Revelation 10: The Sweet and Bitter Word in Tribulation

We pray in Jesus name. So be it. And amen. And amen. Well, my friends, you may have a seat. Wow. When we say there's hope for everyone at Journey Church, we mean it. There is hope for everyone. There's not an exception. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from. It doesn't matter what you've done before. It doesn't matter what family you were born into or adopted into. It doesn't matter what someone's done to you. It doesn't matter what you've said. There is hope for everyone in Jesus. Now, it doesn't always feel that way. It doesn't always look that way.

At times, you might be going through some trial or some difficult season of your life, and you may wonder, "Where is God? It might be such a difficult day that you even wonder if God exists. It's going you're going through something so hard. And today as we turn to the Bible, we are reminded that we can have a revelation of Jesus even in our tribulation. That your tribulation in life does not stop God from being God, but it often reminds you that it's God that's going to get you through it. And it's God that's going to get the glory. I wonder today, is anyone ready to dive into the book of Revelation? Come on. If you brought your Bible, find the book of Revelation. If you're just joining us at Journey Church, we love the Bible as it teaches us who God is. The Bible is

actually made up of 66 books. The book of Revelation is the last of those 66 books and it's all about Jesus. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The author's name is John and he's given this revelation by Jesus himself. In fact, he's given a divine outline from Jesus so that we could better understand how this book is put together so that you don't come to your own conclusions so that you're not confused. God has given you everything you need so that you would know him. Revelation 1:19, Jesus tells John, "Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this." That's the outline of this book. In chapter one, John writes down what he sees. What does he see? Jesus

Christ. It's absolutely incredible. He gets this revelation of Jesus. And he learns in Revelation 1:5 that Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth. Jesus is the one that you can trust in. When we think about a witness, most recently we can see uh uh on on the news these in the court of law, they bring forth a witness to testify of what they've seen, to testify of what they've experienced. Jesus is the faithful witness. He's been there from the beginning and he's here right now. He's the faithful witness that you could trust in that what he says is true. He says of himself, he's the

firstborn of the dead. That's a an interesting phrase that some of us may not be familiar with. Here's what it means. Jesus is the first one that defeated death. He He's the only one that's done what needed to be done. He's the firstborn of the dead. He dies, but he defeated death. And he's alive forever more. He's the ruler of all the kings on earth. There's no one like him. His supremacy is so great. He's greater than every president, prime minister, and king all put together. He's even greater. You see, John in chapter one, when he sees Jesus, he falls down as though dead. That's how great Jesus is. If you see him clearly for who he really is, you would fall down as though dead. Yet Jesus tells him after touching him.

Here's the words of Jesus in Revelation 11:17. Fear not. I love this. I believe those same two words that Jesus said to John. Jesus is saying to you today, fear not. When you have Jesus on your side, there's no need to fear anything. John, this very author actually says, when you have love, you have God. And when you have love, that love drives out fear. Perfect love casts out fear. Fear not. There's no need to fear death. There's no need to fear the government. There's no need to fear the uncertainty of tomorrow. There's no need to fear a virus. There's no need to fear anything when you have Jesus.

Why? Because Jesus says, "Fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive." Not just for a little while, forever more. And I have the keys of death and Hades. This is the God I can trust in. He's in complete control. He was, he is, and will forever be. John tells us right at the beginning in chapter one, he writes down what he sees. Then in chapters two and three, John writes down the things that are. We find seven letters to seven churches. The number seven in the book of revelation and throughout the bible means complete. These seven letters are written to the complete church. This is

described as the church age. This is the age in which we are living in right now. God is giving every opportunity to every person around the planet to believe in him. He wants every person to believe in him. The church is Jesus idea. It was not man's idea. The church is not a denomination made up of uh different groups of peoples. It's not even meant to be a religion. The word church comes from the Greek word eklesia. It means the congregation. The congregation of what? The people of of God. Those who trust in Jesus, who follow Jesus. It was Jesus that said, "I will build my church." Not even the gates of hell will prevail against it. This is not something we do. We allow Jesus to take his proper place and we allow him to have his will and his way in the church. He's the head of the church.

