conveying to us the fact that
if we always think about the Lord Jesus
Christ and His grace to us, then even in the dark days of
life, what he calls winter, they become brighter as we think
about who He is, what He did for us, and that very, very soon
we'll be with Him where winters and what He calls clouds are
no more. Won't that be a blessed day? Open your Bibles to Revelation
chapter 22 this morning. Revelation chapter 22, we're
now coming to the closing section of the book. The ending is certainly
most fitting for the main theme, the main
subject of this epilogue or conclusion is indeed the next appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks of his two advents,
or two comings. The first time he came to save, he said concerning his entrance into this world, he
said, I didn't come to condemn the world. I came to save. He didn't come to judge. He came
to redeem. He didn't come to expose all
souls and bring to reality the way that things are, but He came
to rescue His people by His substitutionary death. We rejoice in His name. His name is called Jesus. For
He shall save His people from their sins. Yes, He came the
first time to save. He will come the second time
to judge. To judge. Our brother read to
us from James 5 and verse 9, the judge is at the door. He's coming to judge. I wonder
how you will fare in that day. What an awful, solemn day that
will be. If we thought more often about
standing before the great judge, I suspect that we'd devote more
of our attention gospel issues and not be consumed with the
things of the world. The judge is coming. He's on
the other side of the door. You remember back in chapter
4 of Revelation, John heard a voice say, come up hither. And he said,
I saw it. door opened into heaven. I hope you remember that passage,
and most likely you do. He said a door was opened, and
when the door was opened, he saw what was inside, in fact, the other side of the door. Our Lord Jesus says, through
James, in that passage of Scripture, basically saying, I'm at the
door. I'm ready to open it. And who
is at the door? The judge. The judge. The one who sees all things as
they are. The one whose eyes penetrate
deep within us. The one who sees our hearts.
He sees if we mean business with him. He sees if religion is just
something we dabble with. He sees and He knows whether
we love Him and believe Him. He knows the heart. He said,
I, the Lord, search the heart. I try the reins. We read in Hebrews 4 concerning
the Word of God, that all things are naked and opened before the
eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Oh, if I could speak to
you individually, I would say this to you, the judge is at
the door and he's coming soon. And in that day when he does
come, he will divide all of the nations of the earth. According
to Matthew chapter 25, as a shepherd divides his sheep from his goats. And I know that sheep have always
been sheep and goats have always been goats. God's people have
always been His people, and those who are not His people, they've
always not been His people. But those decrees of God, they're
with Him. That's His secret will. I don't know the purpose of God
pertaining to your salvation, but I do know your responsibility
and mine as well, to seek the Lord. while he may be found,
and indeed to call upon him while he's near. Let the wicked forsake
his way. Listen, works is not the way. It's not the way. Your righteousness
is not the way. Your baptism is not the way. Your obedience to God's law,
that's not the way. There is but one way to God.
That's Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I urge you, I urge you to
close with Christ Jesus. To be found in Him. You know,
in the book of Philippians, this was the desire of the Apostle
Paul. He said, I want to be found in
Christ Jesus. Not having my own righteousness. which is by the law. I don't want to stand before
God in my righteousness because mine is filthy rags. The best
that I've ever done, and my friend, the best that you've ever done
is only filthy in the eyes of God. I want to stand before Him
in the garment of salvation that is the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus. It's only in His beauties, it's
only in His calmliness that folks like us can be accepted. Oh,
hear me, the judge is at the door. He's at the door. And those only who know Him,
who love Him, who believe Him, who are in Him, they alone shall
be safe forever. I therefore beseech you, I beseech you from the bottom
of my heart, make your calling and election sure. Are you building
all your hopes on Christ Jesus and Him crucified? Why should
God let an individual like you into His holy heaven? And I tell
you, if you give any other answer than because of Christ and His
obedience unto death, even the death of the cross, oh my friend,
you're in serious trouble. And know this, the judge is at
the door. The judge is at the door. Oh
indeed, He did come the first time to seek and to save that
which was lost. He was on a mission of mercy.
