with reality. Without mercy, we're toast. Without the ability to show mercy, no one will see Jesus in us. Without faith, receiving or relating the mercy of God is impossible for us. By receiving even the smallest portion of faith from its source, that trust will equip us for even the unimaginable in the Christian life. That includes making us more like Jesus in our character. 1. Faith is a gift from God. 2. We don't have faith unless we receive it from God. 3. Faith is what separates the bitter and proud from the loving and gracious.

The Book of Revelation, just like all of the Old Testament books of prophecy before it, follows the same historical standard of why we trust and how we verify what is being said about what God said. 1. The Apostle John was a reliable and historically verified individual who we can confirm wrote Revelation. 2. The Book of Revelation was written at a very well attested time in history. 3. The Book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ.

Mercy is where we started in our relationship with God. Offering and demonstrating that mercy towards others is how it continues. In a world ruled by sin and full of people willing to go along with the system in rebellion against God, we go against the flow by treating people the way God treated us. 1. No one enters Heaven apart from receiving forgiveness from God. 2. No one wants God's forgiveness until God reveals to our hearts our need for His mercy. 3. No one follows Jesus more than living out the most basic principal of how He relates to us.

The Apostle John goes on from his introduction of Revelation to cite multiple Old Testament passages and applies them directly to Jesus Christ. The first identifies Him doing something God does. The second clarifies Him as the one predicted in Zechariah and Daniel. And the third calls Him the Greek equivalent of God's title, The First and the Last. In a book titled The Revelation of Jesus Christ, he isn't leaving that task up to guesswork. 1. John refers to Jesus as coming with the clouds because the Old Testament refers to God riding the clouds. 2. John quotes Zechariah's prophecy of the Messiah to draw to mind how Israel will react to how they treated their God. 3. John calls Jesus the Alpha and Omega in order to draw the nearest Greek equivalent to God's title in Isaiah.

There are times we need to share with people the bad news in order to help them understand the good news. In Luke 16:24-31 Jesus describes the destination of the lost. This is a dose of strong medicine for what lies ahead for those that do not trust Christ for salvation. Second, we will see there is no do over's in this life, and third, the idea of eternal separation from God is what Hell is! If you don't want God, you can have the opposite. But lastly we are going to see the radical lengths He has gone to save all human beings through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. 1. Live for eternity, for this world is passing away. It would be foolish to miss eternity for the perishable. 2. There are no do-overs in this life. What will you be focused on in your life? 3. Jesus sacrifice removes our sin and gives us eternal life. He has made the way. Jesus is the way the truth and the life.

The Revelation of Jesus is a revealing of who He is! The titles for Jesus is this short section point us to the eternal nature of Christ and work of salvation. 1. Jesus is the eternal one 2. Jesus is the preeminent 3. Jesus is the faithful servant

Jesus is the ultimate source on the subject of death! In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus pulls back the curtain on death, by seeing who makes it on the other side with a soft landing, Also we will see the instructions needed to prepare ourselves to our own, personal, jump to come into eternity. 1. This is not a parable, but a historical event. One was very rich, the other was very poor. 2. Death has a way of scrambling conventional worldly wisdom on what is important. 3. What makes heaven, heaven, is the presence of Jesus.