공동체와 양육

The Calm Before the Storm (Rev 8:1-9:21)

2010.07.25Rev. Eddie Byun

Prayer releases God's power into the world, and the judgments in Revelation 8-9 are still grace that calls people to repent. Because this calm is a season of grace, we must prepare now by praying and living in the Word.

Prayer is precious to God and releases his power (vv. 1-5)

Heaven falls silent for about half an hour before the seventh seal, and that silence is the calm before the storm. The prayers of the saints are not lost. They are collected in golden bowls, mixed with incense, and treasured by God. Like my mother, who printed out every email I sent her, God cherishes each word we lift up in faith. Then the angel threw fire from the altar onto the earth, showing that prayer releases the power of God. God often waits for our prayers before he moves, so do not give up.

The plagues reveal the punishment of God (vv. 6-12)

The trumpets bring hail, fire, blood, and darkness that strike a third of the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the heavens. Creation itself is judged, and the pattern echoes the Exodus plagues sent against Pharaoh. No place is safe from the wrath of God, not the mountains, not the basement, not the depths of the sea. Our help does not come from the hills but from the Lord who made them. God sometimes removes what we trust more than him, because he loves us and wants nothing to stand between us and himself.

Judgment is still grace that calls people to repent (vv. 13-21)

Even after the woes, the locusts, and the horsemen, a third of mankind dies, yet the majority still has the chance to repent. The rest still did not repent of their idols, murders, sorceries, sexual immorality, or thefts. God whispers to us in pleasure, speaks in conscience, and shouts in pain, and his aim is always that we return to him. C.S. Lewis said pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Only in repentance are we saved from the terrors of sin.

Prepare now, during the calm, for the storm

Imagine a soldier who knows that war will come in a year; he does not wait a single day to train. The calm is a season of grace, and the wise person uses it to prepare. Champions are not made in the ring but revealed there. As we draw nearer to Christ's return, demonic influence will spread over more people, more places, and more governments, so we must be ready. Now is the time to rise up as people of prayer and live in the Word. Are you ready?

Apply to Life

  • Let us fill our golden bowls with kingdom prayers and not give up.
  • Let us pray for the salvation of our loved ones and for the revival of the nations.
  • Let us examine what we trust or treasure more than God and be willing to let it go.
  • Let us repent and turn back to the Lord while the calm lasts.
  • Let us rise up as men and women of prayer and prepare for the storm now.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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