 We're here in Revelation 22. We're going to be looking at verses 13 through 21 and We're about to close our our series in the book of Revelation today John told me that we've been studying this book as a church in September and Yeah, that's that's a while and so today we'll be concluding it by looking at the final Invitation that we'll be seeing here in the book of Revelation. So I'll begin reading at at verse, let's see at verse 13 and I'll read to to verse 21 I'll just read the rest of it and we'll get into our study beginning at verse 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end the first and the last Blessed are those who do his commandments That they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city but outside our dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and Whoever loves and practices a lie I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches I am the root and the offspring of David the bright and morning star And the spirit and the bride say come And let him who hears say come And let him who thirsts come Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book If anyone adds to these things God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God shall take away his part from the book of life from the holy city And from the things which are written in this book He who testifies to these things says surely I am coming quickly Amen, even so come Lord Jesus The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Amen Okay, I'm gonna introduce this by doing what I normally do reminding you of a few things laying a foundation moving on Into the passage and looking for application and let me tell you That as we go through this study, it's a very serious one. This has been entitled the last invitation You'll see why in just a moment But one of the things you see is that the Lord Jesus is giving an invitation to those who hear and those who do the words of the book And there are many people who hear but do not do and so Jesus is saying the blessing to you and through john The blessing to you is not just hearing but it's hearing and doing And uh, we're we're going to be looking at his invitation in a moment because he says if you're thirsty come That's an invitation But I want you to know and I want you to always understand this and those of you who are Are part of this fellowship. This is your church at all You need to remember this We really all need to remember this that in the gospel It's not always just presented in a way that that is so filled with promises The whole gospel is going to include warnings And so when the gospel is proclaimed when the message is is taught There is a warning and then there is the blessing and very often you'll see it going Hand in hand and we'll be seeing that in just a moment We just read through this passage and in the passage you see a warning You see a statement made and I think sometimes there are those who uh, who will immediately respond with joy when they hear That there's a promise of eternal life or blessings And sometimes they fail to realize that there are also There's also a call for a person to turn from the sin And to come to know the Lord and so we're going to try and treat this with balance You know, I'm not going to give to you just the promises because in it we see also warnings So I'm going to try and bring the balance to that the warnings as well as the promise And you'll see that in just a moment as we go through this passage and so Let me begin by saying this within the first few chapters of genesis After the fall god made a promise and the promise that god made was that Even though man had sinned that god says I will provide for you A savior all you need to do is look into the book of of genesis and and remember that In the garden of eden that god had given a command to a man the first man as he was adam But we know that adam had disobeyed In genesis 2 16 and 17 it says the lord god commanded the man Saying of every tree of the garden you may freely eat but Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die And so god had given a command you can have all of this except for that And as we all know Eve took of this forbidden fruit she gave to her husband and he also ate So with that act of disobedience sin entered into the human race adam fell Uh theologians refer to him as the federal head of humanity. We're all descended from him. And so in all in adam all fell in romans 5 verse 12 Paul said that through one man sin entered the world and death through sin And thus death spread to all men because all sinned all sinned in adam adam representing us adam's nature being fallen He gives to us his nature. It's called the adamic nature So adam fell he's a federal head of the human race in adam We all fell so his nature is passed on to his descendants because all are born with the sin nature When paul was writing to the aphesians in chapter 2 verse 3 that verse tells us that before we came to faith in jesus We were all by nature children of wrath He says just as the others just as those who don't know jesus christ because at one time you didn't and you also were a child of wrath So because of god's great love for us From the beginning he made a promise he made a promise to rescue us. He made a promise of salvation He promised that he would provide a savior a savior that would come and rescue fallen and lost humanity Again in genesis in chapter 3 verse 15. He said to satan I will put enmity between you and the woman And between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head You shall bruise his heel. This was a picture of messiah Who was going to take upon himself the sin of the world and on that cross? He was going to be he was going to be bruised So with that we see that god actually made a promise of the first coming of our savior So he now closes With a promise that relates to a second coming Now as i've been saying to you as we've gone through revelation the bible is filled with promises of the second coming And there are stirring and amazing promises in relation to the coming of messiah isaia 66 verses 15 and 16 Says see the lord is coming with fire his chariots are like a whirlwind He will bring down his anger with fury his rebuke with flames of fire For with fire and with his sword the lord will execute judgment on all people And many will be those slain by the lord In zekariah another old testament book chapter 14 verse 9 The lord will be king over the whole earth on that day. There will be one lord