Go a little deeper
Pastor David Hoole opens by thanking God for worship and recalling Revelation 1:3, the promise of blessing for those who read, hear, and keep this prophecy. He suggests many believers have avoided Revelation out of fear about the future, and that the "what if" of what comes next drives much of our worry. He offers a plain overview: Revelation was a letter to real churches under Roman persecution, written to show that Jesus ultimately wins, and its outline comes from Revelation 1:19—things seen, things that are, and things to come after.
The teaching traces the church through chapters 2–3 and into the throne room of chapters 4–5, where the scroll—described as a title deed to the earth lost through sin—is opened only by the worthy Lamb, Jesus. He then walks seal by seal through chapter 6: the white-horse rider with a victor's wreath and a bow but no arrows, argued to be an impostor rather than Christ; the red horse that removes peace; the black horse of famine; and the pale horse of death and Hades. He frames these as real consequences of sin, while mercy remains available.
Using Abraham's bargaining for Sodom and Moses interceding after the golden calf, Pastor David urges the church to stand in the gap as salt and preservative until the church is removed and the troubles of the seals begin. The fifth seal shows martyrs under the altar crying for justice and told to rest; the sixth brings cosmic upheaval and people hiding from the face of God, asking who can stand. He answers that hearers can stand—free from fear, restored to prayer, and invited to make Jesus Lord—and closes with a prayer and an invitation to raise a hand.
Take this with you
Fear can cost you the blessing
Pastor David names avoidance of Revelation as a common reason people miss what God wants to say. He treats fear and anxiety about the future as seeds the enemy plants, not as reverence, and points back to Revelation 1:3's promise of blessing to those who read, hear, and keep the book.
The Lamb is the one worthy to open the scroll
Chapters 4-5 are presented as the hinge of the book. John weeps because no one can open the deed to the earth, then Jesus, the slain Lamb, takes it and heaven celebrates. Pastor David says this shows the earth will not stay under darkness forever.
The four riders are consequences, not heroes
In Revelation 6 the first rider's crown is a stephanos wreath and his bow has no arrows, which Pastor David uses to argue this figure is an impostor rather than Christ, who returns differently in chapter 19. Peace removed, famine, and death follow as consequences of sin given permission, not autonomous power.
The church is called to stand in the gap
Abraham bargaining for Sodom (Genesis 18) and Moses pleading after the golden calf become models of intercession. Pastor David says the church is salt as a preserving agent in Matthew 5:13, praying mercy over neighbors and coworkers, and he warns against taking for ourselves the praise due God for what he does.
An invitation to stand in faith
The sixth seal in Revelation 6 ends with terrified people asking who can stand. Pastor David answers that his hearers can stand: free from fear, restored to prayer for others, and invited to make Jesus Lord, before he closes in prayer.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
oh man i love well i love being able to worship jesus i love being able just to sing praise to our god my name is david i'm one of the pastors here normally you see me behind a guitar today i have no guitar but we're blessed we're blessed it's good to be here haven't you been blessed as we've been trekking through revelation last you know a few months okay that was a little weak have you been blessed as you've been trekking yeah it's been good now here here's the here's the deal now i know part of it because pastor keith is an amazing teacher and preacher and so part of the blessing is just because of him and that but we heard from the beginning revelation 1 3 blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear
and who keep what is written in it for the time is near you are promised a blessing not by some carnival guy that says hey every tri gets a prize now this is by the creator of the universe you and i are bl promised a blessing from god as we study this so it's good to be in the house of god with you now every word in scripture contains promise of blessing every word leads us to salvation but something is unique about revelation can you say hashtag bless go by the shirt it's just good to study this book but honestly if you're like me there probably are many in this room or watching online who may have missed part of a blessing from god because we've avoided this topic anybody
just me okay well we missed because of fear anxiety worry about the future we have missed potentially what god wants to do and speak to our lives how about to bless us because we've avoided the what if of the future isn't that how life really is it's the what if that causes the worry right i don't worry about what happened six years ago i worry about what happens in six months in the future you know when you're in high school high school for some of you it was friday for others of you was a distant friday myself included but uh when you were in high school you weren't worried about what happened in third grade but you were worried about what's going to happen for college and money and a job and you wanted to have kids and get married and when you had your first kid you weren't worried once they were born you weren't worried about the nine months they were in
