Camp Destination: Decision

Bruce Chant

Godzilla / Camp Destination: Session 1

23/07/2004

DECISIONS DETERMINE YOUR DESTINATION

DESTINATION starts with decision and the ultimate decision for you is to determine which direction your life goes. This camp is a crucial turning point because we will be required to make a decision.

I want you tonight to make a decision about Jesus.

I am going to give you some information – but you need to make a decision on it.

Allow the holy spirit to speak to you and confirm these words tonight…

REVELATION 14: THE END OF THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD

There is one God.

He came to earth in the form of a man, lived a sinless life.

While we were still enemies of him He showed His love for us by dying as punishment for our sins. He ascended to heaven where He sits with the Father.

But he is coming back – don’t know when could be today.

Revelation 14

¹Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

The LAMB is Jesus. Jesus stands.

Up until now He had been sitting, in patience, by the right hand of the Father in heaven. Now He has had enough – He stands.

It is important to see Jesus as He truly is.

This is not the humble peasant Jesus – this is Jesus the victorious king.

Tonight my job is not to be a salesman and sell you Jesus – my job to unveil God as He truly is and let you deal with Him.

God is not some sort of counsellor, or therapist – He is the sovereign creator over all the earth and we will come to the day where this God, our God, has had enough and He stands ready for action.

and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

With Jesus are a hand picked number of men – 144,000 of the finest men, Jesus’ men.

These men have the name of God tattooed on their heads – they belong to God. They follow the lamb wherever He goes, they do whatever He says why? Because they love Him. Jesus says if you love me you will do as I command. These men – follow and obey their God and do what He says.

These men like Jesus hate sin and are sickened by as much as He is. NOT to participate in it. They don’t slack off on the job, feel up their girlfriend and ignore their bible and prayer.

How do I know they are men? It tells me latter on. But it is significant.

The world needs strong Christian men – men that boldly wear the name of their God on their heads for all to see.

The problems in society, the problems in families, the abuse of women and children, the lack of power in the church is not because Jesus has failed – but that the men have.

Don’t I care about the women? Absolutely, it is fact because we so highly esteem our sisters that I focus in on the men. How many of you women want a man who will lead and inspire you in your walk with God? How many of you girls want a man who above all else is strong and will be strong in God before all else. The reason is it is God’s ordained plan that strong men lead the church in society forwards. What about women? When they are loved and nurtured and looked after by strong men then that’s when they can be best used by God.

²And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. ³And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

These 144,000 great men of God began to sing an incredible song to God but it wasn’t any old song. It wasn’t planetshakers or hillsong or something for the karaoke menu – it was a new song that had never been sung before and will be sung only by the 144,000 men of God. This is the victorious song sung only by holy men!

Can imagine the sound? Some of you guys think singing is a bit weak. Well this one song you will want to sing. Imagine Subiaco oval, fill once, twice, three times and a half full of men singing the most incredible new song you have ever heard. That is what this will be like.

First thing – have you been redeemed? Do you belong to God?

⁴These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.

There is one issue for young men. Sexual perversion.

Maybe in the past the enemy would deploy different tactics to pull men down but today there is one weapon and it gets all of you, it is the nuclear bomb that wipes them all out – sexual sin.

These men do not sit around downloading porno, they do not flirt with any that will look their way, they do not feel up their girlfriend or try and sleep with her on their mum’s couch, they don’t go to topless bars, they don’t commit adultery, fornication or sexual immorality, why? Because they belong to Jesus.

Men who follow Jesus don’t do those things. Their heart is not towards women as objects of sex their desire is towards their God. They don’t desire to please themselves, they desire to please their mighty God.

Maybe you’re sinning in this way. Stop it! God is not mocked, for what a man sows that shall he reap. Bring your sin to Jesus and go and sin no more!

You need to aspire to this level – do not defile yourself with women. Grow up, love God, get yourself to a place where a decent God fearing girl will want to marry you and get married and lust after her biblically, just the way God intended it.

But if can’t control your pants – you don’t have a place leading a home, leading a wife let alone leading in God’s kingdom.

They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.

These are the finest of the harvest – first fruits. I don’t think I know 14 such men, let alone 144,000. Will you live to be one?

⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

These men did not lie. They look you in the eye and speak the truth.

Adam was a coward who didn’t embrace the truth, he accepted a lie and we’ve been chasing lies ever since. Lying is a way of life for us today (eg Liar liar- the guy who tells the truth – it is a comedy) – but it is not a characteristic of men who follow God.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people.

