Revelation 22:6-13 (These Words Matter, Jeff Kliewer)

Stand with me. He is the Lord of all creation maker of heaven and earth.

He's the one the one true God. Let's sing together dark.

Lights up the stars.

One.

That gives life.

One.

Sovereign there is no other that can compare to you.

You are.

Changes.

Jesus one true God I can't compare to you ever. Changes.

Jesus Jesus the one true God. You're the one true God. Yes, we have seen the glory of The one and only son of God. Yes, we have seen the glory of The one and only son of God. You are the one alone in greatness the one who never changes.

Jesus one. Jesus the one true God. You're the one true God. You're the one true God. So the one true God who was who is and is it is to come.

Let's sing together. Holy. Holy. Holy. Hey Rob. We've no piano or mighty. Let's sing together. You are holy. You are holy. You are my you are worthy worthy of. I will follow.

I will listen of my days.

We'll soon Be and I and I will Prince of Peace and I will live my life for my Great song. He is worthy of our praise. Let's sing that again. I will say.

Worship.

Peace and I will live my life for you.

Amen.

Good morning, everybody and welcome. Come on. I waited that time and I got nothing back last time I just marched right through and I got a huge like hey, so I had to do good morning. There we go. All right.

Great to have everybody here today. So in the last Service so I don't know if Michael he mentioned this outside. So we went from like trying to get into the shade to stay cool to now. Everybody was up front in the Sun to stay warm outside.

And then we kind of created this service as a way of you know. For people that had difficulties with the heat now, this is the heat service so it's kind of how amazing how God has really forced us to kind of get out of our comfort zone and to like constantly be retweaking and thinking about how we're gonna do worship and You can look at it as a burden, but I think it's just you know God likes to just rock our world every once in a while.

So it's exciting. So one of the things that we are at our board meeting this past Friday we were discussing. Well, how is worship going to look as we move into the colder months? We our desire is to stay outside with that first service as long as we can.

But because of some of the expenditures that we're now making these are above and beyond but we had budgeted for we had never planned. For these things so we're in the process of researching buying some larger tents for the outdoors that we're thinking of putting right alongside the building.

So we can have people inside and then still have people outside so we can fit and stay within the number Recommended numbers that they're giving us so we need to as per our bylaws announce that we're gonna have a special business meeting in two weeks to.

As we get information about the pricing to approve the purchase of some tents and some some heaters. So that people could be outside and stay warm, but also be able to worship at the same time. So I need to announce that we also do have a regularly scheduled business meeting in October as well.

We will select our nominating committee. So we're asking our congregants to be praying about that whether you would choose to serve to be on the nominating committee. As we then begin to pick our new elders and deacons for the next worship year, which begins in April for us.

So that being said let me get to a couple announcements. We have this past Wednesday. We've been talking about being able to encourage our police department and John Laskin has been heading this up Pastor John and so this Wednesday this past Wednesday.

He went over there at midnight and dropped off some huge containers of Panera soup and some Hawaiian rolls. And they were super thrilled to get that as of now. We have about five Families or five individuals that have signed up to partake in that our goal is to hopefully do this for the next six months and then See how it goes.

So we're looking for more people to get involved. So if you Would like to bless the the midnight shift of the Mount Laurel Police Department see Pastor John and he'll help give you more direction on that.

Our women's precept study. This is a study that's going on at Monday night that has begun this past week. Cindy Randall's our point person for the precept study. So if you're interested in joining that you can speak to her and seek her out.

Our ABF is up and running. We call that adult Bible fellowship or aka Sunday school. For those of you who may be new that is actually going on right now. But there's going to be a Sunday morning offering and there's also going to be a Thursday night offering and there'll be some zoom links.

If you can't be here in the building so you can get more information about that as well. And then we're going to be having two special Sundays in October. We're going to bring in a special guest named Andrew Rappaport.

We've had him here in the past for an apologetics conference and he's going to be talking about the topic of Dispensationalism versus covenant theology. So on our October 4th night, we're going to have a bring-your-own-dinner Event prior to him coming to speak and then on October 11th We're going to have a hymn sing to kick off that night as well.