God gave him a people more numerous than the stars in the sky. And
he came into this world to save them, to deliver from sin. He came to save from the curse
of the law. You see, the law of God examines
us. And this is part of our son's
school lesson this morning. We're talking about the rich
young ruler who thought that an outward obedience before God
was good enough, and he didn't realize that the law of God examines
the heart. It examines the motives. It's
not just what you do, it's why you do it. It's not just your
actions, it's your thoughts. And the law of God examines you
throughly. and finds all of us guilty, guilty
before God. And the only way to be accepted
by God is to be found in one whose obedience
was honoring to God, and that is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, to be found in Him. Oh, how
sweet. Oh how delightful. Oh how soothing
to the soul. As we think about meeting God. As we think about stepping out
into eternity. And as we think about the judge
who's on the other side of the door. Ready to open the door
and he's ready to come back. And then he will judge. As we
think about these things, those of us who find our hope in Christ
Jesus only, we have no fear of that day. We have no fear of facing the
Judge, because the Judge is our brother. The Judge is our Savior. The Judge is our friend. And
all of our sins, He's already judged. by His death upon the
cross. Cursed is everyone that the law
of God finds guilty. But in the Lord Jesus, we don't
have any guilt. In the Lord Jesus, we don't have
any sins. You see, this is why He came
the first time on this mission of mercy. He came to save the
Father's people, the people He had entrusted to Christ Jesus.
So when He came the first time, He came to save, but He's coming
the second time to judge. And this is indeed the theme
of the rest of the 22nd chapter of Revelation. For instance,
look at verse 7. Notice the words. Behold, Revelation
22, 7. Behold, I come quickly. Literally, behold, I'm coming. I'm coming. Blessed is he that
keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Blessed is he who
believes the Word of God. Listen, this book is not a collection
of wonderful religious sayings by men who didn't know God, by
men who just thought they would put some moral statements together. That's not what this book is.
This is the Word of God. This is the inspired Scriptures. These words were God-breathed. Forty different men wrote as
the Spirit of God led them. Most of them weren't even contemporaries
of one another. And they wrote over a period
of about 1,500 years. And yet all of them speak the
same story. They're all telling of Christ
and Him crucified in the Old Testament in a picture, in figure,
in typology. And in the New Testament, in
reality, in His person, and in His work. And in the declaration
that He who came, He saved His people from their sins. And He's
gone back to heaven where He represents us before the Father,
and He rules all things, and He is soon to come again. We
believe this book. This is the most unusual, unique
book in all the world, and it's just one book. God's Word. God's Word. And blessed is that
person who keeps, who observes. You know, it's what the word
keeps means. Observes, looks to. this book and finds in this
book the message of hope, the message of redemption, the message
of reconciliation. Blessed is that man because the
Lord has given you eyes to see these wonderful things. The Lord
is opening your mind and opening your heart to receive these things,
to know how God can be just and justify the ungodly. The Savior
says, behold, I come quickly and blessed. Are you blessed? I tell you, you're talking about
a blessing. It is a blessing to understand
this book right here. and their multitudes who will
meet together today, God have mercy on them, who will not have
set before them the Word of God, and therefore Christ Jesus the
Savior. And I pity them, I feel sorry
for them in their zeal, and many of them in their seriousness.
And in their devotion, they won't have the Word of God put before
them. Listen, our only hope is to be
exposed to the truth. And then for the Spirit of God
to take the sword of the Spirit and put it in our hearts. Give us an understanding of salvation,
of the gospel, of good news, of full redemption in Christ
Jesus. That this salvation is not of
works, but all of grace. Blessed is that man who is taught
that message. Blessed is he that keepeth, who
observes, who watches, who looks to, who looks to this Word. Where do you find your assurance
for salvation except in this Word? You can't trust your feelings? So often I've had people say
to me, you know Jim, I just don't feel saved. What does it feel
like to feel saved? Is that when you're feeling better
about yourself? Never rise beyond this. I'm just a poor sinner and nothing
at all. But Jesus Christ, He is my all
in all. Don't rise above that. You see,
there's nothing to you now. You who are the people of God,
I know in Christ Jesus you're made of God in Him to be wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. I know that.
