you so Well, good morning. Welcome again to the Bethany Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as we come together to worship the Lord our God on this blessed Sabbath morning. As we get going today, just a few announcements to get us going. First of all, of course, on here on the third Sunday of December, we are overjoyed and look forward this evening to our annual Lessons in Carol service. That'll be at five o'clock tonight. We invite everybody to invite friends and family for this time of worship. We do ask y'all to bring a pickup and drinks to share because we're going to have a good fellowship meal after the service, which of course is always a highlight of everything we do here at Bethany, is we got to eat, and I'm always a big fan of that. So we look forward to the Lord blessing us tonight at 5 o'clock. So again, we invite everybody to that. Also, all the youth and adult choir are asked to be at the church by 4.15 in the sanctuary so they can get ready. Ms. Kelly, Ms. Anna, and Ms. Dean appreciate y'all's support. We look forward to seeing everybody tonight. A couple other announcements to make. Also here on the 15th of December, we are having our annual congregation meeting immediately after morning service. So we'll take a couple minute break and then we'll get into our annual congregation meeting. The agenda should be in your bulletin. and so we'll talk more about that later but again we look forward to that. Also next Sunday we will be observing the Lord's Supper and morning service so be preparing yourself for that this week. Also there is a sign up sheet down here for those who are 62 and older for the mature saint list so if that Fitzhugh, be sure to sign that up this week. Also, again, we will be doing our caroling service or our caroling route, however you want to put that, next Saturday at 4 o'clock. So again, we invite all the youth and anybody else who wants to come as we go around and carol for our shut-ins and for others. So, and also if you know somebody that would like to be caroled and is not on our list, just let me know and we'll be more than glad to add them to that. So, one other thing that I have listed here to make note of, the WOC has a Christmas care need for a family of Bethany Middle School for beds and bedding. The beds have been provided, but we're still in need of bedding and other things that are taking donations. There is a box down here on the front if you'd like to put some money in that so we can raise money for that need. One other thing, of course, we are in need of a WFC president and a lady to take over the circle for next year. So if you're interested in that, just let me or Ms. Pam Walker know. And so as we get ready to worship the Lord today, let us go ahead and take a moment to prepare ourselves to be in the presence of our God. Amen. Again, as the Lord calls us into his house on this day, we rejoice at the opportunity again God gives us to hear from his word as he calls us into his presence on this blessed Sabbath morning. So as we turn unto the word of the living God, we go to the 19th chapter of the book of Proverbs as God again reminds us of his goodness unto us. Again, Proverbs 19, beginning there at verse 20. Hear the word of the Lord. Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days. There are many plans in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the Lord's counsel, that will stand. What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar. The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction. He will not be visited with evil. Amen. Again, as we hear this reminder that we are to heed the counsel of the Lord, as well as be reminded that the good things that we have come from the Lord our God. Let us stand as we open our singing this morning with hymn number 203, Hark the Herod Angels Sing. Let us stand as we sing together hymn number 203. You're your own creation's light. You're the triumph of the skies. Let earth, earth, earth proclaim thy glory. Late in time we awoke in God, lost in each other's words and song. Hail, great church of God and city! Hail, great Father, King and King! Praise God's ever-vanguing love! Praise God's ever-renewing love! Our ever-renewing love! I am coming, you know me, please. Wish me peace. I'll be pleased. I'll be pleased. Amen. Again, as we come together to sing of the kingship of Jesus Christ and the blessings that we've received in Him, let us come now before the self-same God as He gives us opportunity to gather together in prayer. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we rejoice at the goodness of Your grace unto sinners, that, dear God, You have sent Your only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, shall have everlasting life. And dear God, as we gather together on this Lord's Day morning in order to show forth our thanksgiving to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, those first fruits of justification which have been given unto us in the name of your glory. God, we pray to the power of the Holy Spirit that as you send your people into your presence, as you remind us of the great promises that you have made, that, dear God, we might rest and trust alone in that justification which is by faith alone. And God, as we see witness not only to your majesty, but of your love, as we have been given opportunity to see that in fruit. God, we do pray that you would be an encouragement unto us, that you would strengthen us by the word of your power. And that, dear God, you might use this time not only to show forth your mercy, but to renew our faith in you. And so, dear God, we come now to use words your son taught his disciples to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. As we come now to read from the Holy Scriptures today, we turn once more to 1 Kings chapter 22, as we close out this portion of God's Word, and begin to close out, I should say, as we come to the end of this section of Ahab, we come to verse 13, as is our practice to read