So you can speak to Pastor Jeff if you're more interested in finding out information about Andrew. And now I'm going to turn over the microphone to John Dottoli who made a comment about me outside. About not wearing shorts because it's cold out, but I'm gonna compliment John by saying I believe he has the coolest hair.

So as I'm starting to get gray if I go all white, I want to have hair like John Dottoli. Okay, so that's on live on YouTube. So that's it's good there forever now. So.

Little side note that one observation I I've been going to the outdoor service since the beginning and One thing I just I noticed about the indoor service the acoustics are much better. Wow, that me that that music is just powerful.

That was just fantastic. You may want to take out a pen paper because there's a bunch of dates I'm gonna be throwing out there. The easy one is tomorrow morning right here 6 a .m. Is the men's Breakfast, we've been studying the book conviction to lead by Al Mohler and tomorrow is chapter 18.

We are having a men's retreat this year that's going to be November 13th 14th and 15th at Pocono Bible Mountain Conference, I'll be sending out emails with Further information. The price is $169 a person.

That's a little higher than than our previous retreats, but Trust me. It is a discounted price for our church. So that's a good thing. And it's going to be a much bigger weekend, there's gonna be five speakers one of whom is pastor Jeff.

And for those who have any concerns about kovat you can speak to me directly the the the conference facility is taking, you know, all the necessary precautions and you know in accordance with Pennsylvania's guidelines.

So that's November 13th 14th and 15th Pocono Mountain Bible Conference on October 1st Thursday evening Seeds of hope that's a ministry a Camden ministry that we that we support they. It has a lot of Ministry separate ministries prison ministry.

It has a ministry for the girls who? You know, unfortunately lived their life on the street and you know use their bodies to to make a living. They feed the homeless and Canada. So it's a it's a it's a big it's a full ministry and and they're their annual dinner conference banquet.

They can't have it this year because of the kovat. So because it's generally a big event a lot of people filling Sovereign Grace Church. So this year is just going to be a 15 minute video. So if you can please tune into that and it's going to be a recap of what the ministry's Accomplished or done in the last year.

It's a 15 minute video October 1st 7 p .m Jeff has included the link in his weekly pastor Graham. You can find that if you scroll all the way down to the bottom and if you're so led you can send a donation in after Watching the video and also it seeds of hope they have it.

They're having a 5k run on Saturday October 17th at 9 a .m. For Those of you who like to run of which I am NOT one. So But so that's it if anybody has any questions just seek me out, please John Dottoli you can email me call me whatever.

Thank you.

All right, this is a sad moment in Cornerstone history because Tim is moving to Cali. Doesn't he look the part. He's got the slick back hair the sunglass. Tim is moving to California. But good news by God's grace.

He's going to be coming back to us, right? We hope you're not going for good. So we have asked him before he leaves. To share a quick word and then I wanted to just pray over him as we kind of send him off as a church.

So Tim.

Hey everybody, I wanted to start my testimony of When I was about 21 years old, I'm 26 right now. When I was 21 a friend of mine told me two things. He had just become a Christian and he was saying a lot of things but only about two things stuck with me.

He said that he was saved and I never heard the word saved before I grew up in Catholic Church but I for some reason never that never resonated me when I heard saved. And then he also quoted scripture and he said enter through the narrow gate because the pathway is Broad and wide that leads to destruction.

But the pathway is small narrow and hard that leads to life and only few find it. So when he said that The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. So when he said that it hit me in the heart and.

It.

Pierces to the division of soul and spirit and it really it's the intentions of the heart that really got me the Word of God just hit me because it Flipped my worldview upside down because up until that point I thought that everyone in the world Was gonna go to heaven and only few few people were gonna go to hell like the really bad people that went to prison for murder or something along those lines, but when I heard that only few made it and Everyone's on this broad path that leads to destruction.

I thought that maybe for the first time maybe I'm not good enough and I started viewing like large crowds of people like this and I would be like wow There's like about 40 people here or 50 people here.

Maybe I'm better than 47 of them. Who knows like I don't know so I'm Thinking about these things and I just want to know what this way of life is because I'm hearing of this. Only few make it so I wanted to be part of this few.

