Introduction

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So God … was going on holidays.  And the Trinity was discussing where they should go.  So the Holy Spirit suggested they go to Melbourne for their vacation.  But the Father said ‘on … no thanks.  They think I’m a WOMAN in Melbourne’.  The Father suggested Perth … to which the Son said ‘are you kidding me … they think I’m still DEAD in Perth’.  The Son then said ‘well how about Sydney’ … to which the Spirit said ‘oh yes please … I’ve never BEEN to Sydney’.

Now if you don’t quite understand that joke … it’s because you may not have come across the all too common slur against Sydney Anglicans … that we believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Bible.  Now WHILE Sydney Anglicans probably don’t give the Spirit the time or the credit He deserves … our passage today is about giving the Scriptures the time and the credit IT deserves.  Now this does NOT mean elevating the Bible to equal status with the Father and the Son.  The Bible is NOT God.

However, APART from giving us Himself … Father, Son and Spirit … the Bible is the single greatest gift God has ever bestowed upon mankind.  This is not like giving your wife a stair-master for Christmas … or your husband a body-hair grooming kit for his birthday.  The Bible is the single greatest gift God has ever bestowed upon humanity … outside of a relationship with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.  The reason for this is that the Bible is God revealing Himself to humans … AND revealing how humans can best live in this world.  And when you think about that … you cannot actually put a price on it.

Yet if that’s not appealing enough …  the Bible also reveals the future.  As it’s title suggests … the book of Revelation is God revealing to His people what the future holds.  Now let’s just think about THAT for a second.  When Marty McFly travels to the future in Back to the Future II … he buys a Sports Almanac … a sports encyclopedia … that lists every sporting result for the next 30 years of his life … in the hope of ‘enhancing’ his future.  Instead it gets into the wrong hands … and destroys his future.  But the Bible … and in particular the book of Revelation is OUR Sports Almanac.  It tells us how to ENHANCE our life … based on knowing how it all turns out.

The question our passage TODAY asks is … how are we to handle such a valuable gift?  How are you and I as Christians to treat this priceless gift?  Well I’ve got 3 points today to help us once again unpack the vivid imagery of Revelation … so as we can understand it’s message.  Like we mentioned last week … the Apostle John understood the visions revealed to him in this book … as did his original readers.  So if you and I can unpack the strange imagery in our passage today … then we can understand it’s important message … and undertake to do what it asks.  And our 3 points in how to HANDLE God’s word are quite straight forward.  We’re going to see firstly how (i) We are to STUDY it … v. 1-4, how (ii) We are to SAVOUR it … v. 5-9, and how (iii) We are to SPREAD it … v. 9-11.  And we will be applying this passage as we go along.  But my hope is that by the end … we will have a better handle on how we as Christians are to treat the second greatest gift ever bestowed upon mankind.  So let’s dive in to God’s word … and see how (i) We are to study it, (ii) We are to savour it, and (iii) We are to spread it.

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We are to study it (v. 1-4)

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So Revelation Chapter 10 is another interlude in this big long vision John is being given.  If you recall … Revelation 7 sat between the 6th and 7th seals … outlining how God is going to protect the 144,000 … protect God’s people … from the final judgment.  In the same way … Revelation 10 sits between the 6th and 7th trumpets.  And THIS interlude outlines what God’s people are to do with this information … with this Revelation.  And it begins with these words:

Revelation 10:1 (NIV) Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.

Now these 4 descriptions are attributed elsewhere in the Bible to Jesus … leading many scholars to conclude that this IS Jesus.  The problem is … nowhere else in the Bible is Jesus ever described as an angel … even a mighty angel.  So this is most likely one of the more impressive … more glorious angels in heaven.  And we read:

Revelation 10:2 (NIV) He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

And planting one foot on the sea and one foot on the land … symbolises authority over the WHOLE earth … the land and the sea.  Whatever this angel is being sent to do or say … he’s given authority to do or say it to the whole earth.  And what does he do:

Revelation 10:3-4 (NIV) and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

Now … who are the ‘7 thunders’?  Well we believe this a reference to God’s own voice.  In Psalm 29 … we’re told that the voice of the Lord ‘thunders’.  And that same Psalm mentions ‘the voice of the Lord’ 7 times.  So this is more OT imagery that John is picking up … this time to describe the voice of the Lord.  THEN … a voice from heaven says a fascinating thing.  He tells John to NOT reveal what the 7 thunders have said.  Even though this is called the book of Revelation … we have here something that is NOT to be revealed to you and me.

Now why would God do this?  It’s like someone coming up to you and saying ‘I have some inside information about those stocks you’re about to invest in’.  And we say ‘oh REALLY … what is it?’  And they say ‘I can’t tell you’.  It’s like ‘why do you TELL me you have this inside information … if you can’t tell me what it is?’  That’s just mean!  So is this what God is doing HERE?