And as Jesus speaks to the church in Revelation chapter 2 and three, we see that Jesus tells us the truth. It can be hard to hear the truth sometimes, but we want to acknowledge that Jesus throughout the uh book of Revelation chapter 2 and three, he says, "I know." Jesus knows everything. And although he knows everything, he still loves us. So he corrects us if we need to be corrected. He he tells us, "If you've abandoned your first love, come back." He tells us if you've compromised, repent, which means to change your thinking. He warns us not to be lukewarm, for our God is a consuming fire. And so he tells the church, you are conquerors. Open up your ears. Seven times he says, "He who has an ear, let him hear." to the final church in Revelation chapter

3. He says this, "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne. As I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne, he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. There is a time when the church age will be over. There's a time when Jesus will return just as he has promised. He always keeps his word. And Paul writes to the Thessalonians and says in chapter 4 of 1 Thessalonians that when that trumpet blasts, the church will be caught up with him. The church will no longer be on the earth, but we will now be in heaven with Jesus. And in Revelation 4, it starts

off with this phrase after this. It's the Greek word medata. What he's told to do in Revelation 11:19, he continues to do in chapter 4. After this, after the church is now gone, those who remain on the earth are those who have rejected the gospel. Those who have not received Jesus as Lord and Savior. And a time is coming where there is a great tribulation, a seven-year period where the perfect God will pour out his judgment on those who who who have not receive the forgiveness of their sins. And so we see in Revelation chapter 6, this tribulation begins with a a set of judgments called the seven seals. And then there's a second set of judgments called the seven trumpets blown by seven angels. And then there's the third and final set of judgments called the seven

bulls. We see God's perfect judgment upon the earth and on all humankind. And right in the middle of this tribulation, wouldn't you know, our great God, there's a revelation of Jesus just like that of the three Hebrew young men in the book of Daniel. Daniel writes about these three men known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo who refused to bow down to the statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. And because they refused to to worship King Nebuchadnezzar, their penalty was to be thrown into a fiery furnace that they were told that that if they weren't to bow down that they would lose their lives. And so the king made this fire so hot that when the soldiers went to throw in these three boys, they were burned up.

They were killed. But when King Nebuchadnezzar looks at the the fire, he sees Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneo still standing right in the middle of their fire fiery tribulation, they're still standing. But King Nebuchadnezzar also sees a fourth person in the furnace. It's the person of Jesus Christ. This is called the christophony. Jesus reveals himself. There's the revelation in the tribulation. And so we see the same will be true in the tribulation. This seven-year period, we see these rhythms of interruption where God's grace is so great that between the sixth and seventh seal, we see 144,000 Jewish people are sealed by God and they

get to go now share about Jesus as the Christ to the whole world. God would use the Jewish people to share the message that the Messiah, Yeshua Hamashiach, he is the one true God. And many people will come to faith because of these Jewish people. God's grace is so great. He gives one more chance. And then the seventh seal comes and seven trumpets follow and we see that it's a terrible time. A third of the earth is annihilated. A third of the planet is gone. a third of humankind. And yet we see many who refuse to repent. They reject God. And as we come today to Revelation chapter 10, we see another one of those interruptions, an opportunity to find a revelation in the midst of tribulation. There seems to

be a timeout between the sixth and seventh trumpet so that we would take an intermission so that we would continually come back to who God is. That he's giving us an opportunity to see the whole truth. That he wants to speak to us during our times of tribulation. That he wants to give us his word so that we would know who he is. And that's where we pick up today. It's before the seventh trumpet. If you brought your Bible, turn to Revelation chapter 10. As we look at this revelation, John the author says, "Then after what?" After the six trumpets have have blown, then I saw another mighty angel. Everyone say, "Mighty angel." Mighty angel coming down from heaven wrapped in a cloud with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun and his legs like pillars of fire.