So I searched for a little while I read I Listened to on tape the new like the Old Testament Genesis and the first five books of the Bible and a little bit following that but then I fell away and I started not Searching for God at all.

Those things I thought about like I thought that it made sense to live for God if God is real and I believe in God I should live for him. I thought about things like that, but that went away and Then I was got a job working for a delivery for a soap company and I came across this radio station called Hope FM and it's when Preachers come on the radio and they preach about Jesus and I was hearing about Jesus and I didn't want to hear it at first.

I wanted nothing to do with it because at that point in my life I was probably in the most sin that I've ever been in and I didn't want like I knew I didn't want to leave that. But God really was calling me away from that without really even me hearing a lot of what was being said.

I knew that God was calling me. I felt a call that that I wanted to live a different life and trust in him well, actually, I didn't want to he was calling me to turn from sin and trust in him and it was a Irresistible call to where I had to give in because I was I was a madman if I didn't give in to that call because Once you once you know the truth the truth sets you free.

So I felt very set free from sin and I was a different person. So. But I didn't have anyone teaching me. My church was the radio station. So I was only learning. I didn't have anyone to ask questions or anything like that.

So my church was this radio station and so I decided not to join a church. But I decided to sign up for a religion class at Burlington County College at the time so I went to this religion class and I thought that I was gonna learn about God and Jesus and Because that's what I'd learned about when we called religion class when I was in Catholic school I'm gonna go to religion class.

So I thought oh, let me sign up for religion class but I get there and it's a comparative religion class and I'm learning about Hinduism and Islam and Buddhism and all these other religions and I'm I'm clearly seeing it was actually very good that I went here looking back but at the time it was a struggle, but I'm seeing that all the other religions are man-made religions and Christianity is this God centered religion that is totally different from the other ones but there was a Professor that was very convincing.

He was very articulate and he would twist the scripture. He grew up in the church. His dad was a pastor but now he he come to this conclusion that all the religions might be true, which is which can't be true because 2 plus 2 equals 4 but it can't 2 plus 2 also can't equal 6.

So there's differences that you have to say. No, this can't be true if this is true. But he was very articulate and he would twist the scripture. I didn't know the scripture that well because I was a young baby Christian.

I guess you can say and for example The Bible does say there is no God. But if you read the entire verse only a fool in their heart would say that there is no God. So so he would use scriptures out of the Bible.

Like, you know, if you wish to be perfect sell all your possessions and Jesus was homeless. So become homeless. He would say things like that and I'm and I was very challenged by it because I didn't know the scripture in in context but It was good for me to see because I knew that he knew the Word of God.

And I know that I didn't know it that much. But I knew that God had saved me and God had called me to live a different life and I knew that I knew that the truth was Christianity and I knew that he didn't know that and it was baffling my mind because I was like How can this guy who's been around?

Christianity his whole life not know the truth and I am just like dabbling in it and God has opened up my eyes to like all this other stuff is false and my heart was breaking for the people in the class because they have.

You know Some of them were raised Hindu and and Islam and they really believed it and this guy is saying, you know believe in something pick something to believe in and I just couldn't believe that. This really smart guy knew Do the Bible but that like his heart wasn't changed.

So it was clear that The Bible is a heart condition where God has to change your heart because he knew a lot more than me. But my heart was changed but he did leave me with um, I Was very mixed up when I left that class because I was thinking about the things he said and then I started stopped listening to That radio station for a while.

And and.

I was searching and searching and then I went. I had that friend Jack that told me about the narrow gates. We went on a trip to Grenada and I just was like, let me go read the Bible for myself because I haven't read it Yet and I just need to read it for myself before I hear it from anyone else.

So I read all four Gospels when I went on this trip to Grenada. It was kind of a baby missions trip, but that was the first time that I've sat down and I didn't have my phone. I didn't have internet and I was just like I needed to read this and I was reading it Constantly over and over and over like if I didn't understand it I would read it 20 times hoping that I would understand it like just simple verses.

But I read Matthew Mark Luke and John and that definitely changed my life when I read the words of God. I was very challenged in my faith. Realizing that like he says ye of little faith and I'm like I'm the guy with little faith because I can't do these things that he's talking about and I started to think wow I'm not that good and this guy Jesus is really good and I'm thinking wow.