in the womb but when the license showed up and like they turned 16 then you were worried if you yeah so this and if you have had kids yet than that old just you wait but revelation is much like this because we love the scripture of the old testament we love the stories and the jesus walking on the water we love the the part in the red sea we love the lions then the joseph's the stories that are the past and yet the what-ifs that are in revelation have sometimes for some of us caused us like whoa just a bit too much and i want to encourage you that if if you're one of the ones in the room that could be avoiding the what ifs of life perhaps don't let the enemy of your soul the devil plant seeds of fear in your heart so that you
miss the blessing from god because that's what he wants to give you because the god who stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing has promised that he knows the plans he has for you plans for your welfare and not for evil plans to give you a hope and the future that's the god that we see in revelation that's the god that may be scary doesn't have to be difficult or even hard to understand revelation really in a simplistic form was a letter to some real churches two thousand years ago that were struggling into roman persecution and pastor john the apostle john that jesus loved was writing letters to encourage these real churches in real time
that at the end in the end ultimately jesus wins that's in a nutshell what is being said in the book and built in this letter god's given us the one and only god-given outline in any book in scripture it's in 119 where he just tells john right there for the things you have seen those that are and those that are to take place after this so he said first john write about the things that you have seen what have john just seen right then jesus he had just seen the resurrected glorified jesus in person modeling mono face to face freaked him out just a little bit but john first and foremost write about
jesus that's first this is the revelation of jesus christ and then john what about those things that are the the present the now what's happening right now write that john now if you ask a history teacher perhaps say hey give me the ages of history the ages of mankind you might hear things like well there's the iron age and the bronze age in the middle ages dark ages information industrial the list goes on and on as we mankind have tried to put boxes or definitions on times of history but god sees not with boxes or limits but he sees the whole scope is that he's outside of time he isn't bound by time at all the outside time and he the alpha and the omega from the moment described
in acts chapter 2 until today this to god has been one time it's been the church age it's in the church age now there's been information there's a lot right now there's been bronze statues and and to me more iron equals more steak and and there were dark days of winter and if there's a beginning and an end there has to be the middle ages but from acts chapter 2 until today this has always been the church it's always been the church the capital c church combined worldwide the church destined for victory designed to take on strongholds of the enemy that the gates of hell would not prevail and that's the church that john writes to in revelation chapter two and three the church us you and me
the church there's seven real churches that he loves but the church is just us too so easily falling into being lukewarm like leotica or forgets her first love like ephesus or allow sin to creep in that's just church and he writes to us so john first write about the things you have seen jesus the things that are the church and third those things that are take place after this now that this after this word the greek word used there is something means after this well so okay so the next two chapters the church two and three move forward to the next chapter chapter four verse one the very first word he uses in four one is the same metata after this i looked and behold a door standing open
in heaven and the first voice which i had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said come up here and i will show you what must take place again after this jesus says come up here and paul is talking uh paul in first thessalonians chapter 4 says the same thing he's talking about the same moment in time for the lord himself would descend from heaven with the cry of command with the voice of an archangel and son of a trumpet of god and the dead in christ will rise first and we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and so we will always be with the lord and that my friend dear one is loved by god is the moment you might have heard called the rapture chapter four verse one we see the church having been there in two and three and
then god says okay your role on the earth is done and we see in four and five the beginnings of the after this metatalta what's coming next we see chapter four and five around god's throne where it's just amazing scenes of glory now if you missed chapters four and five as you've been studying through i'm gonna challenge you go back journeyman.com and watch those two messages because they are the linchpin over the next what happens next if you miss four and five go back and watch them because seriously it helps us transition from the what's happened before to why we're heading to what's happening next don't miss four and five six is part one of what happens next this is the transition the pivot between things that are now and things that will be
