Philippians 1 vs 1-11

•We just finished a couple of difficult chapters. Chapter 8 was pretty bad as we saw the earth struck. The vegetation struck by the first trumpet. The seas struck by the second trumpet. The waters struck by the third trumpet and then even the heavens struck by the fourth trumpet.
•Chapter 9 was perhaps even darker. The fifth trumpet sounds and John see’s a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth and that star was a “he.” We know that star to be Lucifer and he was given the key to the bottomless pit…
•Then as he uses that key, darkness upon the earth from the great smoke that arises out of the abyss and from that smoke descends grotesque locusts. Then five months of unprecedented affliction as the locusts swarm against men.
•Finally, the sixth trumpet sounded there in Chapter 9 and the four angels who are bound at the Great River Euphrates were released and once released…more darkness and trouble. Half of mankind is killed by this point and as the streets lay lined with bodies, locusts swarming about, demonic horses roaring about, all of creation affected by spiritual authorities…John tells us there at the end of Chapter 9 that even through it all, those remaining on the earth hardened their hearts against God. Dark.
•But in contrast to Chapters 8 and 9, Chapter 10 is a bit of water break for us as we encounter a “mighty angel.” (Interlude of judgment; Opportunity for repentance).
•A picture of mercy. We all go through very difficult times, seasons and circumstances and in each of those God will deploy mercy. A moment of relief. A kind word from a friend. An encouragement in a memory. If you’re like me, you dismiss those things far too quickly and get back to the suffering. I’m honestly trying to do differently in my life. I tend to concentrate so intensely on the pain and the problems…almost, and this sounds weird and maybe even a little sick, even enjoying the suffering a little bit…ugh. I really like great times and up swings, if that makes sense. It’s almost like a reverse drug…get low to get high…it’s odd, maybe I’m the only one like this…If I suffer intensely now, then there will come a bottoming out…and at least then, nowhere to go but up! There will be some sort of an upswing…it is not good.
•Suffering feeds the flesh. It creates want, sadness, a sense of pity of self, and welcoming suffering almost consoles self in a way…just let it in, so be it. But I read this week that if you are someone or know someone that says, “It is what it is,” that person or maybe even you yourself are very dangerous. Because that means you have given up effort to make a change for the good.
•And so, God sends opportunity, mercy, encouragement, kindness, a bit of a water break from all of the suffering…I’m learning and trying to grab onto that wave and surf it as long as I can…grab onto it rather than just touch it and move on…the key to all of this is simply effort…and its effort against the flesh.
•This chapter is a bit of that for us, a bit of a water break from all of the suffering, in the midst of the Great Tribulation.
Revelation Chapter 10 Verse 1
•I love this…this word in the Greek for mighty is “Ischyros” which is translated elsewhere in the Bible as not just mighty, but “mightier.”
•Understand, we are journeying with John through the revelation of the Great Tribulation contained in Chapters 6 through 19. And as we walk with him, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this story is not about the torment or the horror of this period of judgment, but it’s a story of a Hero. One who has secured our safety, paid the price of judgement, obtained and achieved freedom for us and in our place…so that we, (as Jesus said in Luke 21:36) “Might be counted worthy to escape all of these things that will come to pass, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”
•And it’s that word “mightier” that reminds us of that fact here in the first verse of Chapter 10. As all of these angels, these fallen angels are running a muck on earth, there are mightier that are about to get involved and ultimately Might Himself will save the day.
•Maybe that encourages you. I know dark times and troubling seasons are upon some of you. The cards may be stacked against you, the walls closing in all around, remember, there is One who has taken the place and responsibility of your hero in your story. Hard to see, faith is difficult…see it anyway. Fix your eyes on Jesus and set your mind on trusting Him, you too will see another, mightier angel coming down from heaven.
•They’re there you know. All around you. Hebrews Chapter 1 verse 14 assures us that we have help at all times, even angels that encircle us…ministering to us, and for us…and of course Jesus Christ Himself who is continually with us, will not leave us and has promised to never forsake us. And sometimes the angels, the Hero, help from heaven will show up in the most beautiful of ways. In a kind word. A kind act. A cup of coffee with a friend or a solitary walk on a sunny day.