I want to be like this guy Jesus. I want to be like the disciples and some cases I didn't want to be like the disciples because they would foul and they would try to portray themselves as not that good.

Which was cool that Jeff will share about later. But then I came back from that trip and I was still a little confused. But I did actually hear this song. It's funny. It's called carry on my wayward son when I was listening and driving in the truck for the soap company.

You'll have to look up the lyrics to this song. But it was a it was a kind of a worldly spiritual song where for some reason I was mixed up about what I was Believing before I went on this trip. Actually, I was very mixed up about what I was believing and I can be swayed back and forth.

But the song gave me a lot of comfort. I didn't have peace at the time because I'm Some nights I'm living as sin and then the next night and the next day I'm living like I I want to live for God. And I'm just sinned, but I don't know if he'll accept me.

I didn't know those things I'm sorry. I lost track of where I was first minute. Oh the song it's funny because Rob Randall I just saw Rob Randall and he said this song carry on my wayward son as part of his testimony as well.

Well, he came to faith, which is pretty cool. But I heard that song and it gave me peace and I don't know why I listened to it eight hours a day every day, so eventually I Was like whoever wrote this song Knows what I'm going through because this guy doesn't have peace, but he's searching so I'm like, let me look up this guy.

It's Kerry Livgren who wrote the song and he was a guy who actually was learning about all the religions of the world he studied all of them all the major ones and then he went through all the minor ones and he event I read that he eventually found out that Evangelical Christianity was the truth.

So at that time I knew I wanted to be an Evangelical Christian and also at that time I was listening on the radio about how There's a church called Mount Laurel Evangelical Free Church. And it said if you believe this this and that then this is the church for you.

And I'm like, yeah, that is the church for me. But I also when I wanted to become an evangelical Christian I didn't know if I wanted to come to this church anymore because it said evangelical free. So I didn't want to I wasn't sure about it.

So I never went but then I went and Joined a gym and I'm playing basketball and this man right here Pastor Jeff is actually in that same basketball league that I was in and a lot of people are calling him pastor Jeff and I don't know why and I knew I wanted to talk with him and It's funny because the guy Kerry Livgren who wrote carry on my way.

My wayward son. He was convinced by a man named Jeff that evangelical Christianity was the truth. So I'm like, you know what? I think I really need to talk to this pastor Jeff guy. So I asked him to speak speak with me and then he was busy that day I think he was with Timmy or something and then I was confused why he didn't want to talk to me.

I was like, hey Jeff. I really want to talk and he was like, okay. Well, we'll set up a time. We never set up a time maybe for maybe a few weeks went by and we didn't talk. So I finally was like, I don't know why this guy he's a Christian and I don't know why he didn't want to talk to me because I'm searching and I was thinking like if I If someone would talk to me about Christianity, I would love to talk to them but I don't know why it was just the way God arranged things I guess and Eventually we did meet to talk because I was like Jeff we need to talk and he was like, okay.

And then he came and met me and then we talked for a few hours. Probably the only time we really talked other than high and by and things and I'm asking him all these questions probably a hundred questions in three hours of just what?

What is this? What does this mean? I read all four Gospels and I'm quoting all this. What did this mean by this and he's answering them perfect with backing him up with Scripture and I'm like, okay okay, this guy is the real deal and Because I'm meeting with him I'm like I have to figure out like if this he even knows the truth because he didn't want to meet with me at first.

So I'm asking him questions that I know the answer to I'm just gonna see if he knows and we're having. And we're having this awesome conversation and there's even people listening in to what we're saying.

That's awesome. We and then from that point on we actually met at this discipleship table at the gym. So where he met with me about once a week or once every two weeks and we talked about Christianity and we would notice that even more people would come and they would talk to us here and there and we would get to Share with them and that was amazing, too.

The first time we sat down after we talked I was like, all right this guy knows what he's talking about. I want to learn from him. So I was like Jeff. I want to come to your church and he was like, okay.