We are once again reminded by John that angels are incredible. All of the artistic renderings of angels throughout the ages just don't do justice to the reality we read about angels in the book of revelation. There are over 60 references to angels in the book of revelation. Angels come from the Greek word angelos. It means messengers. Angels are created beings by God to be messengers of who God is. Angels actually are meant to minister to God's people. That's how much God loves you. He wants you to know the message of who he is. John tells us in Revelation chapter 5 of a mighty angel that asks, "Who is worthy to open up the scroll, the scroll with the seven seals?" Maybe this is that same mighty angel. Some

scholars speculate that this is Jesus himself. For when you read the Old Testament scriptures before the birth of Jesus, he revealed himself for Jesus is eternal. And when he revealed himself in the Old Testament scriptures, these christophanes where Jesus would appear often he's referred to as an angel of the Lord. We see this with Joshua when he's confronted with this mighty soldier, an angel of the Lord. We know that that's Jesus Christ. How about Jacob when he wrestles with the angel of the Lord? That's Jesus Christ. Now, we see here so many similarities to Jesus. We see he's wrapped in a cloud which symbolizes God's glory. We see the rainbow that's reflected in Revelation 4 around the throne. We see that his face was shining like the sun which John says

when he looked to see Jesus his face was like staring at the sun which you shouldn't do. That's how glorious Jesus is. His feet were like pillars of fire where John describes his eyes like fire. Fire represents judgment. Our God is a consuming fire. So, could this be Jesus? Some speculate that it is. Yet, it appears that John has no problem revealing Jesus in the book of Revelation. That he doesn't hide it with a christophony, but rather he lets us know when it's Jesus. So, although we don't know if this is just an angel or if it's actually Jesus, the message remains the same. God wants us to be more like him. See, the more you're with the Lord, the more you start looking like the Lord. In fact, Romans 8:29, we're instructed

that. Paul says this, "For those whom he forneew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Do you know God had a plan from the beginning that you would be like him? You are actually made in the image of God and sin marred that image. But Jesus has come to restore that which is wrong so that you would be more like him. That you would reflect the goodness of God. This is awesome. That's God's plan for your life. And although you may not see it in the fullness of that fruition right now, John, the author of the book of Revelation says in First John, "The more you get to know Jesus, the more you look like him." Which means this, "If you have Jesus, you no longer hate. If you have Jesus, you no longer intentionally sin. If you have Jesus, you start looking like him." And then he says this in 1 John 3:20, "Beloved, we're God's

children now. And what we will be," so God's not finished with you yet. "What we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when Jesus appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. We're going to have that reflection of Jesus. We're going to not only see the greatness of Jesus, but all of a sudden, you're going to see what you were made for. You're made for more. So, let's look at this angel. The angel's wrapped in a cloud. Some call this the shikina. This is the glory of God present. You can see it. There's an angel. There's a rainbow around the head. Rainbows are a reminder of God's great faithfulness. We go back to the beginning of the Bible. The first book is Genesis, which means beginning. And in the beginning, we read that sin entered the story of mankind, where

mankind rebelled against God. God's judgment came upon the world in the form of a flood. And at the end of this flood season, God provided a rainbow as a reminder of his mercy. That judgment is real because God is perfect and cannot tolerate sin. Yet God's mercy is equally real. So he gave us the reminder that every time we see the rainbow, you should remember God's mercy. I'm asking you, my friends, it's time for the church to redeem the rainbow. Here's why I say that. The rainbow is not meant to be for a small group of people. It's meant to be for all people, not just some people. It's not just for the saints. It's actually meant to be for all sinners. That if God has not wiped you from the earth, if you still have

breath in your lungs, God wants to use you. That it's never too late with God. And so we see this rainbow as a reflection of who God is and the glory of his face shining like the sun and the judgment of God with his feet. We see a as the God that's an allconsuming fire. And it's in that place that we're reminded what James the halfb brotherther of Jesus says, "Mercy triumphs over judgment." This is awesome. I deserve God's judgment, but the reality is God's mercy is so great, he'd be willing to receive me just as I am. He's willing to make me right with him. Let's continue with this angel, this visualizations. He had a little scroll open in his hand. The word for scroll here is biblio. It just simply means a book. He had a little book in his hand. And he set his right foot on