from the Old Testament when our sermon comes from the news. So again, turn with me there to 1 Kings 22, as we begin at verse 13. hear the word of the Lord." Then the messenger who had gone to Kamakaya spoke to him, saying, Encourage the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them and speak encouragement. And Micaiah said, as the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Then he came to the king and the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to war against Raim of Gilead or shall we refrain? And he answered him, go and prosper for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of their king. So the king said to him, how many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep that had no shepherd. And the Lord said, these have no master. Let each one return to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil? And Micaiah said, therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead? So one spoke in this moment, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. The Lord said to him, in what way? So he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, you shall persuade him and also prevail. Go out and do it. Amen. Thanks be to God for reading us wholly in this perfect word. Please be seated. Well, I would like to ask the children to come down forward. While we don't have a lesson today, I always think it's important that y'all be down where you can see and witness to the mighty works that God does. So again, I invite y'all to come down and be seated. Well, you know, it has not been often in our time here at Bethany where we've had opportunity to have multiple baptisms in one month. And it's certainly a blessing not only to be able to have a baptism, but also witness a public profession of faith. And so I at this time would ask Ms. Maxine to come forward. Again, as we witness to this baptism, as we witness this baptism, again, I am glad to testify that Ms. Maxine has come under the conviction of sin. She has witnessed unto me and the elders that she believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, that she has trusted in her Lord and Savior as the one and only way unto heaven. And as is our practice here at Bethany, when we have a young person who has not previously been baptized come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we do what the scripture says. We baptize them. We see this witness unto us, for example, with the Ethiopian who stopped the disciple on the way. And the disciple spoke to him of the words of Isaiah and of the words of eternal life. And the Ethiopian said unto the disciple, what stops me from being baptized? People said nothing. And so they took him down to the water and he poured water over his head and baptized him in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And so as we come now, we have opportunity to witness to these things. And so I have a couple of questions for you. Just respond with I do. Do you, Maxine Grayson, renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that you will no longer nor be led by them? Do you believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, and that he was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, that he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, that he descended into hell, and on the third day rose again from the dead, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead? And do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and everlasting life after death? Do you desire to be baptized? Do you then obediently keep God's holy will and commandments? And do you promise to walk in the same all the days of your life? Hearing these words testified in the affirmative, it is now my pleasure to baptize you, Miss Maxine Grayson, in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son. And in the name of the Holy Spirit, amen. Let us pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, as we witness under this baptism today, we give thanks again for this covenant sign. This covenant sign which testifies not only to faith, but of your eternal promise upon your covenant people. And to God, as we witness this, we remember that this baptism is not just for today, but it is for all of life. That Miss Maxine may look back on this day each day and remember your promise, remember your covenant, and remember that she is not alone in anything. both this day and forevermore. Amen. Now, not quite done. Obviously, one of the things we do when we baptize infants is we have a question of congregation. And it is the same question that I ask you today for Ms. Maxine. Having seen this witness that she has come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and seeing that she has become a member not only of the Visible Church, but of the Bethany ARP Church, do you, the members of the Bethany ARP Church, confirm your promise this day to love Ms. Maxine as a sister in Jesus Christ? Do you promise to disciple her? Do you promise to come alongside her? Do you promise to love her? Do you promise to pray for her? Do you promise to be with her each and every day of her life, both this day and forevermore? Do you? Amen. I ask Elder Adam Smith to close us in prayer. God, our Father, we just thank you for this day that you've made, and we thank you for Maxine, as she has given us this promise to you, Lord, and given her life to you now, Lord, that you will convict us as a church to walk with her in this journey that she now walks with you. And just convict each one of us that we would remember that as a church, we are not individuals, but we are one. So now we are one with Maxine, and let her know, Lord, deep in her heart, that she is one with us now, and one with you. And we just pray for her that she will walk with you, that she will look to you for guidance, and that she will always love you in her heart, whatever you decide to do. And one last thing, you all can go back to your seat. Or you can stay down here the whole time. It's up to you. One thing, of