Pointing to Jesus | John 1:6

Transcript

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You would take your Bible and turn to John, Book of John, one of the greatest books, in my opinion, in the Bible, the Gospel according to John. I titled this message, Pointing People to Jesus. Pointing People to Jesus. John chapter 1, verse 6, it says, There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Talking about John the Baptist. So the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. In verse 8 says, He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. Let's go, Lord, in word of prayer. Let me follow the assembly Bible for you. Again, Lord, just thank you for the beautiful day and for the freedoms we enjoy to be here this morning, to freely come and to worship you in spirit and truth. And I do ask you, Lord, for your preaching grace this morning. Uh, to you just hide me behind the cross. And again, Lord, it's uh we read your word and we hear your word, and the Holy Spirit's here among us, inside us. And we pray, Lord, it has free reign in our lives and in this service today, that uh we all be pointing people to Jesus and to the lost that we'd be saved. Or any other decision that needs to be made today, I pray it be in yieldance to the Holy Spirit and your will being done. And again, Lord, we just pray again that we just be the people you call us to be. And it's not really it's not about us, but it's about who we point to, and that's Jesus. Again, we love and we praise you. We thank you for your word, and again, your Holy Spirit. We ask forgiveness of sins, and we ask it's all in Jesus' name. Amen. So it's uh, you know, really our ultimate goal in life should be that uh to point people to Jesus. Yeah, we pray for people to be saved, and we pray for people to give their life to the Lord, but guess what? There's nothing we can do. We can't physically uh make people be saved, we can't uh be saved for other people. You know, we've heard it said, and I'm sure you have as well, that God has no grandchildren. We're all children of the Father. Uh we can't make people be faithful, but we can and we should be pointing people to Jesus. That's what we should be doing. And uh in the way that we live our life and the way that we conduct our lives and do things, it's uh it's really not uh I went hunting this past week. We had a lot of time to think about things and my ministry and different things. And uh it's not about politics, it's not about your careers, it's not about things. It's really our ministry should be one thing, and that's pointing people to Jesus. Uh we can be proud of our church, we can be proud of our denomination, we can be proud of being Baptist, we can be proud of all the different things. But ultimately, ultimately, our goal is to be pointing people to Jesus. Plain and simple. And yes, I'm proud to be ABA missionary Baptist, no doubt about it. But I'm here to tell you, there's saved people in every denomination all around this world. And so we should be pointing, we all should be pointing people to Christ. Pointing people to Christ. And it's so important that we realize and understand that. So there's three people we're gonna look at today about pointing people to Jesus, and then the fourth one is, of course, our application, the application of this message for us. First is, we just looked at John the Baptist. Jesus said nobody really has been on this earth that's any better than him by pointing people to Christ. Jesus said that by how amazing he was. But we're gonna look at his life. The second is the church, and the third is the Holy Spirit. And uh the application is for us is really, are we doing that? Are we doing that? So look at John the Baptist. When we read these two verses, the two we just read, the thing that stands out about John, the Holy Spirit, and the church we'll look at is they all were sent. Look what it says in verse 6. And there was a man sent from God. Think about that. Sent from God. The God, the creator of all things in heaven, had a plan for John the Baptist's lies to do what? To be sent to this earth with a message, on a mission. You know, everything, everybody's all excited and all this stuff about, you know, circling the moon and the astronauts doing all these different things and all these missions. That's great and fine. If you're into all that, that's that's fine. I'm in the sports, you may not be in the sports, people's into astronauts, I'm not really into astronauts in space, no, that's fine too. Everybody, it kind of makes the world go around. But guess what? They all had a mission, but God sent, God sent John here on a mission. It's amazing. Guess what? You're here this morning. If you belong to Jesus Christ, if you are a born-again believer, you have a mission. And that's to point people to Christ. To Jesus Christ. And it says, you know, it says, whose name was John, the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. And then he says in verse 8, he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light. And again, he's sent from God. Not only was he sent to bear, it says he was also to bear witness. What does it mean to bear witness? It says that it really simply says to simply to tell the truth about who Jesus is. What do witnesses do when you think about a trial or courtroom? Prosecuting attorney or a defense team, they'll send these witnesses up to do what? Swear on a Bible, to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They don't want anything but the truth. Don't exaggerate and don't leave out. Tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And that's what John did. He would talk about who Jesus is, to tell the truth. And what's that mean? You go up, you sit on a witness stand, you do what? You testify. You testify about what? About the truth. You know, we share, we have testimonial services, not nearly enough, but we do. On Sunday night sometimes, I'll stand up and say, okay, uh, I'll have service with great services. I believe people stand up and say, okay, just say one thing you're thankful for. People stand up all through the night. We read scripture, a great service. And then some nights we can have a testimonial, talking about how you were saved. We should be sharing how we were saved. It's a testimony of what God has done in your life, how you were saved, and when you were saved. You may not know the exact moment, the exact day of the year of the calendar, anything like that, but you should remember the moment. The moment you ask Jesus Christ into your heart, and you were born again, and then you begin to grow, and you begin to mature and understand that he had a purpose for your life, to do what? To represent him. Then when you get that part down, when you're baptized and you're part of a church, guess what? You ought to be pointing people to Jesus. I've said it so many times, you know, we're all babes in Christ, as Paul said. We have to be fed, we have to be fed, we have to be fed, but eventually, guess what? We're to hold the spoon. We're to hold the spoon and feed ourselves. We should be reading the word more than just hearing it on a Sunday morning or a Sunday night or a Wednesday. We ought to be reading it daily, feeding ourselves. Then as you grow, guess what? You feed others. You feed others because there's babes in Christ all around. So you want to be an example that they will grow and understand how to live a life to reflect Christ, that points other people to Christ. It's so very important. So let's look at John's witness. Jump all the way down to verse 15. It says, and John bear witness of him. It's talking about Jesus, and cried. I think about John being very loud, being loud, boisterous guy. We have with his, he wanted people to hear the message, saying, This is he, this was he of whom I spake. He that cometh before me is preferred before me, for he was before me. In verse 16, he says, Of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace says, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. How awesome is that! What an amazing verse. All grace and all truth is found in one person. Who is that? Jesus Christ. It says, No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. And then we see John's witness here in verse 19, and this is a record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask of him, Who art thou? There he was and camel haired, and I think about, he's probably wearing something like we I think about today, like overalls of one harm, one of the harms off of it, the slings off of it. He's out there just preaching as loud as he can preach, repent and be baptized, and they're like, Who are you? Who are you? And then verse 20, and he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. That shows you his heart right there. Because how many people would have had huge crowds around him and said, Well, you are you the Christ? He said, Well, what do you think? Maybe I am. I don't want to offend you. I don't want to hurt your feelings. If you want me to be, I mean, how our world is today, as long as we keep the big crowds, we'll say whatever we want to say, as long as they just keep coming. But they want to say, Man, are you the Christ? And guess what? If John said, Yeah, I am, them crowds would have doubled and tripled and all the different things. But guess what? It would have been a lie. It would have been a lie. So the very first thing he says, I am not the Christ. And they ask him, What then? Are thou in verse 21? Are thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are thou that prophet? He answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that send us. What sayest thou of thyself? And look what he how he describes himself. Man, this is so awesome. This is so awesome. How John describes himself. He said, I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness.