the sea and he set his left foot on the land. And he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. And when he called out, the seven thunders sounded. This is an awesome glimpse of what this angel is here to do. He sets his foot in the sea. He sets it on the shore. And it reminds us that our God is in charge of the whole earth. That this is a message for the whole world. He's claiming the whole earth. And he has a message to say, and the messenger has come. He's brought with him a little book in his hand. We're going to see this book has some significance. But before we get to the book, we see that this mighty angel wants to speak to the whole world. Not to some people, but to all people. Paul reminded the Colossians in chapter 1 verse 16. For by him, that's Jesus, all things were created in heaven and on

earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authority. All things were created through him and for him. And he Jesus is before all things and in him all things hold together. That's why he's able to judge. Nothing happens without not only God knowing it but allowing it. And now as he brings forth this message, he brings it to the whole world. The God that created the world now has a message for the world. And he speaks like the lion of the tribe of Judah. He speaks with a a thunderous roar. We see throughout the scriptures the the thunders are described as the voice of God. There's just some awe and some majesty there. And and and and John writes in verse four, "And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about

to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down." God's voice here is compared as thunder. There's this wonderful message and as John goes to write down this message for others, he's told, "Don't do it. Don't share it with anyone." There are several times that Jesus actually did that in his ministry. Sometimes he would do a miracle and he say, "Don't share this miracle with anyone." But don't you know that we often don't listen to Jesus? People would go share what Jesus did and they would cause up all kinds of problems they were unaware of. There are are many times that God will work and he'll say, "I just want you to keep it to yourself." It's not that it won't be revealed, but maybe this isn't the time or maybe this was just for you. And at

this time, this message was not given so that we would understand what it is. But it's also a reminder that we do not know everything. That's so important in this information age where you could just ask Siri or Alexa or any other computer what the information is. We think we live in the information age and we know everything. But God reminds us in his word, "We do not know everything. What you know is because it has been revealed to you by God." Now, you cannot add to this message, nor can you take away from this message. But the closer you get to God, the more he will reveal to you who he is and how he wants to work in your life. Moses wrote in the days of old, he said, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God. But the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may do all the words of this law. Moses is saying God has given us what we need to know.

God, if he wants you to know him, he reveals it to you and he doesn't want you to keep that to yourself. Share it with your kids. You ought to do the word of the Lord together. So John continues with this description of the angel in verse 5 when he says, "Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled just as he announced to his servants, the prophets.

In our nation today, when there's a witness that comes forward, they're told to raise their right hand and they're asked this question. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but come on, the truth. Just making sure you know this. What a great nation that we live in. We want to make sure that if you testify, if if you're a witness, we want to make sure that you're going to swear to the truth. Now, I don't know if they still do this today, but it used to be that you would take one hand and put it on the book. That's the Bible. The word Bible simply means book. The reason we have holy before the name is this book is holy. The word holy means set apart. This is no ordinary

book. This is a set aart book. and you place one hand on the book and you place the other hand in the air and you swear to tell the truth. Now, where did we come up with that idea? Revelation chapter 10. We see right here an example of swearing to the truth. And this angel testifies that he swears. He lets us know that there'll be no more delay. Some of us think that we'll have tomorrow. We think we have our whole future ahead of us. We don't know what tomorrow holds. This mighty angel lets us know there's no more delay in God's judgment. A perfect God is now showing his justice. A perfect God is pouring out his wrath, for he can no longer tolerate

sin. There'll be no more delay. And so we see before this seventh trumpet as we see the fulfillment of all history, the culmination has come to an end. God has now made it known. The mystery of history is revealed right here in the book of Revelation. God has resolved to make right all that is wrong. Anytime we read the word mystery in the scriptures, it just simply means to not know. There's no uh magic behind this mystery. It just means that you do not know that information. There may be confusion because you don't know that information. And so there's a mystery.