course, that we do is obviously we have a certificate of baptism for Ms. Maxine. And the other thing, we have bought her a Bible to commemorate not just this event, but to be the testimony of her life for this day and forever. Every time the Lord blesses me with the opportunity to have a baptism and do that, it reminds me not only of my own baptism and my own time when the Lord called me unto himself, but it gives me great assurance to the love that we have for one another that we come out from the world and are brought into the family of God. And again, one of the things that we're brought into is that we now sing the same songs. We sing them with the same heart. We sing them with the same soul, the same joy. And the Psalms are no better place to go to see this witness. So I invite you to stand as we sing Bible song number 72 from our green Bible song book, as the Lord again gives us opportunity to witness to this truth. Let us stand. I will never do thee wrong, I vow to thee. I shall do thee true, I will stand proudly, I vow to thee. Till the dawn of the world, till the dawn of the world, I shall be pleased to understand the meaning of worshiping. I rarely say that I desire to sing, but when I do, I do speak great words deep in my brain. To the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, to the world, Amen. Let us be seated. Well, as now the Lord gives opportunity for His covenant people to gather together in prayer, I invite you to prepare yourselves as we come into the presence once more of our living and true God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray. The God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The God who witnesses to us through the visible world in which we live. To God as we look out and as we see the mountains and the valleys and we see the oceans and as we see the plains. As we see the beauty not only of the jungles and the savannah, even of the arctic tundra. To God, every nook and cranny of this world testifies to your majesty, to your love for us, and for the way in your providence you care for us day by day. For dear Heavenly Father, we come together this morning because this is the day that you have set aside. This is the day that you have declared yours. This is the day that you have made holy. God, you have given this first day of the week as a sign of the foretaste of glory divine, of the heavenly places. To God, where we will no longer know death, no longer know pain or anguish or anxiousness or any of the trials and tribulations of this world. And to God, you again have given us the Lord's day that we might rest from all of these worldly things. We might be reminded that though we mourn, we mourn as those with hope. For to God it is on this day that Jesus, who had been raised from the dead, appeared unto His disciples, confirming unto them that He was the Messiah, that He was the Promised One, that He was the Anointed One, the Promised Prince of Peace, and that He had come to lay down His life for their sins. And to God, we come together this morning in the hope of the resurrection. God, as we lift up unto you, particularly the See family and the Dellinger family. God, we give thanks again for the faithfulness and the witness of these two saints who, having gone before us, are enjoying the reward which is promised to all who rest in Jesus Christ. Dear God, as we ask your mercies to be with our families, and as we pray for them, that we do so again as brothers and sisters in Christ, in the blessed assurance of salvation, of the gospel grace offered unto sinners. Dear God, we do pray this morning that as your Holy Spirit works in and through their hearts in the days, weeks, months, and years to come, You especially watch over them as they hold services of remembrance. May you be strong with them. And to God as we seek your face in all things and to God as we especially come to this season of the year which on one hand is full of so much brightness and so much wonder and so much thanksgiving. God, it's especially in these times of the year that we are reminded of the loss of the year. So God, we pray for those who are mourning in this Christmas season. We pray for those who are missing loved ones. We pray for those who are reminded of difficulties. We pray that your hand would be upon them and that you would continue to witness unto them. For to God, we do serve a wonderful God. A God whose yay and amen is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And as we rejoice in these things, and as we are given opportunity to gather together, even this evening, to hear your word read and proclaimed through the voice of your servants. God, we rejoice again at the way in which every Lord's Day we are given these blessings. to gather together with our brothers and our sisters in Christ to forgive one another. To seek forgiveness where forgiveness is needed. For to God we see again in the brightness of Jesus Christ what grace looks like. What it means to be forgiven ourselves. What it means to know forgiveness and have that weight of sin removed from us. Mr. God, we pray this morning for reconciliation. We pray for the work of the gospel to be done in the lives of your people. Mr. God, we especially pray that you would continue to watch over our brothers and sisters in the land of Syria and Lebanon and in Israel. We pray for them this morning as they face just unimaginable horrors. Pray to God that as they are persecuted, as they are killed, as they are maimed, as they are burned alive for their confession of faith in Jesus Christ, that we would not only bear their burdens, but to God pray for their captors and for their persecutors that they themselves might be ones who hear the gospel and are converted. brought to the knowledge of the truth. For God, we witness so many times in the scriptures where your enemies become your dearest friends. Where those who were aliens of the covenant now become members thereof. For God, as we pray not only for those who are doing