and his name the only name Now there are many books and many verses in the old testament that speaks of the second coming But with that said it's the book of revelation Well, it's in that book that we see its greatest emphasis Because throughout revelation as we've gone from chapter one verse one to where we are now We've seen that that the return of christ is is a constant theme We're exhorted many times to be prepared because he's returning soon even from the beginning in chapter one verse three And john wrote the time is near In revelation one verse seven john said behold he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him In revelation three eleven jesus said behold i am coming quickly In revelation 22 verse 6 the angel said that god sent him to show the things that must shortly take place We saw in chapter 22 that jesus said this three times in verse seven He said i'm coming quickly in verse 12 behold i'm coming quickly and verse 20 surely i am coming quickly So as we saw in our last study with such an emphasis on his return i had asked the question How then should we live what are we to do? Well as we've already seen we're to guard and hold fast to this book We're to guard what has been entrusted to our care We're to proclaim the word of god and all of it including revelation and we're to do so without altering it We're to personally embrace the message we're to give the message to other people in evangelism And we're to give it as we've received it without alteration So we're to understand that the reason we do that is because god's words are faithful and they're true You see everything that has been revealed will be faithfully accomplished in revelation 19 verse 9 It simply says these are the true sayings of god In revelation 21 verse 5 it said these words are true and faithful So the reason why the words are true and faithful is because jesus himself is true and faithful Revelation 19 11 It says now i saw heaven open and behold a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true And in righteousness he judges and makes war So it is the certainty of the truth of the author and the message We know is true that propels the messenger So when we looked here in revelation 22 when we looked at verses 6 through 12 Those verses proclaimed that jesus is returning And and john was exhorting us to be ready to see him It's it's it's what jesus said in mark 13 verse 33 When he said be on guard be alert You do not know when that time will come And he went on in verses 35 through 37 and he said in mark 13 He said therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back Whether in the evening or at midnight When the rooster crows or at dawn If he comes suddenly do not let him find you sleeping What I say to you I say to everyone watch So jesus is returning soon And he says in verse 12 here in chapter 22. He says my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work So that refers to the reward of believers the Reward that we receive for our service to him In second carinthians chapter 5 verse 10 paul said we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ That each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body whether good or bad Well, because that's true. We need to be ready and we need to be faithful Why because we want to receive what has been called in scripture a full reward A full reward. Yeah, and second john chapter 1 verse 8 John said this he said look to yourselves That we do not lose those things we worked for But that we may receive a full reward You see jesus said i'm coming back and my reward is with me That was a call to a complete faithfulness You see it's possible by entering into error or backsliding It's possible to forfeit a portion of the reward and that's why john says we want to receive A full reward in first carinthians 3 verses 12 through 15 paul was speaking concerned in this And he said if anyone builds on this foundation speaking of jesus If anyone builds on this foundation using gold silver costly stones Wood hay or straw their work will be shown for what it is Because the day will bring it to light It will be revealed with fire And the fire will test the quality of each person's work If what has been built survives The builder will receive a reward If it is burned up the builder will suffer loss But yet will be saved even though only as one escaping through the flames When we built this sanctuary many years ago now And those who were in our church at that time were given An invitation to come And to write their favorite scriptures on our platform We have the whole platform Was filled with scripture everywhere the whole platform down the steps everywhere there was there's people's personal scriptures The scriptures that they that they believed we we handed out felt pens, you know Markers and some of them showed that they really knew how to use those markers. I wondered what what they'd been tagging before they got here But they wrote their scriptures everywhere And you might find this interesting where I stand to give the study I I put there's no foundation other than jesus christ And I stand on his word literally stand on the scripture of giving his whole counsel every time I teach Because that's what god has called us to do As a pastor teacher i'm called by god to give the whole counsel of god And so we literally stand on his written word every time we walk on this stage and every time Worship occurs and when I teach the word of god And I want to receive a full reward You see he called believers to commitment but now He closes by calling unbelievers to repentance Jesus is giving those who hear the message of revelation and invitation And this is because not everyone who hears the message believes We saw in the introduction to revelation how the book had begun with a blessing Again in revelation chapter one verse three. He said there's a a blessing on the one who reads the book When he says there's a blessing on the one who reads the book the word Read speaks of the one who reads it openly and publicly So just by my reading this There's a blessing that the lord gives to me for doing that But he also said that there is a blessing on those who hear the word and keep those things written So it's not just in the reading It's the listening to And applying the things that are said So it's not just in the hearing But it's in the doing it's in the obedience that That blessings come In galatians six nine and ten Paul said let us not lose heart in doing good For