The New Beginning
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ -๐จ๐ฃ
โข Why do you think stories about the end of the world become so popular?ย
โข If you were to have a new beginning, what would you want that to be like?ย
โข If you could change one thing about the world today, what would it be? Why?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ, ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. . . .โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ.โ . . . ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ฎ๐ญ:๐ญโ๐ฏ, ๐ฑย
(Read also ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ฎ๐ญ:๐ฒโ๐ณ.)
When we think about the end of the world, we usually just think of its total destruction. People rarely think that there will be a new beginning. Thatโs probably why some cling on to the things of this world, holding on to what theyโve seemingly achieved and amassed for themselves. But this world is not all there is. In Revelation, the end is marked by a new beginning. God is doing and will do something, thatโs why we can have hope and live in faith even when the end seems daunting. Letโs look at truths we can glean from the passage weโve read.
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ต.ย
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ฎ๐ญ:๐ญย
The state of the world and recent disasters lead people to lose hope. Many blame each other and world systems for the destruction of nature. What many miss is that the Fall of man in sin led not just to the depravity of humanity but also to the decay of creation. Thatโs why creation groans in eager longing, waiting to be rescued from this decay (Romans 8:19โ21). This is our hope: Despite the wickedness and decay, God is making all things new (Revelation 21:5). He will restore all creation for His glorious purpose in the new heaven and new earth. As people of faith, what is our original relationship with Godโs creation and how are we to treat it (Genesis 1:28)?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐.ย
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ค๐ณ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ.โ ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐ฎ๐ญ:๐ฏโ๐ฐย
When sin entered the world, man became separated from our holy God. The curse of sin brought sickness, pain, and death. Through Jesusโ life, death, and resurrection, we who have faith in Him have been restored to a right relationship with God. This redemption paves the way for us to live a life of purpose, destiny, and victory even in this fallen world. Ultimately, our hope is that in the end, God will dwell with us, He will be our God, and we will be His people. With His presence is the assurance of full restoration and the end of all suffering. How does this give you hope today?
As Godโs people, we look forward to the new beginning that He is preparing. The word of God says that those who conquer to the end will receive this promised inheritance (Revelation 21:7). Despite the brokenness of the world, we are to live in anticipation, with full trust, and persevere until the end so that we can receive His eternal blessing and live in newness with Him forever, together as His people.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข In what ways can you be a good steward of Godโs creation? How might you honor God in the way you treat and guard His creation?
โข What might be hindering you from persevering till the end? How might the Holy Spirit help you overcome these challenges so you may conquer and inherit Godโs promise?ย ย
โข Is there anyone around you who needs to know about the restoration and hope found in Christ? Commit to preach the gospel to this person this week.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for His creation and for the hope of the new beginning. Pray that you would be able to steward His creation well.ย
โข Ask God for the ability to persevere until the end. Pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to live according to Godโs purpose, in His community, and as one who endures to the end.ย
โข Pray for those who have yet to know Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior. Pray that they will respond to the gospel so they can live in hope, not despair; in faith, not fear.