Well ‘no’ … He has a different motive in mind.  And that is to show us that you and I don’t get to know everything.  God doesn’t reveal everything to His people.  As Deut 29:29 says:

Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV) The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us …

While God has revealed to us everything we need for life and faith … there are some things we’re NOT privy to.  And the reason God tells us this IN the book of Revelation is because the book of Revelation attracts the MOST speculation about God’s plans.  People are always trying to do things like calculate the exact time that Jesus will return … or FIGURE out exactly what the mark of the beast is.  The problem is … we’re not told these things in the Bible.  That info belongs to the Lord.

And so the FIRST thing we learn about how to handle God’s word in this passage … is we are to STUDY it.  And PART of the reason we are to study it is to determine what God HASN’T revealed to us … so that we don’t engage in needless … and sometimes downright dangerous speculation … as too many people have done with this book.  How do we treat God’s word?  We are first to study it … in part to know what is secret … and what is revealed.

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We are to savour it (v. 5-9)

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Well following this … the angel raises his right hand to heaven … kind of like we do in court today … and he swears … not on the Bible … but by the creator.  And he says 2 things; that (i) the end is near … which presumably means we’re in the LAST DAYS … AND that (ii) the mystery of God … the secret things that belong to the Lord … WILL be revealed to us on the last day … the 7th trumpet.

But AFTER THAT … we move to Act II … in which John is told to go and take the scroll from the angel’s hand.  Now we can’t be certain … but it’s most probably the same scroll from Rev 5 … that has now had it’s 7 seals opened.  He’s then told to EAT the scroll … v 9.  Now remember … this is a vision.  So John probably wasn’t physically eating paper.  This is a symbolic gesture to imply taking God’s word in.  It is to listen to God’s word … to meditate on it … and to savour it.  We are told:

Revelation 10:9 (NIV) … ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’

Now what does this mean?  Well … again it’s symbolism … implying that God’s word is pleasing.  Whenever we ingest God’s word … read or meditate on God’s word … it’s DESIGNED to be pleasing.  Why?  Because everything the Bible says is truthful and helpful.  Reading the Bible is not meant to be a boring religious duty.  It is God revealing THE TRUTH … that helps enhance our life and faith.  Do you understand the enormous benefits that brings?  Do you understand the enormous advantage that gives Christians over people who ignore God’s word?

Let me give an example.  There was a book released just a few months ago … called ‘The case AGAINST the sexual revolution’.  It is NEXT on my list to read.  It’s written by British author Louise Perry … who is a left-wing, non-Christian feminist journalist … who used to write for the Guardian.  On paper … she is about as far from my Christian values as it comes.  Yet she’s spent years researching the effects of the sexual revolution.  So since the 60s … the West had tried to ditch the stuffy hang-ups of sexual traditionalism and sought to enjoy erotic freedom’.  Perry’s findings are summarised by one reviewer as this:

The main winners from a world of rough sex, hook-up culture and ubiquitous porn - where anything goes and only consent matters - are a tiny minority of high-status men, not the women forced to accommodate the excesses of male lust.

In a nutshell she’s saying the messages that have been rammed down the throats of women and girls … that they should be SEEKING to have carefree sex … to have sex just like lustful men … has wrought enormous psychological and emotional damage on women.  Now the thing that saddens me about her thesis is it’s taken some 60 years … and 4 generations of seriously sexually damaged women and girls … to figure out through this dangerous experiment … exactly what the Bible has been telling us all along.  And the Bible has told us that porn … and hook-up culture … and serial monogamy is seriously damaging to women … and that monogamous marriage protects women.  And those of us who have listened to the sweet words of the Bible … as opposed to what society has been ramming down our throats since the 60s … have saved themselves a lifetime of shame and regret.

That’s what the angel means when he says God’s word is sweet.  It tells us what our wonderful creator is like … and how to avoid the pain and suffering that come from ignoring him.  My question over this is: do we believe this?  Do we believe the Bible is the most sweet … pleasing … and life enhancing thing on this planet?  Yet by ‘believe’ I don’t mean head knowledge.  Most of us here KNOW cognitively that the Bible is good.  We come hear every week to sit under it.  My question is … are we living that knowledge out?  Are we savouring the Bible as THE MOST enjoyable and helpful thing we do each and every day?

If not … how do we MAKE that the case?  How do we ensure we are SAVOURING this priceless gift the way we SHOULD be savoured?  Well there’s only 1 way … as far as I can tell.  Now you know how I sometimes say ‘if you only take 1 thing away from this sermon … this is it?’  Friends as of last Thursday … I’ve been at this church 11 years now.  When I leave … whether it be in 1 year or 10 years … if you only take 1 thing away from my time here at Earlwood Anglican … this is what I want you to take away. 