in due time we will reap If we do not grow weary So then while we have opportunity Let us do good to all people and especially to those Who are of the household of faith So it's not in the simple listening alone It's the hearing and the doing Again, why do you call me lord lord jesus says and do not the things that I say So it's not hearing alone, but putting into practice what it's taught that shows salvation During the time of ezekiel Ezekiel was given the commission by god to proclaim a message to the people And there were people who were listening to what he had to say And in the book of ezekiel in chapter 33 Verses 30 through 32 we read something very interesting the lord speak into ezekiel the prophet And he says as for you son of man The children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and In the doors of the houses and they speak to one another Everyone saying to his brother, please come hear what the word is that comes from the lord So they come to you as people do They sit before you as my people and they hear your words But they do not do them For with their mouth they show much love But their hearts pursue their own gain Indeed You are to them as a very lovely song Of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument For they hear your words, but they do not do them Just because a church is filled with people Doesn't mean those people are god's people Because people can come to church and they can listen to the message and god says it ezekiel don't get caught up with your popularity They come and they sit before you they sit before you as if they're my people They even invite people to come they stand in the by the doorways They stand by the walls and they say come in here what the word of the lord is and and they come they sit before you He says but they're not my people. What do you mean? They're not my people No, they hear but they do not do listen. You're entertaining to them You're like somebody who plays skillfully on a guitar and have a beautiful pleasant singing voice Your entertainment to them. There are a lot of people who like the message of the gospel I'm telling you there are a lot of people who will come and listen to somebody preach because they like that person's Personality or they like the way that he puts those things out so straight and so this and that they like it But they leave and after they leave they go out and drink their beer they go out and sleep with their girlfriend They're not doing what they're being told to do It's a warning It's a warning just because we go to church doesn't mean that we are the church Just because I arrive in a place doesn't mean that the place that I'm going to is benefiting me spiritually And that's why the lord is saying no you need to hear and you need to do It's not enough to just hear you need to hear and do like it says in james 122 The doers of the word and out here is only deceiving yourselves It's been said there's no deception like self deception people can see an outside But they can't see what's on the inside I can do the outside very well Because we all know how to look holy Jesus spoke about that He spoke concerning Pharisees. He spoke concerning those religious leaders of his day How they like to pray How they like to give how they like to fast Those are the three marks of a religious person during the first century It was a marks in the in the nation of Israel Of the religious person Because that person liked to pray in Jesus said they'll even stand in street quarters They raise their hands and they pray loudly at the hour of prayer so that people will see them and know these people are religious They like to pray They like to give their gifts very generously. They'll drop the coin in what is called the trumpet The trumpet was metal and they take a handful of their coins and they throw it into the trumpet And they were blowing the trumpet They would drop it into the trumpet and it would rattle as it went down and people would hear it That's why when the widow with her might the might had little weight at all You couldn't hear it when it went when she dropped her mites into that trumpet It made no sound why because her coin was so insignificant It had no weight to it But there were others that came in and Jesus was watching them as they threw their money in and he says that That these people here are are throwing in a lot of money, but it's doing them no good Do you see during that time guys? Being generous doing your alms giving your gifts Very important. It was a sign you were religious and also When you fasted you said oh, they like to disfigure their faces. They they walk around kind of sad looking So they're seen by men And they said oh, what a righteous soul because that person is fasting not just once a week or twice They're fasting often These are people who are not just fasting during the religious holidays But these people are very spiritual. See it's wearing your religion on the outside And so that's something that god speaks about and it's something we have to guard ourselves from right We have to guard ourselves from it. It's a hypocrisy Hypocrisy is something that jesus would speak about because he called them hypocrites Well, the word hypocrite is a is a greek word. It hypocrites us it it means to To be an actor and when jesus spoke of the hypocrite He was saying that they appear one way when in fact, there's something else and during that time the romans would have the masks of That they would wear comedy and tragedy and all of us are familiar with that if you've been in the in the arts of any sort You know the the classic Tragedy and in comedy mask and the actors would simply put the mask on when they were playing this particular And then they'd move it and they put it on and they were playing the other and so they're called the hypocrite Well, the hypocrite in religious terms is one who appears one way But that mask is presenting himself in a different way And that's what the lord says no don't come in and sit and and listen when you have no intent of doing Ezekiel they're coming in they're doing that they listen to you They listen to what you say and they say man this guy can sing and this guy can play I really appreciate that Well, no, he says they sit and they act like they're they're mine, but but they're not mine What do you mean? No, because they hear but they do not do so I this is one of my favorite passages in Ezekiel to warn me about not being a person who acts one way But in reality I'm