The final sermon in a series on the book of Revelation: Fearless.

Revelation 19:6-10 - David serve communion

"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "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."


I graduated from University at the worst possible time anyone could graduate. We were at the very top of the recession and there were no jobs for graduates to have. My best friend from High School had studied at a better school, had focused on her classes much more than I did, and had already sent out hundreds of job applications with no success. She had been interviewed dozens of times - but she hadn't received a single job offer.

My degree was in Ethnology - a field so unemployable that most Americans don't even know what Ethnology is. I would have had a better job of finding a job if my degree had been in underwater basket weaving (knitting seven sacks of barley cotton) or English Philology. I think many of you understand where I'm coming from.

It was April and I still hadn't applied for a single job. I don't really know what I was thinking at the time. I had never applied for a job before - they had just come to me in the past. I was talking with a friend one day when I finally realized that I was absolutely terrified. I genuinely considered purchasing a trailer and just living on the road until I got a job offer. I could see myself holding a sign that read: "Degree in Ethnology. Will work for food."

I was immobilized by fear. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't act, and I was certain that things wouldn't get any better. I would begin to think about my future options and I would become so overwhelmed that I would shut down.

We are not captive to our fears, but rather we are set free by the promises God has made to his children. We have much to rejoice over.

I decided that I needed to lower my expectations. I probably wouldn't start at my dream job the day after graduation. I probably wouldn't make much money and I would probably have to delay my dream of being financially independent from my parents. I needed to realize that everything would work out. I began thanking God every morning that everything would work out and that I was part of God's great plan for the world.

This freed me for joyful obedience. I wasn't in a prison of my own fears - I was free to follow God's plan for my life. Things fell together and I signed up for a volunteer position with a tiny cost of living stipend. I lived on less and lived frugally and was able to save up enough money to come and volunteer here. You've been able to watch the rest of that story play out in my life. Every day I am so thankful to be here with you and to see God working in your lives.


I've already shared my rocky path toward loving the book of Revelation. My main problem, I discovered, was that I was separating the Book of Revelation from the rest of the Bible, but this book isn't something separate or different. We don't have The Bible over here and The Book of Revelation over here on the other side. This book is just as essential to our faith as the rest of the Bible. This book teaches us who we are and what we are dreaming, hoping, and living for. It is a book of prophecy - a book about the future of the world.

When we think of prophecy, we tend to think of sorcerers and palm readers - crazy magical things that fit better in the hallways of Hogwarts than into the hallways of Ivan Franko. This is a book of prophecy - but we must think of it in terms of active prophecy. This book is a revelation of the future- but just as much it is a call to action. It calls us forth from our slumber.

This is a book of the future - and it is a book of our future. We are the church. We are the bride of Christ. We are present at the great banquet table, we are those clothed in white singing Hallelujah. We are those bowing together to worship Christ.

It's time for us to get ready.

When my rommate's grandmother was younger she worked as a librarian. When Hannya was young and just starting at her job the head librarian was a very stern, strict, and peculiar single lady. Once the head librarian was sick at home and since Hannya was the newest employee, she was chosen to go and visit the head librarian. She showed up with some food and baked goods, but the head librarian refused to open the door. Hannya explained who she was and that she had brought food. The librarian said to leave the food by the door and to go away. Hannya was a little persistent and said that perhaps she could come in and visit for a few minutes since it was her work responsibility to visit. The head librarian left Hannya outside in the hallway for over an hour while she cleaned her apartment and put on makeup before opening the door to reluctantly receive her guest.

When the head librarian was turning sixty, the other librarians teased her that they would throw a surprise birthday party for her and host it at her apartment. They were coming soon and she needed to get ready. She stressed and stressed over the idea of people coming to her apartment. She was terrified. She cleaned every room of her home, but realized that the floor was just too dirty for guests. So she decided that it needed to be painted. The head librarian bought the cheapest paint she could find and began painting her floor. She hadn't read the instructions and didn't open any of her windows. Her coworkers found her dead in her home after she hadn't shown up for work for several days.

This story is so indicative of how so often the church has tried to prepare the world for the end times. We make everything sound so crazy - and we make these beautiful words of hope into something toxic enough to kill faith. This book, more than any other part of the Bible, has the ability to be misused and twisted. If we don't read it in context it is incredibly toxic.


But there is no need for this book to be harmful. This book is the beautiful conclusion to the love letter God has written to his children.

This book points over and over again to the central truth of the Gospel. God has a plan for the redemption of the world - and you are part of that plan.


In the dark days of the great depression US president Franklin Roosevelt told the terrified nation, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." These words apply to our understanding of this book. Although many words, images, and phrases sound confusing or scary - ultimately this book concludes the great love letter God has written for us. These words call us to live out our faith fearlessly. We are part of something so much bigger than ourselves. We are part of God's great plan to redeem the world. We have NOTHING to be afraid of except our own fear.

I hope that as you read the book of Revelation that it doesn't scare you - but that it sets you free for joyful obedience.

Today we will serve communion. This is the "marriage supper of the Lamb" written about in today's passage. You are invited. All are welcome to this table. Through the act of communion we may imagine the resplendent joy waiting for us in reward for a life well lived. This banquet is open to all people, but will only be attended by all people if we choose to live open lives, prepared to share the good news of what Christ has done in our lives.

Here is the brutal truth - if we lived into the good news of the Kingdom of God, and if we spend the rest of our lives living for the redemption of the world ... our lives may be difficult. There are scary images and thoughts in this book because when we live out the good news there are many people who will be unhappy about that. This is the reward that we receive for choosing God over this world. We feast together this day to remind us of the banquet that God has waiting for us.