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Nothing else. Nothing else. Nothing else.

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Not to be some great storyteller, not to be some jokester or whatever else. Nothing else. Nothing else.

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But a wonder voice crying in the wilderness.

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He says, make straight the way of the Lord. And said the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied he would come. John the Baptist would come. Isaiah prophesied that a voice would come. And they were for sin were the Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto him, Why baptize thou then if thou not be the Christ or Elijah? Neither that prophet. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there stand up one among you whom you know not. He it is who cometh after me as preferred before me, whose shoes lasheth I am not worthy to unloose. Be basically saying, I'm not worthy to tie shoes. We think about today. Those things were done in Beth Barrea beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Then we get to verse 29. The next, very next day. John saith Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. Man, how amazing is that! How amazing is that he would point people to the Lamb of God. That's amazing. He said, This is he. Then he gives a testimony, a witness of who he is. He said, This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me. And I knew him, and I knew him not, that he should be made manifest unto Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bear records saying, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him. He's talking about when he was, God told him, He said, When you baptize one, the Messiah, the Christ, you will see the Holy Spirit come from heaven and fall upon him. John said, I saw that. I saw that happen. And he says, And then I knew not, I knew him not, but when he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom you shall see, this is exactly what I said, ascending and remaining on him the same as he which baptized with the Holy Ghost. And he says, And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. How amazing is that! How great is that. John said, John said that God sent me with a missing, a message and a mission to point out Jesus to a lost and dying world. And you go down there and you baptize with water and you baptize and you baptize and you baptize. One day the Son's gonna come, and when he comes and you baptize him, you're gonna see the Holy Spirit come down from heaven and land upon him. And when you see that happen, you will know and understand that this is my son. And it happened. And John bare record of that, bare witness of that. And they're saying, This is him. This is him. It's so amazing. And you think about this, it had been 400 years of silence since Malachi, the time that John is preaching in the wilderness, 400 years of no message from God, no prophet. 400 years. You think about our country? We were celebrating 250 years this year. It had been 400 years and no message from God, no voice. All they had was what? Only corrupt religious people speaking lies and living like hypocrites as we looked in the Sunday school lesson today. So then the first person to point people to Jesus while he was on this earth was John the Baptist. He pointed people to Jesus. And I love the really next verse is really it shows us John's true heart. John's true heart and how he spoke the truth about Christ, about himself. Well, what's he do? Look in verse 35. It says, Again, the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples, John had disciples, and they looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. There's John, he's got this little crew with him, and you've got disciples with him, and here goes Jesus, and there's John again. So there goes the Lamb of God. And to his John's disciples, now you know why? I'm gonna go follow him. They heard Jesus be, I'm going with him. And that's how it should be. That's how it should be. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, What seek ye? And they said to him, Rabbi, which is to say, be interpreted master or teacher, where dwellest thou? And he said, Come and see. And they came and saw where he dwelt and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. And one of them, well, one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. And look what happens then. What does Andrew do? He first finds his own brother Simon and says to him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted to Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. Think about Peter. How did Peter find Christ? His brother found him first. He went and told his brother, that's how important it was. He said, I have found the Messiah. We have found him. So he went to him. He went to him. And he brought him to Jesus in verse 42. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone. Then you keep reading, you see all how it happened from Nathanael to Philip going to find Nathaniel and all those disciples that come to Christ. One would find him, then he'd go to another or the brother and they would come and they would follow Christ. That's an example for us. It's such an example for us. To lead others that you love, point them to Jesus. Yeah, you can talk to them, pray for them, but here's the thing they have to make the decision. But we point them to Christ. And how do we point them to Christ? By the way we live our life. By the way that we live our life. But John is so awesome.

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It's not about him. But who is who is Simon?

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And Cephas, what's Peter? And you think about leading people to Christ and pointing people to Christ, it's uh it's kind of like asking for directions. When we were in Mexico down there, the language barrier, we look for a place or whatever. And some people say, Well, I'm looking for this. You might show them a picture. And they just point, say, keep going. And then they might have an interpreter and they may say, Well, you go here, here, turn, make five turns left and three turns right, and it's right down there. You're like, okay, I'm just as lost as ever. Or worse. But what's the greatest thing? It's kind of like that show Amazing Race. When you see them people going all around the world, people say, Well, show them a picture, and they might say, Just keep going. Or they try to say this, all these different turns, or they say, you know what? I'll just go with you. They're like, hey, all right. So they jump in the cab with them and they take them to that spot. That's the greatest way. That is the greatest way. They show them how to get there. Can we? If someone comes to you today and say, I'm going to find Christ, I want to see Christ, what would you do? Can you show them? Can you show them? Not just today. Can you show them on Monday? Can you show them on Tuesday? Can you show them on Wednesday? Can you show them on Thursday? Can you show them on Friday? Can you show them on Saturday? Can you show them Christ in your life?

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Every day. Every day. Guess what?

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John did. He pointed them to Christ. And those disciples, he pointed them to Christ. And then the brothers would go and they'd find their other brothers. And then we see Peter. That his brother came and said, We have found a Messiah. Turn to Matthew chapter 16. We'll see how Peter was used by God, by Jesus. Matthew chapter 16.