And there have always been mysteries of information not known, but there'll be one day when all of that mystery is now revealed. It's been fulfilled in Jesus. We could put it this way. When you see the word mystery, it just means a sacred secret. God knows. You just don't know. And there's times that God will reveal it to you. That's what the word revelation mean. It comes from the Greek word apocalypsis. It just means to unveil, to reveal. And the more you know God, the more the mystery has been revealed. Now, John tells us where that mystery is actually found. It's not made up. You can't come to your own conclusions. It's found through the prophets.

the mystery of ages old where where people waited upon what the prophet said. A messiah is coming. The anointed one of God. He'll be a deliverer. He'll be a savior. There was this expectation, but they knew not how these things would happen. They had no clue h how God would fulfill this promise that he made. And we're now told that this mystery has been revealed. God has given us the sacred secret. Now, I know for some of us, we have questions that have not been answered. It's a mystery. I hear these questions all the time. Why did God create Satan if he knew that he would turn on him and wage war and now there's this war between good and evil?

Why would God do that? Or the age-old question that every kid seems to ask, and that is, if God is God, could he create a rock so heavy that he could not even lift it? If you've never heard that question, you need to serve in our journey kits. And the only way to answer that question is to say that's a mystery. Don't pretend you understand it all. All the questions you've ever asked, why do bad things happen to good people? God, why would you let me go through this? God, why? It's all a mystery at this point. And the more you mature in your faith, sometimes that mystery is revealed. Sometimes you see God had a purpose for allowing me to go through this that I would be more like him and if he

suffered who might I think I won't suffer so that I would trust God more through the suffering so that in my suffering I would actually find hope. So it's in this place that all of a sudden these mysteries are now being revealed and they happen through Jesus Christ and through his word. Paul wrote to the Romans as a conclusion to the most incredible letter on salvation found in Jesus. is called the book of Romans. It's if you want to know more about what it means to be saved, read the book of Romans. And he concludes at the end of this this letter, he says this. Now to him, that's Jesus, who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and

through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God to bring about the obedience of faith. This is so what's so amazing about Jesus. Through Jesus, we have the fulfillment of all that is written through the ages. People have waited in anticipation. They've died and moved on. And we now know God's redemptive plan. And if I can just encourage you today, every single one of you, you are part of that plan. It may not always seem like it, but God wants you to know that as a sinner, you can be saved, brought into his family,

and you too can be a messenger of what God wants to do. You too can get into this book and get to know God even greater. He's got a great plan for you. So, just as we read in Revelation uh 10:7, just as he announced to his servants, the prophets, we have the message of those prophets. Now, a prophet is one that speaks forth God's word. There are books of prophecies in the Old Testament. The only book of prophecy we have in the New Testament is the book of Revelation. And God has announced to us this mystery that's now been revealed. That's why we read the Bible. Look what the mighty angel does next. Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and saying, "Go take the scroll that is that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on

the sea and on the land." So I went to the angel and I told him to give me the little scroll. Let me just pause right there because the original language doesn't translate into our English. We're told that there's a little book in the hand of the angel. And as John goes to get this little book, he he he said, "Give me the little." And then in the original language, it's booklet. He can't handle the whole truth. He sees the book, but he asks for the booklet. And the angel said to John, verse 9, he says, "Take and eat it, and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." John says in verse 10, "And I took the little scroll, the booklet, from the hand of the angel,

and I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, you must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings." Let's pause in that verse for just a moment. If you're new to the book of Revelation, this author John tells us in chapter one, he's on an island called Patmos in prison for preaching about Jesus. He's a pastor. This is the Apostle John that walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and he would go on to help lead churches, and he's just an incredible person. He he watched over Jesus' mother. Uh this is that John. He's now in his 90s. I don't know what you plan on doing in your 90s, but John is on the island of Patmos. And now he's being told in his 90s, this is this is the message to him.