Cool. My church is Mount Laurel evangelical free church, and I was like, that's the church. I'm supposed to be going to. I didn't I didn't know. And then he was like and then I was like Jeff. I don't like the name of your church and he was like Well good because we're changing it.

It's a cornerstone. So and then he changed it on Easter Sunday of I think it was 2018 and that was also the day I got baptized and my little brother Kyle got baptized and Jeff's son Timmy also got baptized.

So I'm also Timothy and we had first and second Timothy. So it was a little joke. But um, but I learned a lot from Jeff and he talked about he was very big on the sovereignty of God and He's you know by now.

He's a Calvinist. I hope you're still a Calvinist. Yes, still a Calvinist. So at that time I was learning from Calvary Chapel and.

And.

I didn't know what the difference between Calvinism and Arminia ism. I had no idea but when he told me about Calvinism I don't mean to Preach all about this guy John Calvin or anything. This is just what I believe.

But he's telling me about the sovereignty of God and and the five points of Calvinism. And it made sense to me because looking back on my life I came to a point where I wasn't searching for God, but God called me out of the world.

So it made a lot of sense God sent the right person to me at the exact right time and did all these things for me. So it made perfect sense so that God chose me and then in response I chose him back because I was dead.

I was blind. I was not alive. I couldn't choose God if I tried he was the one that chose me and woke me up and then in response I chose him back and So I did want to just make sure this testimony is not too much about me.

But about God really rescuing me, and I didn't really even was in a place where I wanted to be rescued. I was actually perfectly fine before I heard about Christianity living. I was trying to live a happy life, and I Didn't know that I was on this path to destruction.

So I just wanted to to share how God really did change my life from I was a completely different person and now I'm Trying to live a life pleasing to him so. And also, I just wanted to also share about How when I did come to the church?

I did was very much paying attention to the people in the church and Jesus says that You'll truly know his disciple by the love that they have for one another so I was very Welcomed and loved by the church, and I knew that the people in this church was.

They're just like Jesus disciple. And so I just want to say thank you to everyone in the church because I I can't even say names. There's a lot of new faces actually right here in the old in the outdoor service.

There was more of their the old regulars, but I would say half of you guys. I don't even know if I know Now that I'm looking around. But also there was I wanted to share there was when you sent off Todd and Cindy were their names right.

Todd and Cindy. Todd sat right around where Julianne was every day and He wore a tie-dyed shirt, and anyway they sent him off and remember you flipped a penny to Todd and he caught it and you said one cent because he was moving to Florida right and For some reason I was I was sitting over here in this section.

There's no chairs there, but When we were leaving that day after we sent him sent him and his wife off. There was a penny right in the aisle of where he was sitting so I picked it up. And I was like Todd you forgot your penny dude like what are you doing?

And he was like what are you talking about? I'm not gonna lose this penny, and he held up a different penny. So I thought maybe I would be the next one sent or sent eventually so It's not a surprise that I'm moving, but I just thought of that story now, so I thought I'd share it and Thank you for listening.

So is is there a chance that we're getting you back?

Yeah, I think there is a high chance that I'm gonna come back. I definitely I'm gonna miss you guys.

Yeah, and by the way the reason I didn't want to talk to him that night is because they just beat us on the basketball Court most likely we were favored to win the championship, and they they won it that year right.

Actually we didn't lose. But we took you guys out. Yeah, they took us out of the tournament, and then they lost too, so it's okay anyway. We forgive you for that. So we want to pray for you brother because you're going off into a whole new place.

And we're just gonna ask that the Lord cover you and and cover you with his grace and his power on you. So I'll pray first and then Ben would you also pray for him? So father we do pray for our brother Tim.

And we just ask in Jesus name that you would go before him be his rear guard keep your hand upon him Lord God. We pray that you would fan into flame this obvious gift. That's upon him. Lord he is an evangelist you have made him an evangelist and we pray that you would stir that up in him and Fan it into flame that he would mean lead many people to the Son of God Jesus Christ.

So we pray for Tim. Lord God that you would strengthen him. We pray that you keep him from the evil one as he goes to California. Lord guard him guard his heart. Keep him in and on the straight and narrow.