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Peter, how Peter would point people to Jesus. Look at verse 13.

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This always has a special place in my heart. Matthew chapter 16, verse 13. I was just a baby Christian. Started going to church and being faithful, doing what God would have me to do. And Brother Philip Miller asked me one time, said, Hey, would you bring a devotion? I'm like, are you crazy? Are you crazy? He said, Really? I'd love for you to bring a devotion some night. I said, All right. So I prayed about it and said, man, what in the world am I going to say? And guess what? Very first devotion I ever gave in church was Matthew chapter 16, verse 13. It says, When Jesus came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist. John Tabass has been killed here. They think he's come back. And some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And I love what Jesus said. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? It really and truly does not matter what the world says or who what the world says or proclaims about Jesus. The most important thing is who the church says Jesus Christ is. He said, Who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter. I love that about Peter. See, Jesus was asking them, he's asking the group, say, okay, who do you say that I am? And everybody's probably thinking, well, let me think. Let me think. What did Peter do? We criticize Peter a lot. We get on Peter a lot because he misspeaks and he gets kind of ahead of himself, but guess what? Peter was amazing. Because he was willing. He was willing to step out. And he says, and Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Man, how awesome is that. Simon Peter got an A plus. He got an A plus for that. And Jesus answers unto him, Blessed are thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood and not rebuild it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And look what Jesus says he's going to do. And he said, I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Don't get mistaked, like the Catholicism of different things want to teach about Peter being the first priest and Peter being the foundation of the church. Jesus has not seen that at all. Yes, his name is Petrus, which means rock, but he is a building block upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ. Like all the elders in this church, and you all know who you are, I'm not going to call you out, but the elders of this church are guess what? Are building stones upon the foundation of Christ in this church. Jesus is a foundation and he is the head. But the older elders of this church are the pillars that are built upon the foundation. You have a house that's a with a cross space, you guess what? You got a foundation around it, and you got pillars all in it. What? Holding up the building. We're never the foundation. The foundation is Christ, but we are built upon that foundation. And that's what he says in verse 19. He says, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And look what he says, what Jesus says in verse 20. And he says, Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. That's kind of a head scratcher, especially when you got a message saying, We're pointing people to Jesus. Like, what are you talking about, brother Ryan? Why did Jesus say, hey, don't go tell anybody that I'm the Christ? Well, this is what I think. What Jesus was doing, he didn't want to just be a popular person. There's a book called Not a Fan. I encourage you if you've never read it, please read it. The youth went through it. Because so many people are fans of Christ, but they're not true followers of Christ. Because they don't know Jesus and Jesus doesn't know them. I just went to a ball game, went to Rigby Field on our trip. You got to see Bryce Harper, Carshroop, all these different guys. I'm like, man, them are so cool. I'm a fan of the I like the Phillies. The Phillies fan of the Cubs. Guess what? I was just a fan. I could walk up to Bryce Harper and say, man, you're a great player. He'll say, Who are you? Who are you? I know who he is, but he doesn't know who I am. There's so many people in our world today that say they're Christians. They're fans of his teaching. They're fans of you know being nice and compassionate and all that, but they don't know him. Why Jesus says there'll be a day one day they'll say, they'll say, people say, Lord, Lord, do we not say all these things and do all these things in your name? And Jesus is going to say, Depart from me, I never knew you. Why? Because they're just fans.

