Introduction

Revelation 22:3-7 ESV  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  (4)  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  (5)  And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.  (6)  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”  (7)  “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

• Today I am going to preach very briefly, because we also have Esther’s Baby dedication today and we have the Neighborhood picnic after… IT IS A PACKED SUNDAY! Glory to God.
  • We are going to fly through it, we are going to be encouraged, we are going to be challenged, and we are going to grow as a church family, amen?!
• So what did we just read? We just read five verses, and most of what is in these verses we have talked about a lot already.
  • First we read that there is no longer any curse, there is nothing accursed left. This is New Jerusalem, a new heaven and a new earth where there is no more course! No more temptation, no more sin, no more pain, no more sorrow, now more suffering, no more exhaustion, no more depression, no more anxiety, no more tears. NO CURSE! NOTHING BAD. THAT IS OUR ETERNITY FUTURE PRAISE GOD!
  • And of course in New Jerusalem is the throne room of God and Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, will be there for ever for us to walk with, talk with, hang out with, and worship, worship, worship worship!
  • On our foreheads will be the name of Christ, that’s the seal that God has put on us, forever sealed as belonging to Jesus, and what a wonderful comfort that is, to know that I will never be alone, I will never be doing things on my own, I will always be in the care of my God and my savior!
  • And of course, the Glory of the Lord will be so glorious that there will be no darkness, no night, because God’s glory will light up New Jerusalem!
  • We also read that Jesus is coming soon, we are going to have a sermon on that in the next couple weeks as we close out the book, but it is safe to say that JESUS IS COMING SOON! That’s just not the focus of today’s sermon…
• But really, we have talked about all of those things already in out teachings on New Jerusalem and the book of Revelation.
• But there is one thing in these verses that I want to focus on this morning. I don’t have any points today, so the Title of The sermon is the main take away for you today.
  • GET THIS DEEP INTO YOUR SOUL.
  • The title of the sermon is this…

• YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
  • YOU should want to be a servant!
  • You should WANT to be a servant!
• Let me read these verses again… Because these verses are the last verses of John’s vision. Everything else after this is post vision. Everything else after these verses are the conclusion of Revelation, as John comes out of the Vision, as he comes out of New Jerusalem, and he comes back to the Island of Patmos to finish his letter.
• So once again, these are the final bits of John’s vision in Revelation…

Revelation 22:3-7 ESV  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  (4)  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  (5)  And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.  (6)  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”  (7)  “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

• Would you notice that THE LAST TIME we see God’s people, God’s church in John’s vision…
  • The last time God’s faithful are mentioned and described in New Jerusalem, in the glorious future… the very end of the vision of New Heaven and New earth…
  • God’s people, gathers together around the throne, living in the glory of God’s light, sealed with His name on their forehead… forever and ever in curse free perfection…
  • Would you notice that we are not called “The church” we are not called “The body” we are not called “the faithful” or “saints” or “believers” or even “those who fear God”.
    • No! All of those names are certainly true… but no, the final way that God’s people are described in John’s vision of New Jerusalem is this… they are called SERVANTS!
      • SERVANTS! THAT’S HOW WE ARE DESCRIBED IN ETERNITY! SERVANTS OF GOD!
      • YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!

Revelation 22:3 ESV  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

Revelation 22:6 ESV  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

• YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
  • BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN HEAVEN FOREVER ARE DESCRIBED AS SERVANTS!
    • YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!!!!!!!!
• The People in heaven are not described as bench sitters, sitting in the back row of the church, coming to church late and leaving early.
  • They are not the people who sleep in and do just enough to get by day in and day out.
  • And live streamers I am sorry, but there is no Live Streaming New Jerusalem!
    • YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
    • You can’t serve when you are on the live stream, you can’t serve when you get here late and leave early, you can’t serve if you refuse to cooperate with a team and submit to leaders.
      • It is one of the most wonderful things about a church as an organization is that it is a place that you can come to and serve God.
• And of course you can serve God outside of church, of course you can AND SHOULD! You should be a servant 7 days a week, even on your Sabbath rest there are ways you can and should be serving God.
  • But if you can’t even serve God in a church, where it is EASY to serve God, I find it hard to believe that you are being a very effective servant outside of the church where the world hates Jesus and is full of temptations to pull you away from serving.
  • None the less… YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT.

