Higher Aim With Dr. Curt Dodd

Today’s key passage of Scripture provides a beautiful picture of God's magnificent plan. This powerful picture speaks to us even today as we apply the Word of God clearly. You can see that God has a plan in place. When you think that things are out of control, you need to realize that God has a plan and it is all ordered. In this message specifically, we are going to look at the specific plan God lays out in Revelation and break down the components of this plan.

As the seventh and final seal is opened in Revelation chapter 8, we see that there are several principles that can be drawn from this picture of judgment upon this planet. We should glean these principles, embrace these principles, and try to live out these principles. So in today’s message, we are going to look at each of these principles so that we might apply them to our lives as we continue to follow Christ.

As we continue our study of the book of Revelation, we see that God’s will is being unpacked, and each seal is being unbroken one after the other. We have already seen the first, second and third seals. With the fourth seal, the horses of different colors bring the rule of the antichrist. This brings war, famine, and death. Then we see a picture as the fifth seal is opened, when the martyrs lose their lives. I really believe that the Scripture teaches that these are Jewish martyrs who now respond to Christ, yet they lose their lives. They are beheaded and they are under the altar. This is a picture of what God is doing to bring the end of time; and we are headed there very fast. Today, we are going to look at the Sixth Seal being opened, why this is such a terrifying seal, and how it gives us insight into what the future holds.

We need to understand that the unfolding of God's will is right before us, as the Lamb of God breaks the seals. He will unleash judgment on this planet upon all of the inhabitants of this planet. The judgment is for choosing not to respond to God's grace and mercy. Love turned away turns into wrath! We have heard people say, “Our God is a God of love.” Yes, but when His love is spurned, the response is wrath. That is exactly what we see here in today’s key passage.

It’s absolutely imperative that we understand that anyone who chooses not to align their lives with the Word and will of God will experience judgment. There’s just no way around it. With this in mind we need to be mindful of what Scripture says about this judgment and how we can make sure our lives are aligned with God’s best for us rather than trying to figure things out on our own. We will dive into all of this today as we continue our study of Revelation, as we begin over the next two weeks looking at the Four Horsemen, the opening of the seals, and what it all represents.

For the past few weeks, we have been focusing on Revelation chapter 5 because we need to be reminded that the King is coming back for you and me. With that knowledge, we need to be ready, waiting with hope and anticipation of His coming. That also means we need to have the right posture where we are right now. We can learn about what kind of posture we need by reading Revelation chapter 5. So as we close out this mini-series this week, may we take special note of what we can learn from what John describes seeing in heaven so that we may emulate the posture of those worshiping Jesus there while we are still on earth waiting for His return.

Many of us have tried to align God with where we want to go. Nothing will put you upside down in your life more than when you try to squeeze God into where you want to go. On the other hand, nothing is more powerful in your life than when you allow your life to be aligned with the Throne Room of God. That's why this chapter in Revelation is so critical. We have been spending much time in chapter five so that you can align with what is happening in heaven right now. We can experience God's will in our lives by lining up with what is happening in heaven right now. When we align with heaven, God will give us unbelievable peace in the midst of whatever storms we are going through. So let’s continue our study of Revelation chapter 5 and see what we need to do to align ourselves with the Throne Room of God.

We have been taking our time walking step-by-step through John chapter five, to see where John is focused. Today, we are going to talk specifically about how John is in the presence of the Father in the throne room of heaven and how he focused on a sacred sermon. Through this study of Scripture, we are going learn that we should never discount how God can use each of us personally to impact someone else’s life. You might have a sacred sermon God wants you to share, so why not share it and see how God works? Our job is solely to be the messenger, delivering the good news of Jesus Christ. We can trust God to take care of everything else.

What’s so cool about Revelation 5 is that it’s a picture of what is happening in heaven. If we could join heaven right now, we would probably be living different lives and have a different attitude and focus. But even though that’s true, we also need to focus right now on the fact that the King is coming! He is coming back for His people, and the reason He is coming is because He owns it all. He is coming for you who know Him, and that means He will not leave you in the situation where you are forever. God has a plan, not just for eternity, but for right now as well. So as you strive to live out that plan you need to realize that His timing is perfect. And although we might not understand it, we can trust it.