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They're

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Fans of Christ. They're not followers of Christ. That's why that book, not a fan, we're not to be fans. We're to be followers. More than just fans. We're to be followers of Jesus Christ. And Jesus told them, don't tell them that I'm the Christ yet, because he was growing in popularity. Thousands were coming to him. He was like, I always like to say today, like a modern-day rock star that can just sell out concerts all around the world in just minutes. But here's the thing Jesus doesn't want you to just be a fan of his. That is real growth. From a baby Christian to a mature Christian, he is your savior. But the breaking point, the growing point in our life is when we make him Lord of our lives. That he's first in everything that we do. That he is first. He is Lord. Remember Thomas, doubting Thomas? He says, I won't believe until I put my hands, my fingers in his hand prints and in his side, and he wasn't there. And he said, Oh, I won't believe. And the next about eight days later, Jesus shows up. And what did Thomas say when he got to touch Jesus' hands? And he got to touch Jesus' side. He says, My Lord and my God. He finally got it. And Jesus says, Thomas, you believe because you have seen me. He said, How much more blessed are they that haven't seen me and yet believe? Guess what? That's all of us here today. That's all of us here today by faith. We have placed our faith. Because someone in our past has pointed us to Christ, has led us to the Lord through the Holy Spirit, the third person we're going to look at. It's all the work of the Holy Spirit. We do our part. Guess what? I'm here to promise you and tell you the Holy Spirit will always do his. Always. He's waiting. He's waiting for people to be saved. He's waiting for people to yield to his convicting power that we can't do. We can't convict anybody.

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I can get choked up, and other people get choked up. It's emotional. It's emotional. There's nothing wrong with it.

