So this entry will be a bit different - my random notes as I go through my Friday night sermon...perhaps they can be encouraging to someone. :)

Sermon Notes on A Message To The Seven Churches (Rev 1:9-20) - Pastor Mark Driscoll -

*How often do you pray? Who do you pray for most of the time? Usually yourself, your hurts, your wants, your longings, your needs? How often do you pray for the Church - for all of God's people together?

***Revelation is about JESUS. That's why it starts out "The Revelation of JESUS CHRIST"....& it's written by John, Jesus' best friend, who was with Jesus all his life. He saw all the other disciples martyred  - outlived them all. They boiled him alive in oil, and couldn't kill him, so they exiled him to Patmos - an island off of Turkey. And his heart is STILL for the Church - not himself. Convict ya much?
****Revelation 1st 3 chapters are things that have already transpired, the rest are things that are yet to come.
#1 - PERSEVERE in Jesus through tribulation. IN JESUS. the context of this life = tribulation, suffering, opposition. We are an absolutely self-absorbed consumer culture manifesting itself in addictions, compulsions, debts.....but we must persevere in Jesus as He persevered FOR us.....He takes up residence through us through the Holy Spirit & enables us to walk out a Christian life.
***look at John though! he doesn't doubt, disbelieve, or disown God. He perseveres!

**God is our Father, we through sin have separated ourselves from God & made ourselves His enemies, Jesus comes as our big brother, He lives without sin & dies the death we deserved, and did what we could not do, and gives us a gift we could not afford - eternal life. :) this makes other Christians, brothers & sisters - partners in tribulation.

**When John writes Revelation, he is suffering in every conceivable way - and there is a false Gospel that's been preached in America that Jesus will take all of the trouble out of your life & make it heaven on earth. In Jesus, life is not tribulation FREE, it's tribulation PROOF, because we can endure anything through relationship w/ Jesus & His people in community together. Our patience, new perspective, power to endure hard seasons, identity, EVERYTHING - is in Jesus. :)
---> there WILL be tribulation UNTIL the Kingdom comes, and the dead rise, & the demons and satan are bound to hell forever - so quit acting surprised!

#2 - WORSHIP Jesus. Get up, go forth, & be with God's people! It is an act of worship, in and of itself, to get out of bed, and go BE with the Body of Christ on Sunday - the Lord's day! WORSHIP before Jesus shows up. Worship, not because of circumstance, but because of WHO Jesus is! That is FAITH embodied. Don't wait. Start worshipping in faith & see if the Holy Spirit doesn't show up - I dare you.
Jesus WANTS to meet with those who are hurting & suffering, and comfort & encourage them & give them peace. when you're hurting & struggling, WORSHIP it out. don't walk it off, WORSHIP it off. grieve, mourn, pray, lament, groan, talk to God. don't drink, be promiscuous, do drugs, or try to fill gaps with empty quick fixes. God wants you to work it out with Him!

Serve each other.

Bear one another's burdens.

This. is. a. family.

**As long as you're trying to be tough & persevere for Jesus, He can't be tough & persevere for you because you won't let Him.

***In the midst of our suffering, we don't need Jesus to show up & make it all about us like we'd like - we need Him to show us who HE is & remind us that we are His & we are already won & this is the closest to hell that we ever have to be....do you get that?! That's AWESOME. GET OVER YOURSELF.


***the multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will RISE. :) all of us will give an account to Jesus - and the truth is, we should all live for that day. whatever Jesus calls it, that's what it is. He is the RULER of the kings of the earth. everyone and everything is under Jesus.---to Him who LOVES US. that's amazing. give your WHOLE life to the Church!
---> Jesus doesn't just want your time & your money...HE WANTS YOUR HEART.

He takes those who are dirty & makes them clean, He has FREED us from our sins by His blood!

**if you doubt, disbelieve or disregard the love of Jesus, look to the cross & know you are loved, forgiven, you are someone new & becoming increasingly more like Him - He's not overwhelmed by you, He's not sickened by you, He's not frustrated with you, He's not over you, He's not done with you - HE LOVES YOU. HE WANTS YOU.


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I apologize for the scattered nature of the notes above. I hope in some way they were of encouragement to your heart, whoever you are, reading this. I tend to be a bit scatter-brained when I take sermon notes. This sermon was of huge comfort & encouragement to me, and really spurred me on in the direction I'm going to give my life & my heart to the Church - to the Body of Christ. I am unbelievably stoked about where God is taking me & is going to take me in the future, and I am stoked for where He will take you as well, brother or sister. :)


<3