Andrew Fountain - The Dirge, the Dance, and the End of the World

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The Dirge, the Dance, and the End of the World

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Sermon Outline - The Dirge, the Dance, and the End of the World

Goal

To see how some strange words of Jesus
are deeply relevant for us.

Outline

  1. The Funeral Dirge: John the Baptist and
    the Dance: Jesus
  2. The Past: the same pattern
  3. The Future: the End of the World

John the Baptist

John the Baptist

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Matthew 11:7–19

  1. As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
  2. What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
  3. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
     
  4. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
  5. Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
  6. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
  7. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
  8. and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
  9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
     
  10. “To what should I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another,
  11. ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;
    we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.’
  12. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
  13. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

based on NET Bible

Matthew 11:10–15 cont’d

  1. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
  2. Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.
    Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
  3. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
  4. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
  5. and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
  6. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

John 1:12–13

  1. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
  2. who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 3:5–8

  1. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
  2. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
  3. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
  4. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
  • cf Matt 11:11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ”

Elijah

Elijah with Ahab & Jezebel

Elijah with Ahab & Jezebel

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Moses

Moses, Elijah & John

    prepares the way for from to
Moses ➜ Joshua (=Saviour) Slavery Promised Land
Elijah ➜ Elisha (=My God saves) Judgement Grace
John ➜ Jesus (=Saviour) Old Kingdom New Kingdom
  • Each one is going up a level from the previous
    • So we are not living in the days of Elijah (sorry Robin Mark)
  • But Jesus takes us to a new order

Some remarkable parallels

  • The Spirit was on him
  • Lived in the Wilderness
  • Preached prophetic warnings
  • Had a king as arch-enemy
  • Successor was “saviour”
  • Heard from God about successor and commissioned him
  • Moses & John the Baptist:
    • Supernatural events at birth
    • Prepared the way for successor
    • Lived at the end of era
    • Next era was a “new order”
    • Didn’t live to see new era

The Two Witnesses

Moses, Elijah, John & ?

    prepares the way for from to
Moses ➜ Joshua (=Saviour) Slavery Promised Land
Elijah ➜ Elisha (=My God saves) Judgement Grace
John ➜ Jesus (=Saviour) Old
Kingdom 		New
Kingdom
? ➜ Return of Jesus Old
Creation 		New
Creation
  • Finally we go beyond time and into eternity

Witnesses

  • John 1:
  1. A man came, sent from God, whose name was John.
  2. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him…
  3. On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
  • Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.”
  • Why two? Mat 18:16 “…at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.”

Revelation 11:3–15

  1. And I will give power to my two witnesses to prophesy… dressed in sackcloth…
  2. They have the power to shut the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying.
    They have power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want.
  3. When they have completed their testimony, the being that comes from the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them…
  4. And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
  5. But after a short time a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seized those who were watching them.
  6. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: “Come up here!”
    So the two prophets went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies stared at them…
  7. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
    “The kingdom of the world
    has become the kingdom of our Lord
    and of his Christ,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.”

based on NET Bible

What should I do?

  1. Step into your identity as a witness.
    • This has always been our identity since Jesus called us to be in Acts 1, but...
  2. Negative: There are some tough times ahead, so be prepared (the dance is coming)
    • Some of us here may be called to suffer, but none of us can ultimately be hurt
  3. Positive: Increasing empowerment thought God’s Spirit
  4. Positive++: What is coming is going to be so much better than what we have now that it just doesn’t compare
    • -Moses: ➜, John the B. ➜, A far greater step for us
  5. A calling, to be a witness
    • We are called to prepare the way simply by pointing to Jesus. We are pointers.
    • I believe there will be a big ingathering—Jesus won’t come back to a failed church
  • When he comes we will be so full of joy that all our mourning will be turned into dancing

Updated on 2018-10-08 by Andrew Fountain