I know you're the people of God. I know you're the children of
God, those of you who've been brought to rest in Him. But in
yourself, as the Apostle said, in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. And that's you and me and everybody
else too. And we say from the Scriptures,
oh wretched man that I am, not that I used to be, oh I used
to be, I used to be really wretched. I got news for you, you still
are. Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this flesh? Of this death? And in the very
next breath. In Romans chapter 7, he says,
I thank God through my Lord Jesus Christ. You see, God by His grace and
according to His eternal purpose, He sees all of His people in
the beauties, in the righteousness of His wonderful Son. And when
we speak of, you know, we're covered with the righteousness
of Christ, the garment of salvation, I know some people say, well,
you just believe a pasted on righteousness. No, that's just
an illustration the Bible uses. We are actually made the righteousness
of God in Him. Listen to the Scriptures and
keep the sayings of this book down. In 2 Corinthians 5.21 we
read, For He, God, omnipotent, majestic, omniscient, holy, just,
righteous, for He hath made Him the Son of God, the impeccable
One, the preeminent One. God hath made Him to be sin for
us. For us, for us worthless people. For us corrupt people. And He
made Him to be sin for us. That one who knew no sin. He never knew sin. And God made
Him to be sin for us. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, how
blessed that is. All of the iniquities of all
of the people of God were made to meet on His head. And He owned
the indebtedness as if it was His own. And He paid it in full
by His death. This is the good news. We are
debt free toward God. That's the good news due to the
death of Christ Jesus. This is my only hope. And I get
that good hope from the Word of God. Not how I feel, but from the Scriptures. Which
says this, he that hath the Son, you know what he's got? He's
got life. He that hath the Son hath life.
And he that hath not the Son of God, he doesn't have life. But the wrath of God abides on
him. So that's the sayings of this
book. And the Savior says, behold,
I come quickly, blessed, well off, highly favored are those
who observe, who watch, who look to this book. The sayings of
the prophecy of this book. Notice again. And by the way,
he identifies himself, lest we wonder who's speaking here. He
identifies himself in verse 13. He says, I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end, the first and the last. And you can
read more about that in chapter 1. But look at verse 12. Virtually
the same words. And behold, I come quickly. Behold, I am coming quickly. You say, but it's been 2,000
years. That's nothing to Him. That's
nothing to Him. It's like the Lord said before
us, 1,000 years, with the Lord as a day and a day is 1,000 years.
He's not bound by time like we are. He's not all the time looking
at His watch like we do. All things are moving at His
command. And He says, my reward is with
me to give to every man according as his work shall be. The judge
is at the door. And you can rest assured of this.
Maybe that would be a better title for this message. The judge
is at the door. You can rest assured of this.
That which you deserve in the day of judgment is exactly what
you're going to get. Every man will get exactly what
he deserves. You say, but what? You've already beat me down to
tell me I'm a wretched person. Well, I don't want what I deserve.
Oh, but Christ Jesus is your righteousness. He is your holiness. And that which you will receive
is the full reward for his sufferings. And that means everlasting bliss. That's what that means. But if
your hope is in yourself, it's everlasting damnation. My reward
is with me, says the judge at the door. That's solemn, isn't
it? The judge is at the door. Here's a door over here for all
of you. Here's a door right here. What's
on the other side of the door? An empty little space. But our
Lord uses that as an illustration. The judge is at the door. He's
just on the other side. Oh, how near is the other side
of that door. It's just right there. That's
not very far away. And my friend, that is eternity. It's not very far away. For what
is your life? That's what you read. It's even
as a vapor. And then when you die, you're
going to the other side of the door. What's on the other side
of the door? Eternity. That's what's on the
other side of the door. And our Lord abides in eternity. And He says, I'm on the other
side of the door. And one of these days, I'm going
to open the door and I'm coming back. And how will it be with
you in that day? Behold, I come quickly. And again,
if you doubt as to who's speaking these words, look in verse 16. I, Jesus. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel
to testify unto you these things in the churches. Well, who are
you, Jesus? I'm the root and the offspring
of David. There's his humanity. I'm the son of man. and the bright
and the morning star. I fill all of creation with light. I'm God. Who speaks these things? I, Jesus. I, Jesus. And then look down
at verse 17. In light of the Savior's words,
Behold, I am coming quickly, the Spirit and the Bride, we
say together, Come. We've heard what the Savior said,
Behold, I come quickly. And what do the saints of God
say? Oh Lord, come! Come. Oh, how it would thrill our souls
if this very moment He opened the door and said,
time has now come to an end. He comes back in the clouds to
receive us unto Himself. It would just be wonderful, wouldn't
it? I've often thought about the
people of God. For a bunch of years, about 6,000 years,
the people of God have been dying one by one. Going out to be with
the Lord. Going to the other side of the
door. It shouldn't be a fearful thing
for us to go to the other side of the door. The door though is like death.