the persecution, but those who are supporting the persecutors, we pray the same prayer. Not only that you would stop the violence, but dear God, that you would use these dark times to show forth the light of your truth. And dear Heavenly Father, as we think about our own nation, and as we think about this time of transition that we're in, and as we think about some of the uncertainties that we witnessed, dear God, we pray and give thanks again for your Word. God, we pray that as you give us these days and this time, that we will make well with them, that we will take advantage of the opportunities you provide, and that we might be thankful in our own way. But a God to whom much is given, much is required. Dear God, as we think about all the gifts that we have received from above, dear God, there are more than we can count, more than we can know, more than we can comprehend. Dear God, we pray that you would move our hearts again, not only to bow at your feet, but to rejoice, to sing your praises, to recognize the bounty that we have, and live in light of this great and glorious freedom and liberty we have in Jesus Christ. Dear God, we also pray again for the Bethany ARP Church. We especially pray this morning for our congregational meeting as again we see again the way that the Lord has blessed us, the way that the Lord has shined upon us and provided for us in the past year. And dear God, as we lay our promises down to one another, dear God, we look forward to 2025. God we offer these things up in hope and we offer them up again in this new opportunity, this new year that you are giving to us. We especially ask your blessings upon a young man who has placed himself in a willing position to serve your kingdom. We pray that you would watch over him and keep him and we pray that if it would be your will that he would serve for many years. We rejoice and give thanks for these things to God as you continue to provide so much for the Bethany Church. And as we have witnessed again once more to the power of the gospel and to the power of baptism and the power of your word, God, we pray that each one of us would take a moment this day to remember again that covenant sign that's been laid on us, whether when we were an infant or when we came to faith and as adults. God, we know the same promise is contained in both. We rejoice in these things. So we pray for this day and for your name. In the mighty work of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. The earth is Christmas full. And in the morn, December, Christ was born. The star upon the moon sits lowly. ♪ Tells the Christmas story ♪ ♪ In music of his heart ♪ ♪ To see his face ♪ ♪ Falling in love ♪ Where was the shepherd's song? I heard the timpani sing, and I was on the phone. for him, how still we see thee walk. Deeper is Christmas morn. Well, the words to which I'd like to draw your attention to this morning come to us from the 22nd chapter of the Book of Revelation. So I invite you to turn there in your copies of God's Word and stand for the reading of God's Word. Again, as we turn here to the 22nd chapter of the book of Revelation, again, we come to verse six of our time. And again, next Lord's Day, I'm gonna have a handout to give everybody for the sermon plan for next year, so we look forward to that. But again, we're gonna close out here in Revelation 22 for the rest of 2024. So again, let's turn here to verse six and hear God's word. Then he said to me, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show his servants the things which must shortly take place. Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And then he said to me, see that you do not do that, for I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book, worship God. And he said to me, do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. He who is holy, let him be holy. Still, amen. Thanks be to God for the reading is holy in this perfect word. Let us pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, as we give thanks again for the goodness of this day and for the greatness of your work, we do thank you for bringing these words to our attention in your providence, and we ask your blessings, Holy Spirit, upon these words as we hear them and as we are convicted by them and as you lay them on our hearts. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Please be seated. This is one of those passages in Holy Scripture where there's probably about 10 sermons in here. Now, I'm going to do you all a favor and try not to preach 10 sermons today and pick out one to kind of focus on. But again, there's a lot that we can learn just from the details of this narrative. One of the things we learn is what the angels are. There's a lot of confusion about angels and what angels do and what angels are made of and why they exist. And the angel here tells us exactly who they are, what they are, and what they're made of. So we learn a lot about angels here. They are servants of the Most High God. They were created by Him. They are spirits. And we are not to worship angels. We also learn quite a bit here about what God intends with the book of Revelation. We've talked a bunch as we've been in the book of Revelation that there's a lot of confusion around this book. But again, John reveals unto us that we are to keep the book open, which is again a helpful thing. That's what it means there when it says that the angel told him not to seal up the words of the prophets in his book. They are not to be hidden from anyone. They are to be given to all men that they might know what the future beholds, and not just the future, but what the present reality for Christians is to look like. Now, one of the things about that statement about the prophecy being opened is because at the end of the book of Daniel, this same angel tells the prophet Daniel in Daniel chapter 12 to close the words of the prophecy. To hold it back. Now, why would Daniel be told that? Because the person whom the prophecy was about was