after this now before we dive into chapter six i want to remind ourselves what happened in chapter five just for a moment five centered around a scroll it's just a scroll not a book it wasn't information it was a scroll that would have been a title deed or would have been a will and testament so to speak of a person and it was sealed with seven seals now if you backed up to the beginning of time that we know of genesis 1 when god created the heavens and the earth and adam and eve it was all created in harmony and perfect peace perfect no sin just god and adam and eve for like i don't know 10 minutes i think it was perfect and then they screwed all right all the
rest of us and still entered in the and at that moment i believe that the title deed to the earth was given over to satan the deed to the earth the will of the earth was given over to satan where he is has been called by jesus and by paul called the god little g or ruler of this age the world right now as we know it is being manipulated by the devil that's just what it is it's how it goes and so in chapter 5 says that john begins to wheat because no one could open the scroll the scroll that was the deed to buy back the earth and take it back to what it was
created to be back in eden and no one could open it and john weeps and weeps and he must wonder will the earth remain in the state that it currently sits in destitute hopeless bet on chaos under the rule of darkness and satan's control but there was one there is one there is one who's worthy to open the scroll break it seals unravel the mastery of sin on the earth his name is jesus he's you you're our savior and mine he takes the scroll and heaven throws a party and it's good now if we glance ahead skipping six today from six through 19 those chapters in revelation we see the judgments of god poured out on the earth as he brings it back towards its original created intent in the garden of eden he
takes it from what it has become today in the future to where he initially had it to be in the beginning in 20 we'll see the millennium where you and i the church will reign with christ for a thousand years and satan is defeated ultimately once and for all 21 22 god creates a new heaven and a new earth and you and i get to live happily ever after the end and that is the whole book of revelation in a nutshell of about six minutes or so it doesn't have to be scary or difficult or even hard to understand so now chapter six let's dive into six the lamb that was slain the lion the type of judah the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end the risen king the messiah our savior jesus christ the only one worthy to
begins to open the seven seals to the scroll verse one now i watched when the lamb opened one of the seven seagulls and i heard one of the following creatures saying with a voice like thunder come now i'm going to stop right there before i go any further we have to recognize the lamb gives permission to this living creature to say come to whatever happens next now jesus in this point in this moment has not taken control yet but he is definitely still in control though our god has not come and kicked out satan from the earth yet he is still in control go see job's account if you want to look at more of that where god is still in control he's still on the throne
when you face difficult days when i face difficult days and it feels like everything's out of control jesus is still in control verse two i looked and behold the white horse ooh and this rider had a bow and a crown was given to him and he came out conquering in to conquer it yeah a writer a white horse coming to save us maybe it's jesus doesn't he come on a white horse well let's take a look just for a little bit the writer has a bow no arrows missing something there he has a crown on his head the crown though used in this word is the greek word stefanos now stefanos is simply a greenery crown a wreath type of crown temporary not ruling for eternity so this guy has a
bush on his head and a bow with no arrows now to be clear christ does come back in 19 the later chapter to finish what he begin first john 3 8 says the reason the son of god appeared was to destroy the works of the devil he just never intended to help us cohabitate with sin he came to destroy the works of the enemy and he will finish that in revelation 19 and when he comes here's what he will look like he does come on a white horse true story but he's followed by the armies of heaven his eyes are like blazing fire on his head will be a diadem a king's crown out of his mouth a sharp sword on his robe and his thigh in the name king of kings and lord of lords
this guy in six most assuredly is not jesus just to be clear people might think he's a savior of sorts coming to set them free from whatever tyranny they might be in but they'll be sadly disappointed just like elf was when he met the imposter santa similar kind of setting you get the picture let's keep going verse 3. when he opened the second seal i heard the second living creature say come again and out came another horse bright red it's right here was permitted to take peace from the earth so that people should slay one another and he was given a great sword notice who is killing who here people are slaying one another now the horse and the writer do nothing except remove something by
permission that was god's to begin with they asked to remove he's permitted to remove the peace of god and when you remove the peace of god from the earth humanity all by itself without peace is war humanity without jesus in the middle ends up being war now we've been created you and i in the image of god from the beginning of time we bear the stamp the mark of god on our very lives in our brains how we think of our wife we look and act a lot like god on a good day perhaps galatians 5 says that the fruit or the result of the presence of the holy spirit in our lives is love joy peace patience list goes on christ is called the prince of peace