You must again prophesy. Now we live in a culture that in your 90s, you're allowed to kind of like sit back a little. You're allowed to look back and say, "I paid my dues. I had my kids. I now have grandkids." If you're in their 90s, it's great grandkids. And so now you see, I no longer have to change the diapers. John could have easily stepped back and said, "Listen, I've preached many of sermons. I'm done." But with the Lord, it's never over. It's never too late. We We have created in our cultures, and we've said something like this, "Our best days are behind us." That somehow in your youthfulness, that's when you really experience life. But with God, it's never too late. Your best days are always still ahead of you. So, it

doesn't matter if you're in your 90s. I I need to let you know that our God is timeless. So he doesn't even look at your age. He just looks to see if you're available. And if you're willing, he wants you to be his messenger. So what's the message for this man in his 90s? We see that it's a book. Now John's not to literally eat this book, by the way. He's not to eat the parchment. This this is not the message. It's it's like we say today when you read a great book, you say, "I devoured that book." meaning you consumed it. And John literally took the whole book and he's instructed that it'll be sweet and sour. It'll be a lot like a sour patch kit. You got to get through the sour to get to the sweet, right?

I'm just speaking my language to my friends today. I saw some kids earlier had some sour Skittles. I don't like the sour Skittles. I just want the sweet Skittles. But you got to get through the sour to get to the sweet. John's told it's going to be sweet, but then somewhere in your stomach it's going to be bitter. Now, in the scriptures, we see much symbolism. The stomach in the Hebrew scriptures represents the depth of who you are. It it's your decision- making. It's what moves you. It's like your soul. It's why journey we we have three pillars. We have we have faith, hope, and love. Faith in Christ, hope and community, and love and compassion. The word compassion comes from the Greek splagna. The word compassion doesn't mean you just see problems. Splaggna means this quite literally. The Greek word compassion. It means to be moved in the bowels.

Like you're moved to action. Like I'm sorry I have to excuse myself for just a moment. That's what the word splaggna means. so that we better understand in compassion when you say you have the love of God, you can't just see the problem. You're moved to action. You've got to do something about it. So when we're told here that he's to take that book, he's not just to take the good stuff that he enjoys and likes. Wouldn't that be great if we could just do that with the Bible? Let's just look at the stuff we like. But there will be some stuff in there that will actually move you to action and it won't feel comfortable because when you read the Bible, you read about a holy God and it's like a mirror. You see how wretched you actually are and it can be hard.

Your sin is probably greater than you fully can comprehend. And it can make you sick. When you read the Bible, you read about the goodness of God's free gift of grace to anyone that would receive it in Jesus Christ. Absolutely sweet. And then you read about the wide road of destruction that so many are on heading straight to the depth of hell because everyone else is on it. And it makes you bitter. It it makes you sick. It makes you hard to hard to read it. And John's told you, you can't just take the sweet. You also have to take the sour. The sweet is good because the Bible tells us, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." The more you get to know God, the the greater you understand his

goodness and his grace. Psalm 19:10, David proclaims, "They're more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." We should want God more than anything else, more than wealth, more than food. Psalm 119 103, how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. See, the scriptures are described as honey. They're described as milk. It's described as meat. It's described as bread. It's it's meant to be nourishment to our soul. Jesus displayed this when he was out in the wilderness. He was tempted by the enemy in the same way that we're tempted. He had been fasting for 40 days. He was hungry, Matthew tells us. And that's when Satan came and said, "Oh, if you're the son of God, turn these rocks into rolls of bread. Get some instant satisfaction."