not yet there. Daniel, towards the end of his book, is filled with prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Ancient of Days, who was going to sin, who was going to destroy the enemies of God, who was going to lay waste to those who would stand against the clear teachings of the Holy Bible. Daniel chapter 7 tells us of an Antichrist and of a Big A Antichrist. Now I happen to believe that the Big A Antichrist is among us today. It is not something that we're waiting for to be appeared to us. Now I plan on spending time next year specifying who that is so I don't want to spoil it for you too much. I do believe that Daniel chapter 7 when it speaks of the Big A Antichrist is speaking of the Pope in Rome and of the Roman Catholic Church in general. Again, like I said, you'll have to come back next year to find out more about that. But, the idea here is that the prophecy is made known to all men. This prophecy is made known in order that everyone under heaven would be convicted of their sin and they would come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That's why it tells us here that we are to leave the book open. This ties in quite a lot with what we heard last week about the gate being open. We believe in the free offer of the Gospel. We believe that the Gospel is for all men. That every sinner under heaven, whether they be Gentile or Jew, whether they be from America or from Japan or from Russia, it doesn't matter. If you are a human being made in the image of God, what do you need to hear? That Jesus Christ is dead for you. That Jesus Christ has laid down His life for sinners. Again, there's an open testimony given to preachers from the prophets that they are to reclaim this to every nation under heaven. So the angel here again reminds John of this. Then he said to me, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show his servants the things which must shortly take place. Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. As the Lord God speaks, we have an interesting thing happen. Again, this would be another great sermon from this passage. You notice in your copies of your Bible, if you have them open and looking at them, what color is verse seven in? It's in red. Now, I'm not a huge fan of red letter Bibles because I think they do something that's not super helpful, but it's helpful for me right now, so I'll take advantage of it. If it's in red, what is that supposed to mean? Jesus' words, right? So here we have the angel telling us that Jesus Christ and the Lord God are the same and one. And again, if you've read the Bible before, you know that's true. Jesus in John 10 verse 30 says, I and the Father are one, right? We see a defense of the Trinity in Revelation 22. Now the angel's not necessarily meaning to teach that, but again, These faithful sayings are true. They are the word that God has given for his covenant people from the days of the book of Genesis until present. Right? These words are faithful and true. Then he said to me these words are faithful and true and the Lord God and holy prophets send his angels to show his servants that things which must shortly take place. Again, that's what the book Revelation is about now as we get to what I'm going to talk about today We get there to verse 8 and we see now I John saw and heard these things and when I heard I saw I fell down to worship This should be our reaction every single time we hear the Word of God Every single time we read the Word of God, every single time we hear the Word of God read, and every time we hear the Word of God proclaimed, our immediate reaction to that should be to worship the Lord our God. Now again, there's a little confusion here because as soon as John hears it, what does he do? Again, it's kind of like Peter at the Mount of Transfiguration. Now, Peter at the Mount of Transfiguration does what my drill instructor told me never to do, which is to have a good initiative, but bad judgment. We need to think before we do things sometimes, even if it's the right thing to do, because there's an order of things. And so John, hearing this wonderful work, can only do what his heart tells him, which is to worship, but the problem is, is he's worshiping the wrong thing. We are told here again that we're not to worship angels. Who are we to worship? We worship God. Those two words again sum up the Christian life better than any two words that we see in the Bible. Our reaction to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the word of hope that we have in the scriptures, the testimony of grace, the love of God for sinners, and the sending of His Son, the only thing we can do in response to that is worship God. And in fact, the book of Revelation witnesses to us that every time the throne room of God is shown, what are the people doing? They are bowing themselves before the throne of the Ancient of Days, of God Almighty, and they are worshiping Him. Now what are they doing in worship? We see, for instance, that they're praising His name. That means they're singing to God. If you love the Lord our God, then you should sing to Him. Because that, again, is a natural reaction to what God has done for us, to praise Him. If you ever think about it, singing's kind of a weird thing. It's not a normal mode of communication. I know some of y'all are a big fan of musicals and you watch musicals and that seems to be how everybody talks in a musical, right? They just walk around and sing to each other. And I guess that'd be kind of cool, but imagine at Bethany if all of a sudden we started walking around singing to each other every time we saw one another. What do you think people would think of Bethany? Well, they'd think about us all right, but that'd be kind of weird. But again, what we see happen in heaven is what do people do? They are constantly singing unto the Lord. They are praising His name. And that's what, again, we're called to do, again, as believers here on this earth. Why do we sing and worship? Because, not