That is, death is the door. You shouldn't be fearful of the
door. On the other side is the Lord. For 6,000 years, the Lord sends
a messenger to bring His children home. And He opens the door for
them. And then He closes the door back. The Spirit of God who has worked
within our hearts, He leads all of the people of God to say this,
Lord, open the door and please come back yourself to receive
us unto you. How immensely joyful it would
be this morning if He opened the door and all of us, as a
congregation, went out to meet Him together. Wouldn't that be
wonderful? To go out, as it were, arm in
arm, when His glory splits the sky. He comes back in the clouds
of heaven, and every eye shall see Him, and immediately we'll
be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. Caught up
together! Let's go, brethren! Here we go!
Here we go! Oh, the joy of our hearts! And then we shall be changed. How long will that take? Oh,
it won't take long. In a moment, The twinkling of
an eye. The last trump. And that's when this mortal shall
put on immortality. I'm a dying man. I'm a dying man. Sixty-seven
years old, I'm dying. Been dying ever since I was born.
My heart began to beat a cadence and one of these days that drumbeat
will stop. And I shall leave this world and enter in to meet the Lord. I wish we could all go together. But, unless He comes back soon, it
will still be, well, the door just opened for another believer.
Just opened for another believer. And the door is closed. But all the while, on the other
side of the door, is the Savior. Oh, that will be glory for me. When by His grace I shall look
on His face, that will be glory for me. The Spirit and the Bride say,
You know, back in chapter 21, the last phrase of verse 9 of
chapter 21, verse 9, the last statement says, Come hither,
I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. And John then sees
all of the people of God. All of the elect of God. All
redeemed people. All of those who've been regenerated
by His quickening Spirit. All of those who've therefore
been brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees them
all. He sees the church in her glorified
state and says, this is the Lamb's wife. But that's when we're all together. That's when this marriage is
finally consummated. At the marriage supper of the
Lamb. But until then, we're not called the wife. We're called
the bride. And here in verse 17, the spirit
and the bride. This is what we now say. Come. Come. And not only did the Spirit and
the Bride say, Come, but let him that hear it say, Come. Let all who hear this Gospel
today, who hear this message not just with these ears, though
it does come in through the ear gate, as Bunyan used to say,
The gospel comes in through the ear gate. But as God gives us
spiritual ears to hear the good news of salvation accomplished
by Christ and Him crucified, then we're brought to life. Let all who hear, if you have
this morning heard the good news of salvation by Christ and Him
crucified, and are now brought to love Him and believe Him,
and you long to see Him, then you too can join in with the
rest of us and say, Come. Come. And watch this, and whosoever
will, let him take of the water of life freely. We learned last
Sunday night that this water of life in verse 1, He showed
me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. This water of life
flows from the very throne of God, from His sovereign grace,
from His eternal purpose. And if you're thirsty, anybody here thirsty for forgiveness? Anybody here thirsty for righteousness? Anybody here thirsty for acceptance
by a holy God? Anybody here thirsty to see the
Judge in His beauty and in His glory and to worship Him forever
and ever? Anybody thirsty for salvation? Take the water of life freely. It won't cost you anything. It
won't cost you anything. No conditions. If it wasn't written in the Word
of God, I'd say this is too good to be true. You mean it's free?
As in it won't cost me a thing? That's exactly what this means. It costs the Savior His life's
blood. It costs you nothing. I can rejoice in this. Now watch this quickly. Verse 20, He which testified
these things. I thought it was John testifying.
John's just been told what to say. These are the words of the
Savior. These are the words of the Master.
He which testified these things, this is what He says. I come quickly. This is the theme here of the
latter part of Revelation chapter 22. Amen. So be it. I'm coming quickly. And John, led by the Spirit of
God says, even so even so come, Lord Jesus." Preacher, when will
He come back? Preacher, I've been looking over
in the Middle East and I'm trying to judge the things that are
happening to Israel and the condition of the world. Don't look for
signs. Don't do that. An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after signs. I'm not looking for indications
of His coming. I'm not looking for signs of
His coming. I'm looking for the One who's
coming. And let all who are the people of God, as it were, stand
on the tiptoes of faith, looking toward the sky, and say, even
so come, Lord Jesus. He's just on the other side of
the door. And either I'm going to meet
Him through that door, or He's going to come through the door
and receive us unto Himself that where He is, there we will be
also. That's good enough for me. Good
enough for me. Let's sing a song. Let's sing
147, there be no doubt.