One of the greatest gifts we can pull from the book of Revelation is the picture we get of heaven. I truly believe we would be so much better off if we wouldn’t get so bogged down with everything that’s happening in the present and instead fix our eyes on eternity. If we would get our focus right, and get aligned with heaven, the living here would be a lot easier. There will be more peace, confidence, and stability in your life when you are aligned with heaven. Regardless of what happens around you, you will not be shaken. And isn’t that what we all want? So this week, we’re going to continue looking at Revelation chapter 5 and see what we can learn about heaven from the Word of God.

The fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation are really one unit. And so over the new few weeks, we’re going to focus on their contents in hopes of gaining a clearer picture of what heaven is going to be like. It’s one thing to listen to what other people say about heaven and what they think it will entail, but it’s another to dive into the Word of God and look at what God reveals to us about where we will spend eternity as His children. Specifically this week, we are going to take a look at the scroll that John talks about in today’s key passages and what we can learn from reading about this scroll.

Today as we continue our study of Revelation, we will look at the entirety of chapter four. There are only 11 verses, but they are packed full of imagery that should blow your mind. Remember, this is a first century man, trying to explain what he experienced and saw in heaven. There is much symbolism, but with the greatness of what is mentioned, the reality is even greater. Open your mind and open your heart to allow God's Word to sink deeply down inside of you. Allow the Spirit of God to apply His words specifically to where you are right now.

For many people, the word “rapture” doesn't make much sense. They are really confused about what it is. In fact, for many, the Book of Revelation is extremely confusing. Some people have tried to read it and have so much difficulty wading through the prophecy and the unfolding that they sometimes quit right in the middle of it. They quit before they reached the good part. So today, we are going to continue our study of Revelation and take a look at what Scripture has to say about the rapture so that we can be informed, rather than confused, by the truth we read regarding the events that are to come.

Today’s key passage in Revelation describes the church of Laodicea, the church full of believers, who were “caught like a deer in the headlights.” They were caught in the act. Jesus exposes what has been happening in their midst and in their own personal lives, publicly. And as a result, they froze. Maybe that is where you find yourself today. I pray that you will not just stand in the road, but you will move to do whatever God is telling you to do. Let’s look at how we can learn to do just that from reading about the church at Laodicea.

We are getting ready to take our next step by looking at the sixth church in the Book of Revelation. These seven churches are very important. They represent different kinds of Christians, different kinds of churches, and different kinds of church ages. The one we will look at today is the church at Philadelphia. The church at Philadelphia was a church that had an open door. This is an exciting church to examine. This is an exciting age to look at, the missionary age, and there’s a lot we can learn from this specific church within this age.

As we continue our study of the book of Revelation, we are going to take a look at the Church of Sardis, the church who fell asleep at the wheel when it came to their faith. They desperately needed a spiritual wakeup call. So if you are in a similar position today, if you’re on the right path but you’ve somehow fallen asleep at the wheel and need to wakeup, this message is for you.

The big question we need to ask ourselves today is this: Why do we continue to believe lies even after they have been proven wrong? Have you ever wondered that? Why do people continue to embrace things that are false even after they have been taught and informed on the truth? We’re going to take a closer look at these questions in this message as we study the church at Thyatira and see how they struggled to hold onto the truth as well.

Many old-time Christians say, “That's the problem in our culture today, we have compromised. We have compromised our music and our dress. We even read different translations of the Bible; we compromise there.” Those are not wrong compromises. However, there are compromises that are destructive. We need to realize that God has a plan for us. He does not want us to be men and women who compromise concerning the essential truths of God's Word, that we know are true. In the early church season, there was a church that was known to be a compromising church. It was the church at Pergamum. It is one of the seven churches that Jesus wrote letters to concerning their compromise. In this message, we are going to take a closer look at this church and see what we can learn from them so we don’t compromise on what really matters.

Have you ever been persecuted? Have you ever really suffered for your faith? Have you ever been passed over for a promotion because of your personal religious values? A few of us know what it really means to be persecuted. We may have experienced the dislike of individuals or the shunning of friendships because of decisions that we have made for Christ, but few of us know what it really means to be persecuted. So in this message, we are going to see what it looks like to remain faithful in the midst of persecution.