and when we pray we're given peace that goes beyond understanding and so even without seeking god we still resemble our creator even without knowing god very much at all we still look a lot like god and how we act we resemble it maybe perhaps like a a husk of of corn does compared to a corn cob it's similar it isn't the same thing it's empty perhaps but it still looks similar to our creator so husbands that's half of us in the room more or less when you and i act selflessly on a regular basis with our wives we resemble jesus and his love for us love does
flipside husbands dads when we act impatiently towards our kids we prove to ourselves once and for all that our sin nature is still very much alive and well it's still there and so to cause war the second rider only needed permission to remove peace just you remove peace and man left to his own devices will do the rest by himself and that's what happens keep moving a little quicker now verse five he opened the third seal and i heard a living creature say come again i looked and behold a black horse that's right i had a pair of scales in his hands and i heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the fourth creature saying a quarter of wheat for denarius and three quarters of water for daenerys
and do not harm the oil and wine this is simply widespread famine worldwide verse seven when he opened the fourth steal i heard the voice that the creature said come again and i looked and built a pale horse his writer name was death and hades followed him now you may have heard the term the four horsemen of the apocalypse perhaps this is them revelation 6 this is the four horsemen and as the first seals of the scroll held by jesus are broken open the four living creatures give permission to the four horses and their riders to do this they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth and in this moment all
hell begins to break loose and that's what happens this is the first four a couple more to come in a nutshell we're heading towards revelation 21 and 22 but to get to 21 and 22 the new heaven and the new earth i have to go through first the seals i have to go through this to get back so as god is bringing the earth back to his original created intent of eden the only way back to there is through the seals there are consequences of sin on a personal and on a global level now there is mercy and forgiveness to be sure there is definitely mercy and heaven is an option for those of us who have chosen to follow
christ heaven is our home and mercy has been extended but though there is mercy and forgiveness from eternal punishment there will most assuredly most certainly be consequences let's look at this way if i were to drive under the influence and hit a parked car an empty parked car the car i'm not hurt no one's hurt but the police show up and do their job and all of a sudden my insurance company paid for the damages and nobody got hurt so we should be good right wrong i will still have a fine i will still likely lose my license for three months if it happens again a second time still no nobody died nobody got hurt it
just it just happened i hit a parked car again bum luck bump choices whatever and all of a sudden now the fine goes up the loss of license is a year if it happens a third time now jail time could be an option my insurance paid the damages but there is still a price to pay when it comes to the consequences that i'm stuck with and humanity has been living under the intoxicating influence of sin for 6 000 years and counting and the only way back to eden is the unraveling of what has to come in between these are the consequences of the sin of humanity it's a real thing we're not here to play church candyco anything
this is life and it's about jesus no apologies never from here because here's the good news aren't you glad that you're not here on that day see we're gone revelation two and three the church four we're taken up five we're in heaven and six this all happens when the church says god we're in heaven we are done now god's still going to show mercy he isn't done yet but you and i if we choose to follow christ this is not our reality this is not where we will be chapter 6. so what do you mean throughout time throughout history there have been people that god has used for a season as as an intermediary
a an intercessor someone in between disobedience and the judgment of god example remember abraham father of the faith abraham was the father of the jewish nation the israelites abraham uh he receives a promise from god genesis 18 10 god comes abraham and says i will surely uh return to you this time next year and sarah who is 90 years old will ha your wife will have a son she laughs and that's a different story altogether but in the same conversation god lets abraham in on what's happening next in nearby sodom and gomorrah abraham's nephew lot was in sodom and gomorrah living there in those days and god says abraham i've got to go and i've got to destroy
sodom and gomorrah and abraham in that moment does something maybe the first time in in scripture and it says that that he begins to bargain with god in a nutshell god just a man just just a minute if there are 50 righteous people would you hold off destruction and i was like sure if there are 50 absolutely okay spare me forgive me if there are 45 would you hold off okay yeah you bet how about how 40 okay for 40. okay god sorry he even says sorry 30. for 30. it's like an auctioneer backwards you know god if there are 30 he's like you know what i'm always in a good mood so absolutely okay god uh how about 20 just 20.