The enemy was looking forward to 2021 when we want instant satisfaction. We want to microwave things up. We want drive-through coffee. We just want things so quick in our lives, right? We want faster internet. We want faster social media. We want faster everything. Right? This is what Jesus said to Satan. And we should hear Jesus words. He says, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." There's something more lasting than temporary satisfaction. It's God's word. That's why when we continually go, we'll be blessed. Like Job writes, I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. I want God more than food. Jeremiah 15:16 says, "Your words were found and I ate them. And

your words became to me a joy in the delight of my heart. For I am called by your name, oh Lord, God of hosts." You see, when you get into the Bible, you discover that you're called, that your identity is actually in the very God that made you. Jeremiah is saying, "When I I got to this book, I didn't just look at it. I had to eat it. I had to devour it." You know, the word meditate literally just means to chew on. I I meditate on your word, and that's when I got to know you greater. But not everyone will want this word. Not everyone will receive it. We can look back at the saints of old like Moses. God speaks to him in a burning bush that's not consumed. He speaks audibly. Wouldn't you listen to that guy? That when he comes off of a mountain, his face is glowing because

he's been spending time with God. I'd probably listen to him. But he was rejected. His word was not received. How about Elijah? Here's a guy that when we ask God to stop the rain, the rain stops. When he asked God to rain, it rains. He calls fire down from heaven and the bull's consumed. You would think the world would listen to Elijah, but it didn't. How about John the Baptist? Here's a guy that's got the coolest clothes. He's wearing leather. He's a vegan before it was cool, dipping locust right into honey. No, that's not vegan, is it? Uh He was earth friendly before it was cool.

Just he was a strange cat. You would listen to that guy. But you know the religious zealots, they could not hear the message of John the Baptist. I need you to hear this. The word of God can be sweet and it can be bitter. Some will receive it. We see this in the book of Revelation. We don't want to forget that message. And some will reject it. And now it's up to you what you do with this message. John's told that he's not to keep this message to himself. He's to share it. In the book of John chapter 3, Jesus tells us God's plan. He says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus goes on to say this in verse 18 of John 3. He says, "Whoever believes in him," that's the only son, Jesus, "He's not condemned.

But whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God. And this is the judgment. This is where it gets bitter. The light has come into the world. And people loved the darkness rather than the light because of their works. See, when you read the whole Bible, you're going to see that it's sweet and bitter. It's grace and truth. It's life and death. It's it's it's eternal life and eternal judgment. It's heaven and hell. We see sin which is bitter and then we see the Savior which is sweet. That we get all of God. And sometimes this will make you sick. But you've got to know this that when the Lord is

working, he's giving you an opportunity to turn to him. Like the prodical son that ran from his dad after taking his inheritance, he found himself in the pig slop. It was sickening. But when he came to himself, he remembers, "My father's a good dad. He's so good to his servants. Maybe, maybe I could be a servant." And when he's heading back home, Jesus says in Luke chapter 15, the father runs after him, embraces him, kisses him, calls him his son. He says, "I thought you were dead, but you're alive. My son that was lost has been found." And he throws slippers on his feet and a ring on his finger and a robe that will cover him. He said, "Go get the fat and let's have a party. That's our God. That's the sweet. But when you're in the pig slop, it's sour.

It It's hard. And for some of us, when you've received the great love of your father, you see others in the pigsty, and you just know there's more. And I'm asking you today, when you eat the word, like John, you've got to proclaim the word. You can't keep it to yourself. We're called to something greater than just receiving the message of grace. One of our core values at Journey Church is to be gracegivers. The book of Revelation is not a secret for a few of us. Hey guys, don't bring anybody to church with you next week. It's us four and no more. This is to be a holy huddle. We are the frozen chosen. Let's make sure that nobody else knows this good news.

That's the antithesis to what we read here. Now, will it be easy? Absolutely not. But will it be worth it? Absolutely. This is not our final home. We're on a journey to a greater destination. We have a heavenly home and God is just getting us ready for more. So, don't settle and think that somehow on this side of heaven, this is it. Now, you don't have to wait to get to heaven to start experiencing it. Jesus says that you can pray like this. God, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let's start praying that right now. I want to invite Paxton up here as as we just continue to seek the Lord for this revelation.

