Read Revelation 22:21

Jesus gives us a final thought in the final verse in the Bible that is so important for us to know and apply to our Christian life! Throughout the Book of Revelation we see the call of our Lord beckoning the Church to get lined up to God and His Way and precepts. This also means as a Christian, a call in knowing Jesus Christ as LORD and being prepared by faith, spiritual maturity, character, and Fruit to develop our faith so we are ready for life and also His return.

The call is to know and be prepared by faith, to grow in our spiritual maturity, to develop godly character, and to be infused by the Spirit and His resulting Fruit. Simply put, it is for the reason that Christ is coming; and, in the meantime, we partake in the building of His Kingdom with the bricks of our faith, each one interlocking with another. How are your bricks being formed and baked?

God's purpose here in this verse and throughout Revelation and the Bible is this, Knowing and growing in Him. This is about the presence, glory, and holiness of God that wipes away the presence of sin, assuring us that we can and will overcome. In Him, we are overcomers! At the same time, God is communicating His purpose for us. From the beginning of creation until He comes back, God has sought loyalty and Fruit and the resulting growth of our faith, character, and maturity. The question for us is this, are you loyal to Christ in all things?

• The grace of the Lord… Jesus. A greeting, blessing, and benediction, seen in many of Paul's letters. It is a reminder that we are holy in Christ; He sets us apart for a reason and a purpose. Our life has meaning and value and Jesus wants that meaning for our lives not to be meaningless, but to be infused by Him so our meaning in life is to glorify Him, enjoy grace and fellowship in Him, and share it with others. This is also what the Westminster Catechism states, "What is the chief purpose of man? Man's (all of humanity who proclaims Christ as Lord) chief end (objective) is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever (Psalm 73:24-28; John 17:21-23; Rom. 1:6-7; 11:36; 1 Cor. 10:11; 1 Thess. 3:11)."

• …be with God's people. This was also an early church greeting as with "peace be with you." It was also a prayer for its people to be well, productive, and useful in Christ (James 1:1).

• Said, "Amen." Nothing can thwart God's will and purpose. Satan thinks he can, and our pride makes us think we can, but God is totally sovereign. Our control is merely an illusion and a delusion to ourselves and others that He puts up with so we can eventually learn to surrender to Him and be trusting and obedient to Him (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; Isa. 60:1-5; Rev. 5:14; 7:9-17; 10:11; 12:5; 13:7; 14:6-8; 15:4; 17:15; 18:3; 19:15; 20:3; 21:24-27).

Where is Jesus, reason and the opportunities that He gives in your daily life? How do we respond to thought, science and philosophy and then to God's Word, and then to life? Know this; science is both facts when it is rooted in reality and truth and it is also ideas that are told as fact. Science is not always fact, which is why theories are always evolving and changing. As science is man's quest and then rationalization to either seek truth and knowledge or to seek ones founder of ideas and impose them as truth. And when it comes to Scripture, many people do the same to God's Word; they seek to impose their truth as His Truth. When you come to a passage, always seek Him.

Good theology is making sure our ideas are not imposed on God's works, rather surrendered to His Word. As, Revelation seeks to impart on us, is to be loyal to Christ, because the trueness and veracity of God's Word calls us to look deeper and to Christ. This is why theology is important; both of our understanding of life, nature and of His Truth all need to be at His feet. As theology is man's quest to know God, so make sure your logic and good reason of God's Word becomes your truth and life, for He is Truth and our life.

(What about Revelation? Remember this point: (it has upset a lot of people because many just do not get it, because most have not read it.) Revelation is not just about eschatology (end times); it is about doing life right, being loyal to Christ, and growing in faith. It is a manifesto on encouragement and a challenge to live a life of "true spirituality" so we will know what to do in all times and in all situations. For a complete study see Revelation in the Bible Studies channel at http://www.intothyword.org/)

Also, we are warned again and again so we can have no excuse. Rather, we have examples, percepts, and hope so we can prosper in our faith, making Christ real and impacting in us so He can be seen through us. One day, it will be too late. In the meantime, we are to do all we can to pursue Christ and apply His work and holiness into our lives, being examples by our life and our words. Outside of His grace and Kingdom are evil, sadness, strife, lies, and deceit that He never wants in our lives or our churches (Rom. 1).

Questions:

1. How do you feel, knowing that Jesus invites you to Him to partake of His incredible wonders now and forever more?

2. God's purpose throughout the Bible is this, Knowing and growing in Him. Why do you suppose this is where God's heart and concentration is? How does this line up to your purpose for life?

3. When you read the Bible, are you aware of its context and how its logic flows (That is, seeing only one or the main points of logic that can be assayed for a view or drawn from a single passage in its context and meaning)?

4. How have you been excited about Christ in your life? How can you be more excited?

5. How does your life have meaning and value through Jesus?

6. What does it mean to you that your life is to glorify Him, to enjoy grace and fellowship in Him, and to share it with others?

7. What does it take to challenge your church to get ready by perseverance of faith in Christ?

8. How can you get your Church better lined up to God and His Way and precepts and to know and be prepared by faith?

9. How can you help increase yours and your people's spiritual maturity?

10. How can you better have loyalty for Jesus? How can you line up your purpose in life to be more like God's and what He is calling you to do?

© 2007, R. J. Krejcir Ph.D. Discipleship Tools http://www.discipleshiptools.org/