and i was like you know what for 20 i will spare okay last one 10. if there are ten and god responds yes if there are ten righteous i will spare sodom and gomorrah the problem is there weren't ten problem is there weren't ten and sodom and gomorrah were destroyed the term solomon warren now uh are synonymous with evil and sin in our society even in our american legal system they're used in that way but there was no indication that god would not have kept going lower and we know that his nephew lot based on on jude that a lot was a righteous man and so if what if he said how about for one god what about for one
what about for one well the same thing happened in moses's life as well moses is up on the mountain and moses is with god on the mountain he's up there for a few days you know a little longer and the people grow restless and they begin to grow weary well and then begin to ask themselves senator grumble where's moses and where's god and aaron tells the people hey okay give me your rings your jewelry all the gold you have and we'll do something to pick this thing down so aaron moses brother great brother uh moses or aaron excuse me aaron makes this golden cow his golden calf and the people say these are your gods o israel who brought you up out of the land of egypt and god's on mount sinai face to face with moses
nearby and he's like are you kidding me are you for reals right now like is this for real happening who turned the nile to blood who caused ten plagues to turn pharaoh's heart who who turned the hearts of the egyptians to be disposed favored towards you who is leading you by a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day and there's the cloud right now it's who parted the red sea just yesterday and this stupid gold cow that you created can't even lift a hoof let alone set you all free from egypt who who and he says i'm done and his patience was out the window and he tells moses moses i'm going to start over with you i'm done and moses does what abraham did before
and he stands between god and judgment says god you can't please you you can't you can't do that you can't do that now before i finish the story can i give you just a really stern warning from this old guy to wherever you're at in that spectrum don't ever ascribe or assume the acts of god to another don't ever take the praise this due god and put it anywhere else see when god provides when god directs when god heals when god moves in your family in big ways and small be the first person to let your lips be filled with the praise of your god that did that for you don't think you did it don't think
happenstance turned out well for you don't think somehow uh you earned it based on a demonically inspired cosmic crap because someone called karma no it was god it's always god it'll always be god don't ever assume or ascribe to yourself anything that god has ever done for you it only works out poorly so moses goes to god said god please you can't destroy him you can't destroy him and it says that god relents moses says but moses imported the lord his god turned from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people and the lord relented from the disaster he had spoken of bringing on his people now you might think this is just old
testament stuff this wouldn't happen to me i mean we're in a new age of grace just for you bible students go look up acts chapter 12 king herod i'm going to give you one hint worms go look it up you'll find out for yourself god is still a jealous god when it comes to the praise through his name let's give it to him so moses the wrath of god people of his promise and god changes his mind it was true of abraham it was true of moses and it's true of us the church today we stand in that same place we stand right there where they did and we have the opportunity the position the calling by god to stand in the gap for humanity that so desperately needs god and yet has even rejected god and we get to pray we get to
to ask god for mercy we get to do what these guys did abraham stopped short moses finished the job but we get to be the intercessor the intermediary between god and his righteousness his holiness and destruction jesus said matthew 5 13 you are the salt of the earth now we know salt is necessary on a a humanity level like we have to have salt to live and there are great functions of salt salt things taste better makes you thirsty i mean all that that's all good and the church does that as well but the biggest trait of salt in ancient civilization was that of being a preservative the church as the salt of the earth is the preserving agent on the earth and just like abraham between god and sodom and gomorrah
and in moses standing between destruction and the israelite nation the church is the preserving agent between the wrath of god being poured out on humanity because of rejecting his son but what happens in chapter four the preserving nature of the church is removed the dam that has been there for for 6 000 years has been removed and now god is going to bring the earth back from its chaotic state that sits in right now to the beginning that he had intended for it in eden perfect and wonderful harmony that's where we're going this is the beginning of the great tribulation this is daniel's 70th week in in his ninth chapter this is jacob's trouble
in jeremiah 30. this is the seven years of difficulty that begin when the church is tucked away with jesus in heaven let's keep moving verse nine he opens the fifth seal and i saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of god and for the witness they had borne they cried out with a loud voice oh sovereign lord holy and true how long before you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer until a number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete who were to be killed as they themselves have been we see the fifth seal and we see what perhaps god sees every day because every day people around the globe lose their life because of love for