•And you might say, “What does that have to do with angels?” Ah, much! Who do you think ministered to your friend, her or him and encouraged them to speak a kind word? Who do you think suggested in the ear of your friend that a cup of coffee would be an encouragement to you? Who do you think walked with you while you spoke to the Lord in the brightness of the sun on your walk? (Coincidence is a word not found in the Bible) God dispatches His angels in the most wonderful ways in our lives and here at the beginning of Chapter 10 we see a beautiful picture, even in the midst of exceeding darkness.
Revelation Chapter 10 Verse 2
•Many good Bible teachers believe this angel is Jesus Himself because the angel’s description is very similar to that of Jesus in Chapter 1 however the fact that John sees this angel place his feet upon the earth, (appearing on the earth), means quite clearly this is not Jesus Himself but rather a high-ranking angel. Why? Jesus doesn’t return until the conclusion of the Great Tribulation period in Revelation 19 and when He returns, it’s all over…but here there’s still plenty to go, 9 chapters, of the Great Tribulation.
•And some have linked this event with Zechariah Chapter 14:4 where the prophet writes that the Lord will stand upon the Mount of Olives and the mountain will be split in two, but if you read all of Zechariah Chapter 14 you will easily conclude that its all over at that point because it is then that the Lord becomes the King over all the earth…which we know happens where in Revelation? Chapter 19.
•So why does this angel resemble Jesus? I suggest because he comes from the very presence of Jesus…just like Moses in Exodus 34 as we read how he took on characteristics of the Lord simply from being in the presence of the Lord and this encourages me because the same thing is true for us.
•If we spend time with the Lord then we will begin to look like Him, act like Him and even think like Him. God is love and love is the highest form of pure power and strength! Someone filled with agape, godly, unconditional and unrestrained love…you can’t stop them, hurt them, delay them, destroy them, deter them…they love you…. We may even sound like him just as this angel as he cries out like a lion roars! Look at the next verse…
Revelation Chapter 10 Verses 3 – 4
•Seven thunders uttered their voices which is quite mystical because that gives a clue or a thought that the sound of thunder to us is the sound of a voice to heaven! But who’s voice? John Chapter 12. Jesus is troubled and He says, “My soul is greatly troubled, and what shall I say? Father save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” And then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” And the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered!
•So, who’s voice could this be here in Revelation 10? It is the number seven…it is a thunder described by John as a voice…I suggest to you that it could be God the Father Himself…at any rate…we don’t know.
•And what did they say? We don’t know. Why? It was just for John…and I like that…
Revelation Chapter 10 Verses 5 – 7
•There is purpose in what we perceive to be God’s delay. [Key Point] You’ve prayed, the situation is difficult, the days are hard, and you’re waiting on the Lord. It’s not like the Lord isn’t working. Remember that! He doesn’t take any breaks. That’s impossible for Him. Not possible. We think there is a delay, there’s actually not. God is doing a greater work that requires you to have faith…
•Another reason why I believe this to be a high ranking, mightier angel and not Jesus Christ. Because here John tells us that he lifts his hand and swears not by Himself, but by God…and what is his proclamation? That there should be delay no longer.
•There have been great signs. Great spiritual horrors happening to the earth, upon the earth and to the inhabitants of the earth. The 144,000 have been sealed so that they would be preserved but we have no clear indication that they have yet been dispatched. The scene has been gore and terror. But the angel proclaims here that there should be delay no longer.
•Delay of what? Verse 7, the mystery of God. The 144,000 are about to be gathered on Mount Zion, (Chapter 14), and sent forth from the Lamb Himself. The two witnesses are about to come on the scene testifying of salvation through Jesus, (Chapter 11). The three angels that fly in the midst of the skies proclaiming God’s kingdom are about to arrive, (Chapter 14). And Satan once and for all will be banished from even the realm of the spirit and will be cast down with all of his angels to the earth until the very end. (Chapter 12).
•You see God is about to reveal. Yet until now, He has delayed. Until now, even with all of this stuff going on, people still may very well be deceived about who God is…maybe some proclaim the gods…maybe some are talking about Allah still…I mean at this point there are no non-believers…it’s impossible with all that has happened…but maybe who God is, His plan, what’s really going on…is still, at least for some, a mystery. It’s all about to get cleared up.
