Words of Faith: In Revelations, God blesses and challenges you

Our church recently began a new sermon series called “In The Last Days.” It is a study of the book of Revelation. While it is one of the more difficult books of the Bible to understand, it also contains a blessing: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophesy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it for the time is near (Revelation 1:3).”

Indeed, all books of the Bible are a blessing to read, yet this is the only one that specifically states a blessing.

We’ll talk about the seven lampstands, the Four Horsemen, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Anti-Christ, the Battle of Armageddon, the Return of Christ, and the Great White Throne Judgment just to name a few topics. In the midst of it all, I have five prayers that I am praying as we study this book:

▪ That we treasure Christ and follow Him. As we study the Revelation, we will come away with a renewed awareness of the beauty of Christ. The description of His character is stunning. My prayer is that we will see Him in a fresh way and long to follow Him no matter what the consequences may be.

▪ That we become renewed in our passion to worship Him. Our worship of Jesus Christ, for the most part, is shallow. How would our lives change if we took worship to the next level? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we rushed into His presence instead of fussed about how we don’t have the time?

▪ That we repent of our lack of faith and love. The book of Revelation displays the amazing power, holiness, righteousness, and love of Jesus. This should draw us to greater faith in Him and love for others. We serve the risen King of kings and Lord of lords. We need to fall on our faces to the holy and righteous Christ and repent of our sin.

▪ That we become burdened for the lost. This book reminds us that those who reject the Son of God will be separated from Him for all eternity in hell. Jesus is the only way to be saved. He loves us and gave His life on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. How wonderful it is to know that you have been forgiven. May the Lord increase our burden for the many around us who do not know Christ as Savior.

▪ That we realize that God is bigger than we are. This is huge. We tend to forget how big God is. He is bigger than anything we face. He is bigger than our finances, our fears, and our insecurities. He cannot be put in a box. Let’s stop thinking small of God. He is the King of the world.

Read and study the Revelation and see how much God will bless and challenge you.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Words of Faith: In Revelations, God blesses and challenges you."