just because the Bible tells us to, because again, it's a natural reaction to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We are showing, again, that praise in the use of our voice. Again you know often the testimony is well I canít sing or I donít sing well or you know Iíd be embarrassing my neighbor or anything like that. You think God cares about that? God worries whether or not you can read music or whether or not you can carry a tune or whether or not you even necessarily know the words youíre saying. You think about, again, other things we do in the Christian life, and we're willing to do that, and we don't do that very well sometimes. But again, the testimony here is as soon as John hears this wonderful word, his first inclination is to worship. And so as he falls at the feet of the angel, do you think he's keeping his mouth shut in the midst of that? Why not? In fact, when the apostles do the same thing in the book of Acts, when they come in front of this amazing work that the Lord has done and they fall down in front of the angels, it tells us that they pray as they've fallen down on their knees. Now the angel does the same thing in the book of Acts. He grabs them by the back of the shirt and picks them up and says, no, don't do that. We're not to worship angels, we're only to worship God. And so the testimony that we see here, again, of the mighty work that John has seen throughout the book of Revelation, you know, leads him again to this worship. And again, we don't just worship in singing, but we, you know, there's something about, of course, you have to be present to worship the Lord. There's a physical nature to worship that we see here in what's laid out in Revelation 22. We talked before that we believe that Revelation shows us that heaven is a physical place. It's a real place where people actually dwell. Now we know that for a couple of reasons. One, when Jesus rose from the dead, what did Thomas do on the eighth day? He wanted to verify that this was a real person. This wasn't an apparition. It wasn't a vision. He hadn't eaten some bad mushroom or something. He wanted to see what it was. And what did he do? Jesus condescended to Thomas and let him stick his finger in his side. Yet again, you know, there's things we read in the Bible and we just kind of look at it and just kind of like trying to imagine that happening, right? How many of y'all would want or be willing to stick your finger in somebody's side after they've been poked by a spear? I know some of y'all would probably faint even at the sight of blood. Now some of you may be willing to do that, some of you may be interested in that, but it's a strange thing that's happened. But again, we see that Jesus has a physical body. He has a real body. And when he ascends to heaven, does he lose that physical body? No, right? We believe that Jesus remains with a physical body this very day. And if he has a physical body, then it is held to the laws of physics. He's not like floating up in the air somewhere in zero gravity. His feet are on the ground. Because when he tells the disciples that he's going to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, he's going to sit at the right hand. Which means there's a chair by there. You know, every now and then I get asked why there's three chairs up here. And one of the things about that traditionally has been understood is that this is to represent, right, the throne room of heaven. The idea that there are three chairs there in heaven for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, I don't particularly like that image because it makes it sound like I'm the Father somehow. But, again, the idea that there is a physical place in heaven where Jesus is seated tells us, again, a lot about what we are to expect of the future. And when we think about heaven and we think about the glory that is to come, we are reminded that when we are raised from the dead on the Day of Judgment, we will have a physical, real body. A physical, real body that will no longer need to eat, no longer need to drink, no longer need any kind of outside help. And why is that? Because we're being nourished, as we heard at the end of Revelation 21, by the water that is in the heavenly places. And who is the living water? Who is the living food? Who is the one that's nourishing us but the Lord Jesus Christ? And we're reminded there, Revelation 21 and Revelation 22, that if we feed by faith in heaven, well guess what we do here? We feed by faith, right? We are fed by the living God. We're fed by the Lord Jesus Christ. We're fed by His Word. We're fed by the work of the Holy Spirit. We're fed by the sacraments that we're given. Again, we think most often of course about the Lord's Supper when it comes to feeding because what do we do in the Lord's Supper? We eat. Now, you know, some of us may like to eat a little bit more than what we're given in the Lord's Supper, but the Apostle Paul warns us about that, right? Because in 1 Corinthians 11, some people had turned the Lord's Supper into a gluttonous fest, right? Where they ate so much that they couldn't get up. Or they drank so much that they were drunk. Which tells you again something about what was in the Lord's Supper back then. But again, you think about that, right? As we come to the table next week, what are we going to do? We are feeding by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now again, the bread itself doesn't give us that. The bread doesn't change shape. It doesn't change its molecular structure. It is spiritually transformed. and it feeds us by the real presence of the Lord Jesus. And so when we come to eat at the table, right, it's not a mere memorial, right, you've heard me say that a hundred times, it's not a reenactment, it's not just something we do, but it is a real feasting upon our Lord. It's a real gracious blessing where we, again, are not only witnessing to the world that we believe in Jesus, but we are testifying that Jesus is present and