Lord God we just pray over him asking for the filling of your Holy Spirit. We pray that as he encounters new challenges. That he would grow in you that you would use this mission as he is one scent that you would Send him in the power of the Holy Ghost and use him and strengthen him for the work that you've called him to do.

His father we commit Tim into your care. So grateful for his service with the youth and all that you are using him for we pray. That you would bless him that you would strengthen him that you would go before him God.

We're grateful and we commit him to you and we thank you and we pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

Thanks, brother.

All right.

Yeah, Ben's gonna read the scripture. If you could turn to Revelation 22, yeah.

Revelation 22 verses 6 to 13. So just say amen when you're there. Say it loud. Yeah. Revelation 22 6 to 13. 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. And Behold, I'm coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy this book.

I John and the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me you must not do that. I'm a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book.

Worship God. And he said to me do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is near. Let the evil doers still do evil and the filthy still be filthy and the righteous still do right and the holy still be Holy.

Behold, I'm coming soon. Bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for that he has done for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega the first and the last the beginning and the end.

Wasn't it good to hear a word of testimony in Revelation we learned that the tech we overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of the testimony and then when John in chapter 19 fell down to worship an angel the angel said don't do that stand up.

Because it says in chapter 19 verse 10 You must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

So that's the spirit of prophecy to testify that Jesus is the Christ. Amen. So Tim, thank you for sharing that. I was blessed by it. All of us who know Christ are encouraged. We are reminded very much of our own Salvation story of how he drew us and and convicted us of sin and brought us into the light.

Amen. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll exposit from Revelation 22 6 to 13. So father we are so thankful. We do confess Jesus is Lord. We do trust you Lord Jesus to teach us this morning from your word.

We desperately need to hear from you this morning God we pray that you would raise up a people that are not ashamed of the gospel a People that are committed to the truth of your word that trust in your word for your word is a light.

And to our path and a lamp and to our feet God. We love you and praise you and ask for your spirit now to help us in the scriptures in Jesus name. Amen. Well, America is dividing in our day very much between socialism and Christianity if You notice there is a strong divide.

That's not so much about political theory as it is about God's Word versus man's Word. God's Word versus man's Word. Winston Churchill rightly described socialism this way. He said socialism is a philosophy of failure the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy.

Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. I Think it's a pretty good definition of socialism, but see God's Word stands directly opposed to socialism because where socialism teaches envy and Control by the state of the resources of a people the Bible teaches individual Responsibility, doesn't it?

That man is made in the image of God and that man is responsible to bring up from this fallen world the fruit of the ground in Fact the gospel of envy which is socialism is directly opposed to the commandments of God.

Is it not the commandment of God in the Ten Commandments to not covet your neighbor's property?

And.

So it's God's Word that stands in opposition to socialism. Antonio, Gromsky was an Italian Marxist back in the 1930s and Died in 1937 when Mussolini killed him, but Gromsky himself was a socialist and here's what he said about socialism versus Christianity.

Socialism is precisely the religion that must overwhelm Christianity. He said in the new order socialism will triumph by capturing the culture via infiltration of schools Universities churches and the media by transforming the consciousness of society.

Gromsky foresaw that socialism would infiltrate Institutions, especially education the media and even going into the churches. How true that was the battle between God's Word and man's Word playing out in our society.

Christianity versus socialism this battle began when Marx and Engels introduced socialism to the world. Where did Marx spend the last 30 years of his life? Not in his native Prussia or wherever it was but in London.

For 30 years he was teaching and stirring up Marxist revolution in London with his sidekick Engels. Frederick Engels. Supplying him. Well one day Frederick Engels was asked who he hates most. I Thought that was an interesting question to ask only a Marxist would ask who do you hate the most?

You know that's the kind of things that Marxists sit around they stroke their beards. And they they talk about who they hate the most because Marxism is itself a hateful Ideology, so it's an interesting question, but when asked who Engels hates the most you know want to know who he said Charles Haddon Spurgeon because across town in London at the Metropolitan Tabernacle Spurgeon was preaching the Word of God and everybody infected with this virus is inoculated to Marxism and socialism and Engels recognized it the thing that was holding back his revolution in London vis-a-vis Germany and then in the Soviet Union where Marxism took full root.