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But it doesn't bring conviction. If you feel conviction hearing God's word and reading God's word, it's not from me. It's not by the person sitting beside you. We get emotional. I'm an emotional person. I blame my mom. I'm like her. But emotions won't save us. It softens the heart where we'll let the Holy Spirit will hear him. And then the Holy Spirit will convict us to do what? To make a decision. To make a decision. Because knowing that you need to be saved, and realizing the path to being saved, and then getting just brokenhearted over it by the Holy Spirit saying, you need to be saved. You need to be saved. And you break it down and saying, I know it. I know it. And then leaving is not salvation. Salvation is saying, Yes, Lord, I know it. And I'm not worthy of it, but please save me. And that is salvation. That is being born again. And then from there, he will work on you because you belong to him. He will chasten you and make you and shape you and make you and mold you into the image of Christ. And it hurts. It hurts. Because the Holy Spirit's with us all every step of the way. What did Jesus say? Turn to Matthew chapter 16. Talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. I'm sorry, John 16. I knew that wasn't right. John chapter 16. Jesus has been saying he's going to have to go away and he's going to send a comforter. The third person. Got John the Baptist. You got the church and he got the Holy Spirit. John 16, verse 7. Jesus says, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth is expedient for you that I go away, and if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, what did Jesus say he will do? He said, I will send him unto you. Remember about John the Baptist, a man sent from God. The church is sent out to proclaim the message of Christ. And Jesus said, The Holy Spirit, I will send him unto you. And he says, When he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin because they believe not on me, of righteousness because I go to my Father and they see me no more. Of judgment, because a prince of this world is judged. Look what Jesus says. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. But I love verse 13. I don't know if you write in your Bible or highlight in your Bible. If you do, highlight this verse. It says, How be it when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth. The Holy Spirit, that's what's so amazing about the Holy Spirit. He won't just guide us how to be saved. He will guide us every moment of our life how to be like Christ. How to be like Christ into all truth. Remember what it says about in John chapter 1, it's about Jesus full of grace and truth. He says he'll lead you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself. What's he do? He's pointing people to Jesus. He says, But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come. Look in verse 14, ultimate verse about pointing people to Christ. What the Holy Spirit does. He says, He shall glorify me. It's kind of like John the Baptist stepping back and saying, Yeah, I got disciples, but if you're wanting to follow Jesus, please do. He's a lot better than follow than me. The Holy Spirit says, I've led you where? I'm leading you to Jesus. For he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. He says, All these that the all things that the Father hath given are mine. Therefore said I, that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you. As we place our faith in Christ through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, what the Holy Spirit begins to do then is our mind will grow and understand his word. We read the word, we read the word more than just being the word, a book. We understand as God speaking to us. And we obey it. And there's not a decision to be made. You understand it, like, okay, I'm going to do it. But the Holy Spirit says, He's leading me, I'm going to do it. Too often I think we struggle with decision when there is no decision to make. You know the truth. You know what's right. Do what is right. That's what I told you about, I've said this so many times, life is very difficult. But when we have the Holy Spirit, when we have God's Word, it's like 98% of the decisions are made. It tells us do this, do this. Yeah, about who you marry and your career and all that. Okay, God said, Yeah, as long as you're obeying me and doing what's right by me, just do what you're talented at. That's prayed about and be okay. But right and wrong and things like that, here, do it. That decision is made. Do what is right. So we look at all these verses and you think, okay, brother Ron, what's it for us? Well, turn to Revelation chapter 22. Revelation chapter 22 about pointing people to Jesus. There was an angel that came to John, book of Revelation. John was on the Isle of Patmos. And then Jesus speaks, and all through it, he's pointing John to Jesus to write these down, to record it for us. Revelation chapter 22 and verse 6. We started in the first book of the New Testament. We're going to end in the last book of the Old Testament. And he said, He said unto me, his angel speaking to John, These Saints are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the Holy Prophet sent his angel to show unto his