If you want some further study on this, Ezekiel chapter 1, 2, and 3 parallels the text we just read today. Ezekiel is an Old Testament prophet. And in chapter one, Ezekiel gets this revelation of God and it's great. It's as weird as John's revelation in Revelation chapter 4. He sees these creatures. And we see that our God is majestic in all of his ways. And it's in this place that that Ezekiel is called by God to go share the message of God to a rebellious people. At this point in the story, it sounds like this is a good story. You're going to share about a deliverer, the great God, to a rebellious people. And then he's told in Ezekiel chapter 3 to eat a scroll just as John was told. And Ezekiel opens

his mouth and when he tastes it is sweet. But when he consumes the whole word is sour. And it doesn't take long before Ezekiel shares this great message and he's rejected. God gave him the word yet people were unwilling to repent. Now, the word repent is just a a wonderful word. It means to change your thinking. It means you no longer have to do things your way, but you actually get to do things God's ways. And just as Jesus invites the church in Revelation 2 and 3 to repent, I want to let you know that invitation is available today. This is what I love about God. He doesn't say wait for a better day. He doesn't say go get your life right with God and then follow me.

Here's what Jesus says. Follow me with all your flaws, with all the mess of who you are. Well, well, Lord, I don't have it figured out. You don't have to. That's why you get into the word. So that you grow in the grace of the revelation that through your tribulation, you know who Jesus is. Today, if you've never received Jesus as Lord and Savior, I want to give you an opportunity to do that. It's incredibly simple. If you believe in the Lord Jesus, you'll be saved. Means you no longer trust in yourself or trust in the things of this world. You trust in what was done for you by Jesus Christ. That God himself became a man. He lived a sinless life. Died on the cross for your sins. He defeated death. He rose from the grave so that you can have eternal

life. If you want that, you can have it right now. Please don't wait another moment. So, here's what we're going to do. We're going to pray. Prayer is just talking to God. Jesus taught us to pray. He modeled prayer. He told us to pray. Prayer is just talking to God. You don't need the right words or eloquent words. You just need to be sincere to God. So, would you close your eyes right now? Let's just turn our attention towards heaven. Now, when when we close our eyes, we simply do this to focus on God. You could pray with your eyes open. You could pray standing up. You could pray kneeling down. You can pray right now to the Lord.

If you want to receive Jesus Christ as your savior today, I'm going to ask you to make a bold step and just raise your hand so I could pray with you. Just raise your hand nice and high right now. Say, "I need you, Jesus. I want you, Jesus." Be bold right now. If you're done living life on your own and you say, "You know what? I I really want to follow the Lord, would you just throw your hand up right now? I would love to pray with you. Praise God. Amen. Yes. Anyone else? I tell you, when you raise your hand and you pray right now, our heavenly father is so happy to receive you.

If you're done living in fear, praise God. I see that hand. Yes. Amen. Awesome. Praise God. I love seeing young people give their lives to Jesus. Yes. Amen. Praise God. Well, Lord, you you you you not only see the hands, you see the hearts. God, you know where every person is today. And I thank you that you receive the worst of sinners. That from this day forward, we can follow you, our savior. If you are making that decision today, pray something like this in your heart. Lord Jesus, forgive me of my sins. Today I choose you. I follow after you. Help me know your grace. Help me to know how great you are, God. And it's in Jesus name we pray. So be it and amen.

Oh my friends, can we just celebrate how great our God is? Yes. Come on. Listen, my friends, if if you made that decision to accept Jesus Christ today, we want to celebrate with you. We would love to pray with you. We have a just a simple way you can contact us. Just text us the word life to 541-527-7277. When you text us, here's what happens. We will want to pray with you. We want to connect with you. If you don't have a Bible, it's our free gift to you. We just want to make sure that you know that you just made the greatest decision of all time. This is not the end. This is the beginning of greater things. You got to know this that if you made the decision to follow Jesus, the enemy does not like that decision. He's going to seek to lie to you, he's going to

seek to deceive you. But your God is greater. Today is the day you love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. We quit living like the world, as John says. We start loving a lot more like Jesus. Can we sing one last song? He's worthy of our praise. Just stand right where you are. If you're able to stand, would you give God your heart? He loves you. He loves you.