•And that’s a word for us today, for me today. God, what is going on here? Why is this such a mess? Where are you? God’s plan in my life and in yours will remain a mystery sometimes so that we might learn submission and trust. In Bible talk that’s worship and faith…but take heart, the mystery of God will be finished one day soon and when it is…the clay will not complain against the Potter for fashioning it into a beautiful pot…
•God even delays today on the world scene, He delays the rapture of His church…why? Because He is longsuffering, waiting for that last soul, any soul, that would receive Him and be spared from this…but He will not wait much longer, I’m sure of it…
Revelation Chapter 10 Verses 8 – 9
•Next time someone tells you about a good book they read and they say, “yea I just devoured it in a day!” Hey, great opportunity to witness…Here John devours this book in one sitting, only quite literally.
Revelation Chapter 10 Verse 10
•This is quite interesting because just like this book that the angel gives John, the Word of God is described in Psalm 19 and Psalm 119 as sweeter than honey. But if the sweet as honey Word of God that we take in through Bible studies and times of reading and times of personal devotions and times of contemplation on what we know and have heard, read and learned…if those times don’t create a sour taste, a bitterness in our depths…then something is wrong.
•What do you mean, Matt? You see, the fact that we are saved, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Father’s exceeding love for us…that is so sweet…the truth of the Word, the promises of God…easy to understand, clear and simple to take in…but application…an entirely different story.
•Skip Heitzig recently remarked, “I believe every good sermon should at some point cut and confront. Not for the sake of cutting, not for the sake of pain, not for the sake of inducting guilt, but to cut away those things which are displeasing to the Lord.” The Word of God ought to have this affect on a follower of Jesus Christ. Encouraging and wonderful at the intake…but as the application and believing happens, the flesh is confronted…and that is always sour…
•Also, the fact that people we love are dishonoring God, and in that they are dishonoring themselves, their wives, their husbands, their kids…the fact that folks are slipping everyday into hell…the fact that we waste so much time on trivial worldly distractions… Lecrae once rapped, “We aren’t focused on the war, we’re just kicking it, worried about our image and our space up on the internet…” …all of those things, in light of truth, in light of the Word of God, should be quite bitter in our very cores.
•Ezekiel understood this. The mighty prophet of God. Ezekiel was timid, ineffective…and then God appears to him and gives him a scroll and says eat it…and as he ate of it, devoured it, he writes in Ezekiel chapter 3 that the Spirit of the Lord filled him. It was only after he ate the book that was sweet to his mouth but bitter to his belly that he was able to share boldly with those of whom he had previously been afraid. You see the bitterness in his belly moved him to live mightily for the Lord and he became, almost immediately, a watchman for the house of Israel.
•If the word is not churning your soul to the point where you cannot spend all day wasted, you cannot watch your family suffer from your selfishness, you cannot live another day bowing down to the evil of laziness while people slip eternally out of God’s presence and another child another child another child is stolen from Him…then something is wrong!! You don’t believe even what we are studying in Revelation. Maybe in mind…but certainly not in heart. Because this book, when devoured will turn your stomach sour to the things of the flesh and this world…
Revelation Chapter 10 Verse 11
•This idea of “must” here is not a command but rather it is a statement of inevitableness. It is inevitable that if you are truly taking in the Word of God you will have compassion on the sinner, you will have conviction of your own sin, and you will have a deep longing to worship…not just in church…in your moments!
•That is the result of the churn in your soul, the bitterness in your belly…when the truth begins to sink in and the love of the Father is revealed and the essence of eternity overshadows the lie of the here and now…everything changes…why? Because you change…
•You come alive in the spirit. So many Christians may have their golden tickets ya know…on their way to heaven having escaped the world just like the Israelites escaped Egypt…yet they remain roaming in circles in the wilderness, never arriving at the promised land which is a life lived flowing with milk and honey, with giants being defeated at their hand, with grapes the size of basketballs…do you know what that is? Fruit!
•God’s will and plan for each of us is to live a full, abundant life…a life lived keyed in on the reality and weight of eternity…not just for ourselves but for Jesus, centered entirely on honoring God and loving others…
•And the irony of it all is that there is no better life lived then a life lived with a bitterness in the belly…because then your days will matter, your life will matter, the promised land is full of bitter bellyites…and that’s it…the wilderness retains those that have chewed but not swallowed…
•Every day the Word should change you…not the Word has changed you…every day the truth of God, the Gospel of Jesus…every day, it is power so that you might be a watchman over God’s house…and a promised land walker, fruit bearer, in your own lives!