The Gospel of Restoration - Isaiah 61

             Hello.  My name is Josh, and I’m an alcoholic.

             I’m a porn addict, a compulsive gambler, a smoker, and a semi-regular crack user.

             I’m a shopaholic, workaholic, me-aholic.

             I’m the child of abusive parents, and now I’m a codependant adult.

             I beat my wife, and I’m more than $100,000 in debt.

             I am a rape victim, and I’m a sexual abuser.

             I’m grieving the loss of a loved one.

             I’m a racist, a legalist, a moralist, and a recovering hypocrite.

             I am depressed and lonely. 

Sometimes I have thoughts of suicide.  I may even have a plan.

I look like I have a lot of friends, but really I have a very hard time developing meaningful relationships.

I’m struggling with problems with my parents, and my marriage is falling apart.

I’m obsessed with my looks, and I have an eating disorder.

I’m addicted to the internet, and I am a flagrant procrastinator.  Not a good combination!

I have deep resentment and hidden anger.

I am addicted to romance.

My life is dominated by anxiety.

I use profanity often – especially when I’m not at church.

I can’t stop gossiping, no matter how many times I tell myself I’m going to stop.

I’m beginning to lose hope in God.

I am actually an athiest.

I doubt everything all the time.

I value achievement more than love.

I’m struggling to become the person God wants me to be, and I’m beginning to give up.

I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I am lost, captive, blind, despairing, mourning, helpless, and hopeless.

I am broken.  I am a sinner.

Some of these are true of me.  All of these are true for someone in this room.

Eschatology: Rapture or Restoration?

    We humans have a love-hate relationship with eschatology.  Eschatology is the study of the end.  What will happen at the end of the world?  What comes next? 
    On one hand, we seem to be irrevocably drawn to the apocalyptic, end-of-the-world stuff, especially in movies.  apocalypticmovies.com lists 61 apocalyptic movies since the year 2000.  In his article, “It’s the End of the World, and We Love It,” Mark Moring says, “We are divinely wired to wonder what comes next.”1
    Every now and then, this deep hunger for knowing the future leads people to make some outrageous claims.  Just a few months ago, an 89 year old American radio guy named Harold Camping hosted a huge campaign - with public billboards, radio slots, news footage, and mobile bus advertisements - saying Jesus was coming back at exactly 6 p.m. on May 21, 2011.  Obviously, that didn’t happen.
    That kind of error-based fear-building has given many people a distaste for eschatology.  Many of us would rather just put our heads down and live today, one day at a time.  Some folks just want to forget the future.
    But eschatology is still really important.  It’s the closing chapter of our human story.  In fact, nearly all of the New Testament - and really the whole Bible - is forward looking.  From the Biblical perspective, the future is holding our hand and pulling us into its reality.  
    The problem with understanding the future is that it isn’t here yet.  As much as the Bible is forward-leaning, as much as Christianity views us as being pulled into the future, there aren’t many details. 
   
    Christians are deeply committed to the future, though.  We have a few absolute beliefs about the future.  ...

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