servant the things, servants, these things which must shortly be done. Then we see in verse 7, Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the saints of the prophecy of this book. I don't know if your Bible's got red letters or not, but that behold, I come quickly is like from the voice of Christ. He's speaking this. He says, Blessed is he that keep the saints and the prophecy of this book. What's he talking about? The word of God. You want to be blessed? Keep the word. Keep it in your heart. Obey it. And he says, and I, John, saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard these things and heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel was showing me these things. And look here, it's talking about pointing people to Jesus. The angel didn't want to be worshiped. What's he say? Then he said unto me, See thou do it not. He's like, Don't fall down at my feet. So many people today, they want to worship angels. There's so much, so many lies and deceit about angels. We're not going to die and get some wings. Okay? People want to say that. Oh, they got their wings today. No, we don't. We'll never become angels. Angels are separate beings. Angels don't have a chance at redemption. The day they fail, it's a day they fail, and those that stay with Christ stay with Christ. They look upon us in amazement. Saying we could be so wicked and see so terrible, and God loves us and we have a chance at redemption that He sent His Son. And God uses them, like Gabriel and Mike and all those to bring messages. But not to be worshipped. I know that's another message for another day. But we see it right here. He says, Don't worship me. He said, I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the saints of this book. What's he say? What's the angel tell John? What does it say at the very end? Worship God. Worship God. And he says unto me, Seal not the saints of the prophets of this book, for the time is at hand. You know what Peter says? 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 8 says? Because so many people will say, Man, it's been so long. 2,000 years. Peter says, A day is a thousand years, and a thousand years has a day with the Lord. So guess what? Two thousand years, God's sitting on his throne up there, and we're thinking, Man, it's been so long. God says, It's been like two days. It's been like two days. Time is nothing to God. That's why he says, I come quickly. The time is at hand. And look what he says. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. He was just filthy, let him be filthy still. And he that's righteous, let him be righteous still. And he is holy, let him be holy still. What's that verse really mean? I had to look at that this morning. Okay, what's he saying? Basically, what he's saying is people can choose to be evil. They can choose to disagree. They can choose to disobey. They can choose to say, the deny all day long. But guess what? It's not going to change the truth of God's message. And he says, And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, verse 12, to give every man according as his work shall be. And he says, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments. I love what he says there. Blessed are they that do his commandments. Now just read them and see them. Like James says, be a doer of the word. Ye may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs and sorcerers and warmongers and murderers and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Then verse 16, and I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify. Remember what pointing Jesus was all about? Being a witness, giving a testimony, pointing people, and he says, I have sent my angel to testify unto you these things. Where? In the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star. I love verse 17. And the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the bride, the church, well they say, Come. Come, Lord Jesus. And he says, Let him that heareth say come, and let him that has a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. And then he says, For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of this book and the prophecy of God shall take away his part out of the book of the life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book. Then verse 20, He which testifies these things saith, talking about John, Surely I come quickly. And talking about Jesus. Jesus talking about all the things he's going to do. He says, Surely I come quickly. He says, Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus. John says, Amen, Lord. Even so come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. John is pointing people to Jesus. That should be our role every single day. The way we live our life, it's not pounding people over the head. It's not being in an argument about this, that, or the other. Just the way that we live our life and we point people to Christ. If you would please stand, song leader and Miss Michelle, we come forward. We think about our life. But first and foremost, it begins with salvation. That we would understand our need, understand that God loves us and He died for us. That we would place our faith and we repent and place our faith in Christ and be born again and then be used to point people to Christ. As we sing.