something else and it's not hard to be a hypocrite Years ago now, thank god I can say years ago now Marie and I my wife and I were on our way On a trip and we went to the Ontario airport I had to be in a certain city at a certain time because I was going to do some ministry and And they cancelled our flight at the last moment and they said the the only flight that's going out to the city You're going to which is I believe on the east coast is flying out of LA Here I am in Ontario. We've been there for a couple hours. I'm ready to go and now I can't and I'm supposed to be there at a certain time and I got I got in the flesh Now you wouldn't know that because I I get real quiet when I get in the flesh I'm not the guy who's screaming yelling. I'm just the guy who's brooding and Marie knows that and she's looking at me She's oh, he's not happy because I'm So I'm standing in line and I'm praying I'll be real with you. I'm praying saying god, you know, I'm not happy I am not happy. You know, I'm not happy. I'm just telling you so you and I have an agreement. I'm not happy I'm actually angry. You know, I'm angry and I'm standing in line one step at a time getting closer To the woman who's behind the counter there who's going to give us information And when I'm still brooding when I get to that to the end of the counter and she looks at me She says pastor david I go to your church. God bless you and I go. Hey praise the lord and god's a hypocrite. You're a hypocrite See, so I'm not preaching down to you. Okay. I'm not Been there done that To have a look here But a heart that's there And god says no, I want that heart To motivate what you do and let the heart and the face may it be the same And so when he's speaking to the Ezekiel, he's saying look at they come and they sit before you like my people, but they're not my well Why why do you say that? I mean they're doing everything we tell the church you ought to do They're inviting people. They're showing up themselves. They're talking about the message They say it's a great all the things that the church is told to do. They're doing that What a great thing churches grow very often because the people invite people That's how they grow number one way to grow is people invite people. That's how it works They're doing all of those things. They like the message. They like the messenger They said you're like a guy who's skillful with your voice skillful with your skills with the guitar You're a great great entertainer, but they're not my people. What do you mean? They hear but they don't do so be doers of the word not heroes only deceiving yourself And that's a warning and that's what the the lord would have for us to know You see john earlier Had been speaking concerning these things and he's just just just once again reminding them You see god loves everybody God loves the world And he desires people to be saved. Isaiah 45 22 Turn to me and be saved all you ends of the earth From god there is no other In second peter 3 verse 9 the lord is not slow about his promise As some count slack slowness, but is but his patient toward you Not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance Well, john earlier wrote of worldwide destruction and the fate of those who reject the lord So he's closing with an urgent invitation for unbelievers to come to faith in christ So he says in verse 13 i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end the first and the last Why should unbelievers come to jesus? They should come to him because the invitation comes from him This expresses by the way his eternity it expresses his deity because what he just said are titles They're titles that apply to god Isaiah 41 4 it says who has performed and done it calling the generations from the beginning I the lord am the first And with the last i am he is a 48 12 listen to me. Oh jacob and israel My called i am he i am the first i am also the last There can only be one alpha and omega there can be only one beginning and end there's only one first and last He's eternal. He's the source of all things. He's the goal Of all things He's not just a great teacher not a great moral leader He's not simply a prophet He is god in human flesh In colossians 2 verse 9 in him jesus dwells all the fullness Of the godhead bodily He was 1 7 and 8 In speaking of the angels. He says He makes his angel spirits and his servants flames of fire But about the sun. He says Your throne. Oh god Will last forever and ever A scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom Jesus christ is god in the flesh and so the invitation is coming from jesus Which reveals the importance of this invitation He continues in verse 14 and says blessed are those who do his commandments That they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates Into the city This is not saying that they are saved by the works Because works will not save them works alone This is referring to the fact that those who are saved obey his word You see the works that they perform first begins with the faith that has been placed in jesus In john 6 27 through 29 it says do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures To eternal life which the son of man will give you On him god the father has placed the seal of approval Then they asked him what must we do to do the works god requires And jesus answered the work of god is this To believe in the one he has sent So where do your works begin it begins in faith in christ if you will your righteous works come because you've been made righteous By faith in jesus christ. So those who are forgiven of their sins and cleansed by the blood They're the ones who have life. These are the ones who have what he says is the right to the tree of life Now that's a fulfillment of the promise that he gave earlier in the book in revelation 2 verse 7 Remember he said to him who overcomes i will grant to eat of the tree of life Which is in the paradise of god Well, we saw this tree of life in chapter 22 at verse 2 it's The tree of life as i shared with you recently is the counterpart of the tree of life found in the garden of eden In genesis 322 it was revealed that to eat of it makes physical death impossible Well, then the new jerusalem the tree continually produces edible fruit. We can eat of it now. Why is that significant? Because in israel fruit bearing trees Were something that expressed the blessings of god and you'll see that God speaks of the fruit bearing tree sitting under your own tree as a blessing in