jesus from the day from the days of stephen in acts chapter 7 through the apostles until now the ground is being filled with the blood of martyrs and just like abel's blood cry out to god in genesis 4 god is so clearly listening to the sacrifice of his people and he would say romans 12 19 vengeance is mine i will repay says the lord estimates suggest that there could be upwards of a hundred thousand people every year that give their life for the cause of christ every year who refuse to bother me to anything or anyone should they understand what missionary to brazil and martyr james elliott understood so he is no fool who would give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose
he is no fool who would give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose man the hundred years you and i have on the planet is nothing more than a grain of sand in the state of texas when compared to eternity and yet we live like this granite stands all i got like i gotta i gotta live for this thing because this is all this is the best that's gonna get i'm saying no this is this is this this hundred years that we live for is this much and compared to eternity and and maybe we could gain a perspective of eternal things like they did in the fifth seal maybe we could
we could could could repeat like paul when he said for i'm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come where he writes my life is just an offering to be poured out on jesus it's worth when compared to what he did for me i just get to pour out my life for him because all that matters is jesus jesus opens the sixth seal says there there was a great earthquake the sun becomes black the moon becomes like blood stars fall from the sky every mountain and island was removed and something unique happens in 614 so the sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up and apparently everything changes because pastor john the writer of this book says
that people every person on the earth want to hide themselves in the caves calling to the mountains and the rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb for the great day of their wrath has come let me back up just for a second so it says there were earthquakes the sun became black the moon becomes like blood and every mountain and island was removed and they weren't worried about hawaii being gone because that's why they weren't that wasn't their fear what they said is that it's a faul hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne humanity wasn't distressed over
earthquakes and crazy stuff they were distressed over the picture and the reality of the face of god being present right now the unveiling of the sky all of a sudden become god becomes extremely clear and their response is this is really bad this is very bad maybe humanity begins to see what moses did when he was up on the mountain with god and and god said hey i'm let my glory pass by you but i'm going to hide your face i'm going to hide you in a cleft of the rock i'm going to hide my face from singing because no one can see god and live he says see god fix the dilemma for moses
but all of mankind is exposed here when the sixth seal is opened humanity is terrified and they finish off with this one last question this is how we're going to wrap up today they ask one final question at the end of revelation chapter 6 they said this who can stand this is all happening it's crazy who can stand and i want to answer the question today for you and for me you can you can stand you can stand in the face of temptation you can stand in the faith you can stand for righteousness and on that day you will be standing in heaven and then you will be bowing down before his throne casting your crown you will stand you can stand and today i
wanted to give you just real quick four simple ways that you and i can stand four simple ways the first one is this just like the people in these seven churches that john writes to were facing persecution and it caused anxiety and fear and worry i believe there are some here today whose hearts are filled with anxiety and worry and fear i think it's just reality where we're at today in this premise is what i felt the lord's speaking to me as i was preparing this message that there are some here today that are stuck in fear anxiety and worry but june 24 says that our gods able to keep us from falling or stand and present us before his presence
without fault and with great joy see your mind's been gripped and controlled by fear today i believe that jesus christ can break the back of fear and anxiety in your life i just believe that that's the first weather you need to stand number two there are some believers here today that i believe have forgotten your position i think you've forgotten well we're still here on the planet are we are we here are we really here see if we as the church are called salt and light of the earth how salty are we if we're the preservative of humanity what are we doing to do that are we praying for our neighbors and our coworkers and our schoolmates
or if we abandon our post as a watchmen on the wall have we forgotten our priority in relationship with jesus just to pray pray pray some more [Music] maybe we've given up and stop praying like abraham did and we're only one more question away from a miracle maybe we've stopped a little bit short and we want to be a little more like moses who kept praying kept asking for mercy could our walks and our runs on the butte or the river trail become prayer walks and jericho marches instead where they're focused and we see ourselves not as just this is what i do but not that this is bigger i was talking to uh hannah and noah who were part of our leadership team around here you've seen
it around low face based and they're amazing and and noah uh love this couple they're pregnant she's having a baby in august like this is awesome it's a great time to be alive and uh noah was talking and hannah was talking about about noah and noah loves jesus and noah right now works at a great roofing company here in town he and that's his job and that's what god's provided it's great and yet no one sees himself as more than that he sees himself as part of god's kingdom and so he sees himself as you know what this is my job but i'm in god's kingdom i'm just in the roofing division and there are some baristas in the room that you're in the coffee division and there are some people that work in the hospitals in the room and you're in the hospital