is providing for us in the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup. Now again we see on that, but again we also witness in baptism the same truth. It's the reason why again God in the visible testimony has us use water to do a baptism. And again, most of us are of the opinion that it's the amount of water that matters. That's one of the reasons why I don't just damp heads. I try to get as much on there as I can because I want it to take. But again, the idea is that the witness of the Old Testament was a pouring of the water. Because what does the pouring represent in the Old Testament? In the Old Testament, the water being poured testifies to the pouring of the Holy Spirit. But it witnesses that in the Old Testament, when the pouring was done upon the priests, that they were being set aside by the Lord our God for a special purpose. And again, in the New Testament, we hear the Apostle Peter tell us that now we're part of what? The priesthood of all believers. And so baptism, again, is a sign of this being set apart, that we are being made righteous in the eyes of the living God. Now, again, that doesn't mean that baptism saves us. We're not saved by the washing of the water. We're saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that doesn't mean, again, that baptism is just something we do, because we're supposed to. We believe that there's a power in baptism. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, what was the witness there? That He was being set apart for ministry by His Heavenly Father. That was His public exhibition that He had been called to serve the living God and do the work that His Father had sent Him to do. And so as we see John respond to the words of the angel, And the words of his Savior, Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of the book. Now I, John, saw and heard these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship. Before the feet of the angel showed me these things. Then he said to me, See that you not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book, worship God. You see, as the angel is giving this direction to John, what does he say about who he is? and who John is. He is somebody who keeps the words of the book. Now when you hear that, what does it mean to keep the words of the book? Well, again, if you're a Jew whose mind is tied so much into the law, we talked about this in Sabbath school this morning, if your mind's tied into the law, you hear book, and you think that means keep the commandments perfectly forever. But that's not what the angel is saying. And when he talks about those who keep the words of this book, he is talking about, again, the one who has spoken all these things. Because again, remember, the book of Revelation starts with a testimony, again, to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of his work, and of his purpose, and of his calling. As we see there in Revelation it says the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. So again, what does it mean to keep these words, keep this book of Revelation, keep this testimony that God has provided for His covenant people? Well, what it means is simply trust in Jesus Christ. And it means live in light of who Jesus is, and what Jesus has done for you, and what Jesus has accomplished for you, and to live in light of the eternal promise that God has made unto you. Because again, the problem that we run into in our earthly life is that we get kind of in this silo, this narrow idea that all that matters is what happens here. And so we build our entire lives around the earth and about improving the earth, and improving ourselves physically, and improving ourselves educationally, or improving ourselves whatever. And at the end of the day, what does all that worth? good for a season. But what does the Book of Proverbs tell us about silver and gold? What does the Book of Proverbs tell us about the work of the hands? What does the Apostle Paul warn Timothy about much learning? What does the Apostle Paul warn Timothy about when it comes to physically working out? He uses an illustration there for young Timothy about the Olympics. You know, again, the Olympics were something that was going on in the days of the Apostle Paul. Something that was especially natural to anybody who grew up in Greece. And he used the illustration again of running the race, but before that he talks about, again, working out. It's good to work out. It's good to be in shape. It's good to take care of your body. But what happens as you get older? And some of you all have more pertinent experience with this than others, but the body breaks down. The mind breaks down. Gold and silver get spent and lost and lose their value. And what does Paul tell young Timothy to do? To race after what? The prize that does not get lost. The prize that does not lose value. The prize that does not change dependent on me or on you. Because at the end of the day what you have in Jesus Christ is that gift which does not lose anything. Because it is perfect at the very moment it is given. And it is perfect unto the very end. And so when John here again hears this testimony from the angel repeating the very beginning of the book of Revelation, he's almost fallen over with thanksgiving, with praise, with... he almost doesn't even know what to say. So he just falls down. But again, this should be the attitude of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. This should be how all of us react to the good news of the Gospel. to the good news that we have heard in our Redeemer. Because what can compare to the second person of the Holy Trinity being born of the flesh in Bethlehem, leaving the confines of heaven itself to suffer the indignities of putting on flesh, of having to live a life on this earth, with all the temptations of the flesh, with all of the degradations that came upon Jesus Christ in His ministry? Here you are, the man who made the heavens and the earth, who spoke all creation to existence, who made all of the laws of nature, who did all of these things, and what is the response when he begins to preach? I mean, people try to kill him. People mock him, make fun of him, ridicule him, ignore him, beat him. I mean, you think, especially, you know, the early life of Christ under the ministry. You remember, what happens to him when he goes home? When he goes to Nazareth? He goes to the people that, you know, have known him since he was a boy. I'm sure that Joseph and Mary didn't keep it to themselves who Jesus was. How many times do you drive around town and you see people with stickers on the back of their car saying something proud about their child? Joseph and Mary were like us. Do you think that they kind of quietly kept to themselves that an angel had appeared to them and said that their boy was going to be the Savior of the world? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have kept that to myself. In fact, we know that Mary didn't because what happens at the wedding at Cana? Mary goes and tells everybody that Jesus is going to make wine for everybody. Now, Jesus ain't real super happy about that, but he does it out of compassion, out of love. But again, all these things take place in the life of Jesus, and here at the end, who is left as he's being crucified on the cross? He's been abandoned by His disciples. He's been abandoned by those near to Him. Only the women and John are present. It's not accidental that John is the one given this book of Revelation. He's the beloved disciple. He's the one who stayed close to Jesus at the very end of His life, who received again this Revelation. Yet in all of these things, He is still overwhelmed with the grace of God. He's still overwhelmed with the message of truth. He's still overwhelmed with the mercy of God to sinners. He's still overwhelmed by all of this majesty that surrounds him. And we learn so much here from John because John witnesses to us what all of us should be like. Every time we come into this house of worship on the Lord's Day morning, it should be like we're coming here for the first time. Every time we hear the gospel presented, it should be like the first time we ever had our hearts open to the power of the Holy Spirit. Because every time we hear the gospel, we are reminded of one thing. That God loves you. That God sent His Son to die for you. That God sent His Son not only to die for you, but that you might be reconciled to Him. Again, is there anything that can compare to the wonderment of that? That God has had mercy on you? That God has forgiven you your sins? That God has washed you in the blood of His only begotten Son? Is there anything that can compare to that glory? And yet, how often do we walk in here as if we're going to the dentist? You get up in the morning and you know I've got to be there at eleven or ten if you come early. And it's a struggle. It's something that you have to fight yourself to get out of bed and come to church. I mean it shouldn't be like that. It shouldn't. Because what do we get to do when we come into the house of the Lord? Again, God gives us this one day out of seven that we might proclaim His name, that we might receive the blessings of His truth, that we might be reminded of the power of this work, of the goodness of His grace, of the love that He has shown upon us. And we get to do it 52 times a year, sometimes 53 when the calendar blesses us. But John here is reminded, and he's giving us a reminder that what's going to happen in the future? When Jesus returns, we're going to do nothing but worship. And as an old preacher once said, if you don't like worshiping God here, you're definitely not going to like worshiping in heaven. So think on these things again as John is witnessing to us what it means to worship God. What it means to obey the commandments. What it means to fall down before the Lord God who has given us this promise. Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. Because that's what it means to be a Christian. That's what it means to rest in Jesus Christ. It means to worship Him. It means to be thankful. It means to witness unto these wonderful gifts that we see, not just again on the 25th of December, but the gifts that we see every day, that God blesses us in His providence. And so brothers and sisters, as we close our time this morning, and as we rejoice in the goodness of these things again, let us keep these things in mind. that this is who our God is. This is what our God has done for us, and this is what God does for us every day. Lifts us up in order that we might be with Him forever and ever. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we give thanks again for the witness, not only your scriptures, but God, we also give thanks again for the way that in your word you show us again how men and women witness unto the work of your Son. Mr. God, as we continue to worship you this morning and as we gather together again this evening to worship you again, God, we rejoice and give thanks for all these things in the name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us stand as we sing our closing hymn, hymn number 214 from the Red Trinity Hymnal. Let us stand and sing 214. Oh yeah! We wish you a Merry Christmas. Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? Again, as we close our work for this morning, again, we'll have our congregational meeting immediately after the postlude. So again, we will enjoy that time. But before we get to that, again, let us go to the benediction as we are blessed by the word of the living God. Again, our benediction today comes from the chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians. Chapter 10 verses 31 through 33 here the word of the Lord Therefore that you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God Give no offense either to the Jews or the Greeks or the Church of God Just as I also please all men and all things not seeking my own profit But the profit of many that they may be saved man. I you