first kings chapter 4 verse 25 It says throughout the days of solemn juda and israel dwelt securely from dan which is in the north to bir shiba Which is in the south each man under his own vine and his own fig tree Why is the fruit tree important? It provides food and because it provides food. It's a blessing And so in verse 14 he speaks of those who have the right to the tree of life Notice he says they're allowed to enter the gates of the city Again, we saw these gates. We saw them in chapter 21 verse 21 I spent time with you sharing how enormous these gates these gates are of pearl how enormously I mean it beggars the imagination. They're about 1400 miles high 1400 miles high I mentioned that the gates are there the 12 gates are there as an eternal reminder of the cost of salvation Because pearls are formed when an oyster is wounded and around the thing that wounded it a pearl is formed And so that means that saints that pass through the gates will eternally be reminded of one thing that entrance was granted Because jesus was wounded for us Eternally, we'll remember The reason i'm able to enter in Is because of what jesus did for me the enormity of this act Is illustrated by a 1400 mile high gate. I can't even imagine that But isiah 53 5 and 6 says he speaking of messiah was pierced for our transgressions He was crushed for our iniquities The punishment that brought us peace was upon him By his wounds. We are healed We all like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to our own way And the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all The enormous size of the gates The enormous size will forever remind us Of the enormous price that was paid They will forever remind us of the one who paid the price that we might be able to enter in Ephesians 1 7 says in him we have redemption through his blood The forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of god's grace And so with that said heaven is exclusively for those who are cleansed by jesus Not everybody gets in notice verse 15 outside our dogs And sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters And whoever loves and practices a lie Outside our dogs Those who have rejected jesus are eternally outside They are eternally outside because they're unrepentant And unrepentant sinners are eternally excluded from heaven Remember revelation 21 27 There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles Or causes an abomination or a lie But only those who are written in the lamb's book of life Outside are the unrepentant Those who are willful and those who are habitual sinners And these are the ones who never repented These are the ones who died in their sins You see when you die in your sins There's never opportunity to repent and be saved. I've had people ask over the years Do you get a second chance? It's appointed and demanded I once and after this the judgment There's no second chance You only have this life that you're living in And you have in this life opportunity And what happens when you die outside Of the grace of god is you end up in the lake of fire. We've already seen that but that's what happens Their names were not written in the lamb's book of life And so these people are not entering Because they never were saved. They never repented. It reminds me of the story of Lazarus and the rich man You know that story. It's found in the gospel of luke in chapter 16 verses 19 through 31 There's an unnamed rich man And he's described in that passage when Jesus is speaking He's described as dressing as royalty and he feasts every day But at his gate the gate of his mansion was a very sick man by the name of Lazarus. Lazarus is a beggar Lazarus is there laid at his gate begging and he's wanting the crumbs from the rich man's table And bible tells us Jesus speaking that they both died Lazarus was carried by angels to a place of comfort But the rich man is described only as being buried And in torments in a place called hades a waiting place. It's a temporary repository of dead souls And while there the rich man sees Lazarus across a gulf And as he's looking he can see that Lazarus is being comforted By Abraham. That's why it's called the bosom of Abraham. He sees him comforted by Abraham And as he looks across it agitates this rich man And luke 16 24 and 25 he cried and said father Abraham have mercy on me Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame But Abraham said son Remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things But now he's comforted and you are tormented While the rich man went on to say that he had five brothers I have five brothers. I don't want them to come to this place. Please. He said send Lazarus that he might warn them Abraham said no They have Moses and the prophets Let them hear them Jesus was saying That they have a witness Of scripture and the law Which pointed to jesus It's the same message that you rejected rich man That Lazarus embraced the same message Well as he said they have moses and the prophets let them hear them in luke 16 30 and 31 the rich man said No father Abraham But if one goes to them from the dead, they'll repent but Abraham said to him If they don't hear moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead If they don't see me jesus was saying in moses the law and the prophets They will not believe when I am resurrected. No, they have enough witness in the word of god The things that have already been proclaimed they've been warned And so the church is called to go and speak to these people to awaken them out of their out of their sleep If they reject scriptures witness, they're not going to believe even after i'm resurrected jesus says So again those who die in their sin never receive a second chance Now I should say this quickly even though we're believers that doesn't mean that we're sinlessly perfect, of course I've had conversations with guys who think they're sinlessly perfect. I have it's interesting There are there are places where the pastor teaches that you are sinlessly perfect when you get saved So if you ask the guy's wife if he's sinlessly perfect his theology goes out the window Because you're not perfect on this on the face of the earth, of course You're going through a process of sanctification the lord is moving and working in you But there's only one place that you never sin again, and that's when we're in eternity with the lord You see temptation is something christians deal with we do so on a daily basis. Yes, we're saved. Bless god But