division but there are some that have abandoned their post you've stopped praying for your coworkers your neighbors your kids your family whatever it might be if you're a student you're in the school division you begin an assignment by god to stand in the gap for those that need mercy so desperately and don't even know it perhaps so today i'm going to ask you about those first two questions there are two more after this the first two questions to stand the first is to stand because you want freedom from fear anxiety and worry and the other one is you want to just stand you want to take your place back on the wall and pray for your neighbors co-workers people you work with what it might be and you understand if either of those two things fit in your life today i want you to actually stand right now
go ahead yeah yeah lots of us lots of us we're gonna we get a little physical here sometimes we're gonna stand and i'm gonna i'm gonna join you because i'm gonna stand too and i'm gonna pray [Music] and then the moment man's going to come out in just a second after we pray this one it was a little more we're almost done let's pray god thank you god thank you that you have the ability the power and even the desire to break the back of fear anxiety and worry depression i pray today for the mental state of our church those that are around us god i'm praying for miracles today to be testified god that we get to walk in the freedom that only you have that we get to abandon the things that that are not yours and receive what is yours because i prayed today for
freedom you would set your people free from fear your word says that you haven't got a spirit of fear but a power of love and a sound mind god i pray that your love and your power and your authority to give to your church that you would have your way i pray in this day in this age in our heart we say yes to you and then god for those of us that have a heart now maybe renewed a little bit for our community those places that you put us in god i pray you would help us to take our position on the wall of prayer help us to be ones who boldly ask you for big things that your mercy will be extended that you would pour out your spirit on all flesh you would use us to bring signs and wonders your kingdom would come in this day we would see what only you can do half your way i pray we say yes use us use us i pray have your way in jesus name i pray amen amen amen i'm gonna ask you to be
seated one more time just for a second i said there were four ways today we can stand that was one and two here's number three there are some today that are listening to the words being spoken you hear the spirit of the lord speaking into your heart and if you're honest this has you just a little bit freaked out i'm a little messed up like i this is this whole rapture stuff earthquakes four horsemen eternally just the the the things are just a little bit too weird i want to go back to one of the first verses i mentioned at the very beginning that the god who stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing has promised that he knows the plans he has for you plans for your good not for evil give you a hope
and a future see god knows exactly where you are god loves you right where you are he wants to wipe every tear from your eye bring peace to your soul forgiveness to your sin healing from your past and hope for your future and it all begins when we say yes to making jesus the lord of our life the scripture says that everyone has sinned and that sin has a price but jesus paid that price for your sin and for mine when he died on the cross the bible says that if you believe in your heart that he has rose from the dead and confesses your mouth that he he is lord you will be saved so today i want to give you an opportunity to make that decision to follow jesus for the first time yeah i want to give
you a bit of privacy have you been standing i'm not doing that for this one would you close your eyes and buy your heads just for a moment and with your eyes closed i'm going to count to three and when i when i get to three i want you simply just to raise your hand because i want to know who i'm praying for i'm not going to ask you to stand like i said but i don't want you to raise your hand now now could you not raise your hand and still get saved sure but i believe with something on the outside it may happen on the inside all the more real something count to three to three just raise your hand one god loves you so so much today is your day of salvation don't wait two we're not guaranteed tomorrow
there's nothing better you can do with your today and surrender your life to jesus three although all over there yeah thanks put it down who else yeah amen thanks thanks thanks thanks yeah awesome awesome anybody else just looking all over the room [Music] if you're watching online same thing put up the hand emotions say that's me god is a god of mercy and grace so much love anybody else i'm not going to belabor this any longer than you need to but just miss anybody so i'm going to pray i want you to pray
something like this [Music] and we believe scripture is very clear that if we believe in our heart jesus lord confess with our mouth
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Reading Revelation Without Fear
Pastor David argues that Revelation is a letter to real churches that shows Jesus ultimately wins, and that fear of the future has kept some believers from its promised blessing. This section invites reflection on the framework he offers.
Revelation 1:3 · Revelation 1:19
- Where have fear or anxiety about the future kept you from reading Revelation?
- Pastor David says the what-if causes the worry. Which specific what-if is loudest in your life right now?
- How might reading Revelation as a letter of encouragement to struggling churches change the way you approach it?
The Scroll and the Worthy Lamb
Chapters 4-5 are framed as the pivot of the book: a sealed scroll functioning as a title deed to the earth, John's weeping because no one is worthy, and Jesus taking the scroll while heaven celebrates. Pastor David sees this as grounds for hope amid judgment.
Revelation 4:1 · Revelation 5 · Revelation 6:1
- Why does it matter to Pastor David's argument that only Jesus is worthy to open the scroll?
- What changes when you read the judgments of chapters 6-19 as God bringing the earth back toward its created intent?
- Pastor David says that even when things feel out of control, Jesus is still in control. How does he apply that to facing difficult days?