The only way … as far as I can tell … to delight in God as our ultimate treasure … is to (i) set aside time EVERY DAY for the Bible and prayer, and (ii) pray that God will make you savour it.  But please understand … we should NOT expect God to answer that second part … unless we’ve first engaged the first part.  It’s like praying for God to give you a new job.  MAYBE he’ll drop one in your lap without you having to lift a finger.  But 99% of the time … he answers the prayer for a new job THROUGH us applying for jobs.  We should not expect to find a new job by just lying on the couch and watching TV.  In the same way … unless we get off the couch and set aside time to enjoy God … through His sweet sweet word … then how is God going to answer that prayer?

Friends if you only take 1 thing away from my time as rector of Earlwood Anglican … this is what I want you to take away.  Set aside 20-30 minutes every day this week … turn off the TV … shut down social media … set aside 20-30 minutes every day … (i) to seek that which is most enjoyable … and (ii) ask God to help you savour that time SO much … that you cannot wait to do it again tomorrow.  We are to study God’s word … and we are to savour God’s word.

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We are to spread it (v. 9-11)

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Then finally … we are to spread it.  While John is told the scroll will be sweet in his mouth … he’s also told it will turn sour in his stomach:

Revelation 10:10 (NIV) I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.

Now why does John’s stomach turn sour?  It’s because while God’s word is true and helpful … part of that truth is the judgment that awaits those who ignore God.  The prophet Ezekiel is told to eat a scroll for HIS commissioning as a prophet.  And at the end of Ezekiel chapter 2 we’re told that scroll is full of ‘words of lament and warning and woe’.  In the same way … THIS scroll tells of the end time judgments.  And the reason why John is told to take God’s word IN … is because he is then to tell that word OUT:

Revelation 10:11 (NIV) Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

Now ‘yes’ … this command to prophesy was given specifically to John.  But let me read to you the 3rd verse of the book of Revelation:

Revelation 1:3 (NIV) Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy

John was NOT told to write this down for the churches to either (i) ignore it, or (ii) keep it to themselves.  The Great Commission is still active in 2022.  And spreading this sour prophesy is part of that.  And here’s the thing we need to keep in mind.  God KNOWS it’s sour.  God KNOWS people aren’t going to like it.  God KNOWS people will ignore us … ridicule us … reject us and even oppose us if we speak these sour words of judgment to them.  Yet he calls us to spread this word of judgment to the lost.  And there are 2 very good reasons why he calls Christians to spread this word of judgment to those currently in rebellion against God:

The first is … it’s not helpful keeping the truth from people.  It’s actually hateful.  Picture it this way.  Imagine you’re running down a hill in a forest … towards a deep ravine.  And the reason you’re running is to escape a savage bushfire.  Yet as you’re running … you notice a group of people running down the mountain as well … heading up-stream.  The thing is … you KNOW there is no escape upstream.  You KNOW there is only 1 bridge across that ravine … and it’s downstream.  So you now have a choice.  You can either not bother them with this vital information … for fear they might ridicule you … or oppose you.  Or … you can share this information with them … and let them make the decision as to whether they follow your advice or not.  Friends we have the words of eternal life.  Yes … our non-Christians friends and family may ignore us.  They may ridicule us.  They may even oppose us.  But please know … it is not helpful to keep the truth from them.  Rather it is hateful.

That’s the FIRST reason God wants us to spread the sourness of God’s word.  The SECOND reason is it glorifies Jesus more.  You see if we don’t tell people of the judgment to come … then nor can we tell them Jesus took that very judgment FOR us on the cross.  And this actually cheapens the gospel.  Let me explain.

Two weeks ago George told a story in this pulpit about how his laptop died.  And he mentioned how I gave him a replacement laptop.  What he didn’t mention … bless him … was it is a 10-year-old laptop that barely works … and that we were about to throw out.  The way George told that story … again … bless him … could have led you to believe I gave him a $2,000 laptop.  Aren’t I generous!  The truth be told … I gave George our rubbish.  Now REVERSE that for the gospel.  When we preach the gospel WITHOUT explaining God’s judgment upon their sin … then Jesus’ death is cheapened.  It’s like he gave us some of his left-overs.  That the cross was just a physical death … like EVERY other human experiences anyway.  It makes the cross look like a 10 year-old computer.  But when we preach that our sin demands God’s infinite judgment upon us … we THEN get to tell of how Jesus took that infinite judgment upon himself.  And when people see Jesus giving us a laptop worth more than we could ever afford ourselves … Jesus is glorified … is he not?

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Conclusion

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And THAT my friends … is how we are to treat God’s word:

1. We are to study it … ensuring we know exactly what God has revealed to us … AND what he hasn’t. 

2. We are to savour it … to set aside a regular time for Bible and prayer each day … begging God to help us delight in it.

3. And we are to spread it … to warn those who are perishing of the judgment that awaits … in the hope that they will FLEE that coming judgment … through accepting the glorious gift of the cross.

Friends … may we treat this priceless gift in the manner it is worthy of being treated.