we're not perfect and we need to admit that it's like first john 1 8 If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves the truth is not in us so when believers fail And they're convicted the holy spirit convicts them and they seek god to forgive and and to cleanse them in first john 1 9 if we confess our sin he is faithful and just forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness You see when a christian sins they confess to god and he's he restores them and and we're forgiven and sin is no longer The thing that we're known for you see before i came to faith and before you came to faith Perhaps you had a test a testimony that wasn't for the lord It was just who you are and so when your name was mentioned They'd they'd know what kind of person you were when my name was mentioned to people They'd say that guy's crazy or he's a dope or he's a drunk because that's what I was So I was known for that There are some guys who are known for violence or some guys who are known for stealing their There are guys who are known women who are known for a certain sense. That's your reputation. That's what they know you by They know you that way That's why when you get saved they look at you and they say what happened to you It's because you're not the same person anymore You've changed how that happened to you. I never I've had people over the years as As as as silly as it may seem Over the years even even recently people who knew me as a kid and all who blow their mind to see what god has done Because that's what god does. He changes lives and all of that So sin is no longer your way of life. You're not known for those things anymore. It's like what it says in first john three six through eight No one who who lives in him keeps on sinning No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him Dear children do not let anyone lead you astray He who does what is right is righteous Just as he is righteous He who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning The reason the son of god appeared Was to destroy the devil's work So I once was but I am no longer So that's a warning. This is a warning that we're looking at right now It's another warning to the hearer of this book as it's being read Because he says the ones outside are the unrepentant habitual sinners And john gives a very short list of those who are forever banned. And so let's look at him briefly Who was outside? Well dogs Outside our dogs now when you read that you think are you kidding me dogs? What does that mean? well during the day of christ And even prior to that dogs We're not as in the domesticated Version we have there were wild dogs And the wild dogs were very often diseased and and they were they were vicious and they were scavengers They were the the animals that would go into the streets and eat the garbage. They would go into the dump And they would eat the trash the garbage that was there not only that but In the valley of hinnom, which was the dump there were times that perhaps a body was in that valley And the dogs would actually flesh off the corpse So they were not looked at like what some people think of dogs today You know, they love them so much. They they buy them a very expensive stroller and they walk them around or They get this hairy dog and put a sweater on it. God forbid that it should get cold, you know Put them on the car in the in the plane Buy them a seat No, the dogs are vicious In first kings 21 verses 23 and 24 says concerning jezebel The lord says dogs will devour jezebel by the wall of jezreel Dogs will eat those belonging to ahab who die in the city and the birds will feed on those who die in the country So these were scavengers and vicious and they would eat even dead bodies Do you remember when jesus was speaking to a woman of canaan a woman whose daughter was demon possessed and She had asked him to please come and and deliver my daughter And when she did jesus looking at her and she's not of the children of israel She was a Gentile woman and so jesus was looking at her and spoke to her and he said something that many would say is very sharp in Matthew 1526 he replied it's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to dogs That was actually a put down He wanted to see Where she'd go when pushed he wanted to see Where her faith really was so he gave her an opportunity So what even the even the dogs will eat the crumbs up the master's table. That's all I am I understand that you've come for the children of israel. I'm simply asking for one of your blessings that you'd give to them So dogs Are those of of low character Isaiah 5610 says israel's watchmen are blind They they all lack knowledge. They're mute dogs. They cannot bark. They lie around and dream. They love to sleep So these are the people of low character outside dogs But he continues on he says in verse 15 outside are sorcerers those who practice occultism and remember I've shared with you the sorcerers used drugs pharma kaya and they are the ones who are Using the drugs and all practicing occultism, but he goes on in verse 15 and he says those Outside are sexually immoral people We'll talk about this for a minute here Sexually immoral the word sexual immoral sexually immoral Here in verse 15 Is a greek word porn us P o r n o s porn us It's obvious when you hear the word porn us. It's the word porn. It's pornography Pornographic it's it's a greek word that spoke of all manner of sexual sin sexual sin it isn't speaking of of Of sexual relations between a husband and a wife A person who's married Has has a legitimacy to having sexual intercourse Having sexual relationships When the word porn us is used it's speaking of those who are illicit or doing it And they're not married who are having sex and are not married and the word porn us Doesn't speak just about heterosexuality. It speaks of all manner of sexuality It speaks concerning homosexuality and various other things bestiality various things It's a word that covers sexual immorality in general So sexual activity outside of marriage Especially as we look at in terms of adultery and fornication Sexual activity outside of marriage is one of the sins today That has been trivialized sexual activity out of marriage today has been trivialized It's one of the sins that people don't take seriously They don't take gambling seriously. They don't take swearing seriously They don't think dirty jokes are Are are that bad they they don't they make excuses for greed and gluttony And drinking