There is one God and one gospel. There are not many ways to heaven – there is only one. All roads do not lead to God, only a narrow one through God our saviour Jesus Christ. And this gospel – good news – is for who many people? ALL People, every nation, tribe, language and people.

The good news is that Jesus came to earth, died for our sin, paid the price for our sin and defeated our enemies of sin, death and hell. Why? So we – who are enemies of God – could come to Jesus – go from death to life – and live and reign victorious with Him.

At this point the angel declares one last time – we have the opportunity now to be bold and declare it. And people are responding like never before here in Perth. But now we see the last time the gospel is preached.

Some of you have still not responded to the gospel – you don’t have eternity to make up your mind (I’ll just wait until I’m about to die – you mightn’t have that chance).

⁷He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

What does the angel say “Fear God”. Why? Because no one does.

“God – if there is one– is just a big sky fairy to blame when things go wrong. Someone to pull the finger at when we feel like it and live how ever we like.”

“Hey that’s a bit harsh, you don’t know what I‘ve been through” – what about what Jesus went through?

What about what my rights? What about God’s rights?

What about what I want? What about what God wants?

What about my way? What about God’s ways?

What about me and my glory? What about God and His??????

We live in such a selfish, inwardly focused, me first world – we live as though God is our pet goldfish in the bowl. Always there but not of much use.

There will come a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is lord and no-one on that day will worry too much about themselves – because God will get His glory.

⁸A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."

⁹A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,

What is the beast? Let’s cut all the rubbish about end-times barcodes and chips etc and cut to the chase.

Jesus says I am God you worship me – worship anything else and you’re worshipping the beast. If you worship money, that’s the beast. If you worship sex, that’s the beast, worship yourself – you’re the beast – it’s all the beast.

There are two teams – Jesus and the beast. If you don’t worship Jesus you worship the beast and you are marked by it.

¹⁰he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."

What you need to know is that if you worship the beast you will suffer greatly because the day of God’s wrath is coming.

It doesn’t matter who you are judgement is coming to those who worship the beast.

Some people struggle with the fact that there is a hell – it is only for the really bad people – well it isn’t just for the worst boy at your school.

How could God send people to hell? Does he? No – he give people a way out through Jesus, because He loves them.

Hell is full of torment – it is not a party with satan in charge – He isn’t in charge of anything – God is. It is torment where those who worship the beast are buried in burning sulphur (ie brimstone – bitchumen) and the torment never ends.

¹²This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

But still there will be those who follow Jesus and will be spared.

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

What are our deeds all about? Saved by grace – no need to do works? Wrong.

“created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Good works for God show us approved to the rest of the world. They are how we worship God and show our appreciation to Him – and they will all come back to us at the end of the age.

¹⁴I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man"^{[Daniel 7:13]} with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Jesus takes a sickle – a c-shaped sword – curved to get leverage in cutting – in His hand. He riding a cloud coming to earth

¹⁵Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." ¹⁶So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Then on one fall swoop Jesus reaps the harvest at the end of the age.

If you are a christian – you have already been harvested. But at the end of the age – all the seeds you’ve sown into people, all the good deeds / works you’ve done – will come to fruitition with the final harvest.

After the last gospel was preached that was the final decision time – and now the harvest is reaped. The great multitude who turned from sin to God to bring Him the ultimate glory.

¹⁷Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." ¹⁹The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. ²⁰They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of (300 km) 1,600 stadia.

But another angel came out with a sickle.

The harvest has been reaped.

The grapes are ripe – wine makers look for fruit to be ripe before harvesting because it is then they have the most juice. After ripening they die.

The unharvested grapes are gathered and they are tossed into the winepress of God’s wrath. They are crushed, destroyed and feel the full force of God’s wrath for eternity.

Their blood flows as high as a horses bridle for 300 km.

This is the day of the end of the earth.

Those who worship the beast. Those who ignore God. Those in their pride and arrogant foolishness try and do things their own way are crushed and consumed by the fierce wrath and anger of God. God’s enemies are crushed

For centuries God has stretched out His hand to humanity. He came to earth and we killed Him. He sent the Holy Spirit and we ignored an grieved Him and still He extends a hand of love to all men –

But the day is coming when it will all end. Foolish people who have turned from God will be condemned. God is not be mocked- you have no idea who you are dealing with.

Don’t be one of them. Turn to God today. Come to Jesus give Him your sin and repent from living a life marked by the beast.

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