1 Samuel 12:24 ESV Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Colossians 3:23-24 ESV Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Deuteronomy 13:4 ESV You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

Malachi 3:18 ESV once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

1 Peter 4:10 ESV As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

John 12:26 ESV If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Galatians 5:13 ESV For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Mark 9:35 ESV And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Romans 12:11 ESV Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

• YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
  • Scripture could not be more clear.
    • So let me be clear, yet me give you the hard sell.
    • Guys are church is growing, and I see a lot of new faces! And that is so exciting!
    • But I REFUSE to be a church where 10% of the people do 90% of the work. WE ARE AN ALL IN CHURCH.
      • We are all in for the Gospel! We preach it every Sunday!
      • We are all in for Praise and Worship, we don’t let 7 days go by without gathering together to sing praises and thanks and worship to our God and savior!
      • We are all in for Scripture, we preach line by line, verse by verse.
      • We are all in for Discipleship and Missions, striving to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!
      • AND CHURCH IF WE ARE GOING TO KEEP GROWING WE NEED TO BE ALL IN FOR SERVICE!
        • YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT.
• And I hope that I don’t have to convince you that you should want to be like Christ… is it not Jesus who said in mark 10:45…

Mark 10:45 ESV For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

• JESUS CAME TO SERVE! YOU ARE CALLED TO BE LIKE JESUS! YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
• Go and read through the Bible and see how much of the Bible, Old and New Testament, is about serving!
  • Who should be serving and where… who should set up the tabernacle, who should lead the worship, who should move the camp, who oversees the armies, who oversees the sacrifices…
  • In the New Testament, serving the widows and the orphans, who is in what ministry in what calling in what way they should be serving. Instructions for church structure to make serving easier, instructions on how to serve the community, feed the homeless, take care of the widows and the orphans.
• The Bible is full of servants serving and instructions on how to serve.
  • YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
  • BECAUSE IT IS THE SERVANTS WHO ARE IN HEAVEN WITH GOD FOREVER!

Revelation 22:3 ESV  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

Revelation 22:6 ESV  And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

• YOU SHOULD WANT TO BE A SERVANT!
  • And today as we conclude I am going to give you a chance to become a servant… but before we do that, let’s give anyone in here an opportunity to receive the Gospel and be born again…

Conclusion

• Gospel Call
• Call forth Pastor Jared and Elizabeth.
  • If you are not currently serving in this church, I would be doing you a disservice by NOT encouraging you to serve.
  • Now there are a lot of places you can serve, there is ushering, and greeting, and security, and maintenance, and groundskeeping, and cleaning, and Audio, Video, or even worship team.
  • But today is MOVE UP SUNDAY. It is the day where our kids graduate into their new Children’s Church Classes.
  • And I can tell you, our church can survive without enough greeters, we can survive if the lawn doesn’t get mowed enough, and if the toilets don’t get scrubbed every week we can still praise God…
    • But we will NOT survive as a church if we neglect these children.

Mark 10:13-16 ESV And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Matthew 18:2-6 ESV And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

• Yes our church will struggle, but we will survive, if we neglect ushering, greeting, cleaning, groundskeeping, or even Audio Visual…
  • BUT WE WILL NOT SURVIVE IF WE NEGLECT THESE CHILDREN.
    • And the truth of the matter is, we were struggling to find enough teachers and helpers BEFORE we split up our children into three classes, now more than ever we need help.
• I want you to take a moment and pray a prayer of faith, everyone in here…
  • “Lord I am willing to help with these children, if you don’t want me to show me a sign, but if you do want me to then I am here, send me, I will go and help with these children”
  • Would you begin praying for yourself, that God would open your heart to help with the children as a teacher or an assistant?
• *Moment of prayer*
• Now for the hard sell, we have never done this before, and we may never do it again… I hope we don’t need to… but here is the high pressure, shameless hard sell.
  • If you are willing to help with the children by teaching or assisting on Sundays, would you step out in faith and come up right now and sign up with pastor Jared and Elizabeth.
  • Anyone and everyone in here willing to serve the children.
  • We will background check everyone, not everyone willing will be asked to do it, but we don’t want to wait until after service as we are all getting ready for the neighborhood picnic…
  • If you are willing to serve the children come forward now.
• After they are done, have everyone who came forward and anyone already serving the children stand… say a special blessing for them.