to excess and things they they don't think about it. It's it's been trivialized And so today sexual sin has been trivialized and to the point where even believers are are practicing it Even those who professing a Christ are practicing it So you're married And you and your wife are having a tough time. We'll take it from a male perspective to the point where You guys have broken up and you're talking about divorce as a matter of fact, you may be in the process even of divorce And you're at work and you meet somebody and this person likes you and you like them and before you know it You share a cup of coffee at lunch and you're still married, but you You say you want to grab some dinner sometime. You're lonely She says yeah, sure. Why not you start going out a little bit once in a while and you start getting serious And before you know it You're talking about wanting to marry her Well, here's the problem with that. You're still married and you say, oh, no, I'm not now. We're getting a divorce Okay, really if that's the case you're getting a divorce. Are you free to marry her? Well, no not yet Then what makes you think you're free to date her? If you're not free to date her because you're married Haven't you connected those two things? Do you know in the church? There are a lot of people who don't think that They think it's no no our love is through really your love is over really Um, that's how it works, right? You just Because you say I don't love her anymore. It's okay No, that that is wrong and if you enter into a sexual relationship that is strictly forbidden So if you're not free to marry you're not free to date You're just not I remember I remember somebody who came to me one time years ago now He brought his girl and his fiance and he introduced himself to me and he said Pastor would you perform our wedding? And I I didn't know them so I began speaking to him He says but it'll have to be after after she gets her divorce and I looked at him and I said She's She's going to get a divorce. Yeah. Yeah, she's yeah, they're not together anymore They're going to get a divorce. I said so you're telling me that she's Married. No, no, no, she's getting a divorce. I said no, no Now let's be real. She's married, right? Well, I said no, I'm not going to marry you. I said, that's a sin I said, I'd be encouraging you to enter into a into an unlawful relationship. No, I'm not going to do that No, I say you deal with it. Listen, what if god does a miracle and brings them back together? What if god changes their hearts? Why would I want to interfere with that? I'm not going to do that Well, he thought I was an idiot and that's okay The next week he comes back and he says to me I went and spoke to another pastor and he told me it's okay I said really I said let him perform the wedding Because I'm not going to I said, I'm not going to violate god's word just because you feel like getting married. He didn't like it He didn't like me. He left the church And then he married her and about two years later. They were divorced Because you can't build on a faulty foundation. You can't do it And the bible teaches you can't if you're not free to marry you're not free to date So let that be clear to this fellowship because sometimes people will approach me and they'll say to me I'd like you to meet my fiancee bing bing bing bing bing. There goes all of the the alarms Fiancee is another word for we're shacking up We're living together and how long have you been living together? Oh like surprise. Come on. Look at I'm old I've lived a long time Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes Your fiancee very often now. I'm not saying there's not a legitimate use for that word of course there is But it's been hijacked for our society today to give permission To sleep together live together act as if you're married together But and and you'll legitimize it by saying it's my fiance I want you to hear this guys. Okay. I ought to say this too. I'm not mad And I'm not being mean am I I don't think so I know that you come here. Maybe you were dragged here. I don't know but you come here Most of you because you expect me to teach you the truth. Amen I'm telling you the truth and that's what I do. That's my job And and and I do care. I do care if it hurts you. I do care. Of course I do But I care more about your soul I care about your soul. Listen, maybe you're not reading this. Let's do it again Sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers. I didn't write those words I'm just trying to present them to you sexual sin is rooted in the rejection of god's design for marriage In Ephesians 5 3 it says among you there must not be even a hint Of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity or of greed because these are improper for god's holy people Ephesians 5 5 and 6 For of this you can be sure No immoral impure or greedy person such a person's an idolater As any inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god and he goes on to say let no one deceive you with empty words For because of such things god's wrath comes on those who are disobedient Don't let anyone deceive you. He says also outside our murderers Those who voluntarily take human life There are variations of that degrees of that jesus said hating somebody in your heart is committing murder The one hating his brother has a motive motivation that if acted out could result in death in first john 3 12 John tells us of kane kane who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother And he went on in verse 15 of first john 3 to say anyone who hates another brother or sister Is really a murderer at heart and you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them And then he speaks of idolaters an idolaters a worshipper of a false god. He speaks of habitual liars those who cling to their sins Again, these are called works of the flesh. They exclude you from heaven In glations 5 20 following it says the works of the flesh are evident Which are adultery for an occasion uncleanness Lude-ness idolatry sorcery hatred Contensions jealousies outbursts of wrath selfish ambition dissension heresy envy Murders drunkenness revelries and the like and he goes on to say of which I tell you beforehand Just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of god Those who practice those things are demonstrating. They don't know the lord And so that's a strong warning notice the warning and then he goes on in verse 16 I jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches I am the root and the offspring of david the bright and morning star When he says I jesus this is the only place that we read the words I jesus in the bible This makes it clear that the message is from him and not from an angel Notice he's of the line of david And he's bringing the day of david's rule He is the bright and morning star Morning star is the title of messiah. You see it in numbers 24 17 The morning star ushers in the sun and he's saying I will usher in the eternal glory of the kingdom And so he's telling us who it is and then he gives his invitation the spirit and the brides say come Let him who hears say come Let him who thirsts come Whoever desires let them take the water of life freely. It's an invitation And it speaks concerning the spirit and the bride the spirit in the church if you will You see the spirit and the bride say come it's an invitation The holy spirit convicts the world of sin righteousness and judgment and the church is to communicate the gospel And if the person is thirsty, he says then come And whoever desires let them take of the water of life freely again The invitation is open to whoever's thirsty and desires the water of life It's like what it says in first timothy chapter 2 verse 4 god desires All people to be saved to come to the knowledge of the truth after going through the entire book of revelation After looking at all of that's going to take place all of the plagues all of the death the wars the false prophet The anti christ and everything he's saying you still have time if you hear this now he said come If you're thirsty come If you're thirsty for the water of life come I will give it to you freely But don't be one of these who are a sorcerer or sexually immoral when filled with hatred one who's a perpetual liar Don't be that changing come to me and that's the invitation And then he says in verses 18 and 19 i testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book If then if anyone adds to these things god will add to him the plagues that are written in this book If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God shall take away his part from the book of life from the holy city from the things which are written In this book in other words these words are to be held faster. They're faithful. They're true They need to be heard. They need to be obeyed You're not to take From this book. You're not to add to this book You're to hear and you're to obey in order that you might be blessed You're not to add and you're not to subtract from the rest of scripture In deuteronomy 12 32 it says see that you do all I command you do not add to it or take away from it Proverbs 35 and 6 says every word of god is flawless He's a shield to those who take refuge in him do not add to his words Or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar give the word of god as it is Rightly divided and presented And then finally he says this in verse 20 He who testifies to these things says surely i'm coming quickly Amen Even so come lord jesus The grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all Amen Even so Come quickly Lord jesus Jesus said come unto me all you are All you are weary and heavily laden all you are weary and burdened i will give you rest Take my yoke upon you learn from me i'm gentle and humble and hard and You'll find rest for your souls my yoke is easy My burden is light It's an invitation the last invitation The last invitation Come are you thirsty come why because i am coming quickly Jesus is coming quickly you need to come to him quickly It's not time to put him off It's time to receive him May the church be ready Because he's coming he has promised he keeps his word. He is faithful and true He's even at the door And we should be saying even so lord jesus come Come quickly come quickly Lord jesus come quickly We pray lord that you Would take your word in it and by faith we receive it may you embedded in our hearts May we do those things that you have commanded us may we do those things That demonstrate that we love you lord. We will not be as those in ezekiel we just sit in in a religious service listening but Not intending to obey and lord. I know that Some of us today were convicted Some who were watching online were convicted Many probably shut the shut the feed. They don't want to hear it They've already turned it off But there are others who listened and they're thinking god i need to get right with you and And lord for those i pray right now That they might And even as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed There may be some right now in this room that the spirit of the lord is saying You really need to get right with the lord You may be a backsliding believer. You may be a christian who really didn't even know the things that you're doing are forbidden This may be new to you But you know that you need to get right with god and maybe that you've never even given your heart to christ And you need to get right with god today and you know it whatever the case may be But you know it's time as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed I want to give you an opportunity to get right with the lord And if you know that you need to and you need need prayer i would ask that you would raise your hand Let me pray for you right where you're at just raise your hand that i might see you father You see these hands that are going up in this place right now in jesus name I ask that you would reach down and you would touch every person whose hand is raised That lord in jesus name you would minister to them your salvation That now as they open up their hearts to you that you would wash and cleanse them and father That you would fill them with your presence and may they have a holy desire To do those things that you have you have commanded and may they be blessed by you as they do And so we open up to you right now and for those who are watching online right now and doing the same I ask that you would work in them wherever they are right now and for us who are here I pray that you would move in us in a mighty way And may we serve you from this point on lord as we open our hearts and confess our sins And our need to be washed cleansed and filled by you I ask that we would be become those those ones that you desire us to be We lift it to you now lord and receive from you and we bless you and we thank you Thank you. You can put your hands down And jesus I pray that you keep moving in all of us to your glory in your name. Amen