The Four Riders and the Consequences of Sin
Pastor David walks through the first four seals: an impostor conqueror, peace removed, famine, and death. He stresses that the riders act only by permission, and he distinguishes the rider of chapter 6 from Christ's return in chapter 19. Consequences, he says, remain even where mercy is offered.
Revelation 6:1-8 · 1 John 3:8 · Revelation 19 · Galatians 5
- What evidence does Pastor David give for identifying the first rider as an impostor rather than Jesus?
- How does Pastor David explain the relationship between the removal of peace in the second seal and human violence?
- How does Pastor David distinguish forgiveness from the consequences of sin?
Standing in the Gap, Being Salt
Abraham bargaining over Sodom and Gomorrah and Moses pleading after the golden calf lead into a call for the church to intercede. Pastor David describes salt primarily as a preservative, warns against taking credit for God's acts, and names prayer for neighbors and coworkers as the church's post on the wall.
Genesis 18:10 · Matthew 5:13 · Acts 12
- Abraham stopped at ten and Moses persisted; what does Pastor David draw from their intercession for the church's calling?
- What does Pastor David warn against when he speaks about praise that is due to God alone?
- What does Pastor David say about praying for neighbors and coworkers rather than abandoning our post?
Who Can Stand?
The fifth and sixth seals show martyrs longing for justice and a terrified world hiding from God's face. Pastor David answers the chapter's closing question with freedom from fear, renewed intercessory prayer, and making Jesus Lord, then extends an invitation to respond.
Revelation 6:9-17 · Romans 12:19 · Jude 24
- What does Pastor David say the martyrs of the fifth seal are told while they wait for justice?
- Why does Pastor David think the earth's upheaval was not what terrified people most in the sixth seal?
- Of the ways to stand that Pastor David names—freedom from fear, returning to prayer for others, and saying yes to Jesus—which resonates most with where you are right now?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
Why does Pastor David say some people miss a blessing from studying Revelation?+
He points to Revelation 1:3 and its promise that the one who reads, hears, and keeps the prophecy is blessed. Then he suggests the blessing can be missed through avoidance: fear, anxiety, and worry about the future keep people away from the book. He frames worry as a what-if concern about what is ahead rather than what is past, and warns that the enemy plants seeds of fear to keep people from what God wants to say. His counsel is not to let that fear win.
What would it take for you to read the book expecting a blessing rather than a scare?
Is the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 Jesus?+
In this message the answer is no. Pastor David notes that this rider has a bow with no arrows and a crown described with the word stephanos, a wreath-like crown rather than a king's diadem. He expects this figure to be an impostor people might mistake for a savior. He contrasts the later return in Revelation 19, where Christ comes on a white horse with the armies of heaven, a sharp sword from his mouth, and the title King of kings.
How does Pastor David's comparison of the rider in chapter 6 with Christ's return in chapter 19 shape how you read the white horse?
Why would God pour out judgments after extending mercy?+
Working through the seals of Revelation 6, Pastor David distinguishes forgiveness from consequences. He uses an illustration of driving impaired into an empty parked car: no one is hurt and insurance may cover the damage, yet fines, license loss, and possible jail time remain. In the same way, he says, mercy and heaven remain available in Christ, but the consequences of humanity's sin are real and must be unraveled for the earth to return to what God intended in Eden.
Where are you tempted to assume that mercy means consequences no longer matter?
What does it mean for the church to stand in the gap?+
He grounds it in the church's calling to intercede. Abraham bargained with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, and Moses pleaded with God after the golden calf; both stood between God's holiness and judgment. Pastor David says the church now holds that same position and calling: to pray for mercy for a humanity that has rejected God, and to act as salt, which in Matthew 5:13 is described as a preserving agent on the earth. He names prayer for neighbors and coworkers as taking a place back on the wall, and he warns against taking for ourselves the praise due God.
How does Pastor David describe the church's post on the wall of prayer?
What does Pastor David mean when he says you can stand?+
He draws the question from the end of Revelation 6, where terrified people ask who can stand. His answer is pastoral: those listening can stand through freedom from fear and anxiety, through taking their place back on the wall of prayer for neighbors and coworkers, and by making Jesus Lord. He then invites hearers to raise a hand before he begins a prayer, urging them not to wait for tomorrow.
Which of those ways of standing is most needed in your life this week?
