Glynlea Grace United Methodist Church l Southside l Arlington l Jacksonville Florida

SCRIPTURE

Revelation 14:1-16, with a special emphasis on verse 12

Verse 12: Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpers playing on their harps, ³ and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are chaste; it is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵ and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless. ⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; ⁷ and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water." ⁸ Another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion." ⁹ And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If any one worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also shall drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." ¹² Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. ¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" ¹⁴ Then I looked, and lo, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat upon the cloud, "Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe." ¹⁶ So he who sat upon the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

FOCUS and FUNCTION

Focus: The saints must persevere until Christ returns to judge the world and defeat evil.

This means loving God and neighbor despite any sacrifice, mistreatment, or

persecution they may endure. Saints can do this because they know the decisive

battle has already been won on the cross and victory is ensured. When they are

weak and tired, God’s grace can strengthen them through the memories of past

saints, such as Abraham, Moses, David, the twelve apostles, Paul, the Roman

martyrs, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Martin Luther King and

Mother Theresa.

Although we like to honor the famous saints, we must remember that a saint is

anyone who repents of his/her sins and trusts Jesus as Lord and Savior. God’s

grace turns all Christians into saints. As saints, we must be willing to love God

and neighbor even if it means having to sacrifice and endure hardships.

Function: To teach the congregation that, as followers of Christ, they are saints. As such,

they are expected to always love God and neighbor no matter what they may

have to sacrifice or face.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: D-Day, June 6, 1944

A. On June 6, 1944 Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy

B. By end of August 1944, Allied forces established a beach head and began to move east into Europe. From this point on, allied forces knew they won the decisive battle and that they would win the war but it took 9 more months of fighting, dying, sacrifice and suffering before victory was finally realized.

C. In a similar way, Christians are guaranteed victory over sin, death and evil. The decisive battle was won on the cross by Jesus. When Jesus returns, sin and evil will be done away with, but, until then, Christians must be willing to endure suffering, sacrifice and persecution.

- Christians fight evil with love, love of God and neighbor. Living a life characterized by love will make conflict with worldly powers inevitable.

- When conflict happens, Christians must be willing to endure, knowing that ultimate victory belongs to God.

II. Revelation 14:1-16

A. A passage about Judgment of Rome specifically and worldly powers in general

- Revelation 14:6-7: ⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; ⁷ and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water." ⁸ Another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion."

B. Prior to this Judgment, the saints are called to persevere

- Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

- 2 Things from this verse: 1) We are the saints and 2) we are to persevere

III. Example of perseverance

A. Taken from Jesus Freaks, Revolutionaries, By DC Talk & Voice of the Martyrs (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers 2002) pp. 94-96

B. Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, Le Di Xian, an underground church pastor in China, endured arrests, prison, forced labor and torture as a result of sharing the good news. This is just one of many examples from this book.

IV. Although we don’t face state sponsored persecution, we must still endure in order to

love people the way God wants us to love people. Loving people with a Godly type of

love is not always popular.

A. Loving the unpopular person in High School may result in being ostracized from the ‘in’ crowed.

B. Taking a stand for what’s right at the work place may result in not getting promoted

C. Loving and identifying with the poor, homeless or oppressed may result in losing prestige in high society or in our own family.

D. Loving people who are different from us may cause strife with some of our friends

E. Immediate family members don’t always understand us when we attempt to love people the way God wants us to love people.

- Story of a Catholic man who allowed prostitutes to live in his house as a way of getting off the streets.

V. Conclusion: Persevering requires strength. A strength that can only be given by God’s

grace.

A. We receive God’s grace and are strengthened when we take communion.

B. Come to the Lord’s table so that you can be rejuvenated and persevere.