Revelation (Revelation 1: 1-8)

[00:00:00] As many of you know, for the last actually, two weeks, I've been on a vacation the first week. We usually spend that week with all of our family. [00:00:13] Eight kids and one wife now. [00:00:21] But our family's growing, and so we try to spend the first week with everyone who can possibly be there. [00:00:28] I was speaking of Titus's wife. [00:00:31] One son has a wife at this point. [00:00:35] And then the second week, Dene and I usually take some time together and spend a few days alone. [00:00:42] And this vacation, I made the online reservations for where we were going to stay. [00:00:51] And she had spent all week taking care of the family. [00:00:56] And I wanted to take all the responsibility preparing this next getaway. [00:01:01] Just special for her. She could relax and not have to worry about making reservations or those things. But anytime we stay at an unfamiliar place, we always remember our worst getaway together. [00:01:15] Several years ago, we reserved a cabin in Gatlinburg. [00:01:19] And online, the pictures were amazing. [00:01:23] This was this secluded cabin in the mountains with all of these amazing amenities, and we couldn't believe the price for just a few days to get away. And we made reservations. But then when we arrived, we realized we were somewhere not in the pictures that we saw online. [00:01:42] And it was much worse. I mean, much worse. [00:01:48] It didn't even look like we were in Gatlinburg or at a cabin. It was some rundown, creepy. Felt like an apartment in a horror film. [00:01:58] You're just sort of crammed together with a bunch of people. [00:02:02] You could smell what everyone around you was having for dinner. It was really, in our opinion, disgusting. We went back down the mountain to complain and say, we're not staying there. This is false Advertisement and I think the lady pulled up her computer and says, said, you guys clicked the wrong link when you made reservations, and this is what you reserved, and this is what you want it to reserve. [00:02:31] And the person who clicked the wrong link had a wonderful time away. That just always being reminded that they clicked the wrong link. [00:02:43] It was a great start to a marriage getaway. [00:02:48] Now, that is how some of you are going to feel about this sermon series in Revelation. [00:02:53] Because when you heard we were studying Revelation, you had a lot of visions in your mind, a lot of visions about the vision. [00:03:03] And you were thinking, oh, yes, End times trivia. I've always wanted to know more about this book. [00:03:10] I want to crack the code. [00:03:13] How is AI going to lead us to the Antichrist? [00:03:18] What countries are Gog and Magog? We're going to find all of these things out, and you're going to be severely disappointed. [00:03:27] Revelation is actually a lot more simpler than that, but it does require more of us than that. [00:03:34] Just sort of being fascinated with the end times. [00:03:38] And I want to begin by just summarizing our emphasis in this book. And it can be, first of all, simply put in a phrase, jesus is Lord. [00:03:50] If you remember that Jesus is Lord all the way through this book, you'll understand a lot. [00:03:57] And then what is required of us is worship and witness. [00:04:02] And so the phrase Jesus is Lord, worship and witness will ring over and over and echo as we make our way through this book. But just know what you're getting into, because that statement Jesus is Lord is going to require something of you. [00:04:20] And the call to worship is going to do something for you prayerfully. And hopefully it's going to make us better Gospel witnesses, which is the point of the Book of Revelation. [00:04:33] It's not that we would be scared. [00:04:36] It's not that we would be more confused. [00:04:39] It's not that we would know all the mysteries around us. It's that we would worship and witness for Jesus, who is Lord. And so let's get that down right out of the gate. [00:04:53] And to do so, we have to understand that Revelation is a letter to churches. [00:04:59] It was written to specific churches during a specific time, and those churches were enduring severe persecution under the Roman Empire. [00:05:13] And this church is written or this book or letter is written to encourage them. It is apocalyptic. As we move through, we see all of this crazy otherworldly imagery which is meant to explain reality to us, what we're to see, what is really there. [00:05:33] But it's written to the church to show them what is true. It is prophecy about what is coming. And we know more about the future through this book. But it is a letter meant to minister to Christians who are being persecuted, probably written during the reign of Domitian from 81 AD to 96. [00:06:01] And you have to understand what it was like to live under the Roman Empire as a Christian emperor. Worship was required. [00:06:11] Cultic emperor worship was a part of living under Rome's rule, which meant you had to worship the emperor. [00:06:20] You had to declare that he is Lord. [00:06:25] And that's a problem for Christians who are declaring, no, Jesus of Nazareth is a former corpse. We'll say he's Lord. [00:06:35] And so here's the tension. Rome required that you declare Nero Domitian, they are Lord. Actually, Domitian required that he would be called by his people everlasting Lord or Lord God. That was his title. [00:06:57] And for the Christian, I'm not doing that. Jesus is Lord and So they were isolated in a culture. They were often thrown in jail, they lost family, they lost friends, and many were killed. And so this is the context of the letter. [00:07:14] And by the way, John's not waiting for persecution or tribulation. [00:07:19] He's speaking to it. [00:07:22] We're in the middle of it. By the time John writes the letter, every apostle, his fellow brothers, disciples, have been martyred, speared, boiled in oil, burned, crucified upside down. [00:07:46] And now John is suffering too. [00:07:50] And his question, probably as he's praying, how long, O Lord, how long do we endure? [00:08:00] How long is the church going to be persecuted in this way? [00:08:07] And we see he gets this revelation from Jesus not to tell him exactly how long, but to help him endure. [00:08:19] Notice, verse one of revelation we see revelation first of all unveils a blessing for faithful witnesses. Notice the revelation. The word means unveiling or disclosure of Jesus Christ. [00:08:37] And this book is one vision of Jesus. [00:08:41] It's from Jesus to the church, but primarily it is of Jesus. And it is a revelation of Jesus ruling and reigning over everything. [00:08:54] He's worshiped in heaven and he is in control of everything happening on planet earth. [00:09:02] And this revelation God gave to him, to Jesus to give to his servants. The word show here could be signal. [00:09:11] God wants to encourage the saints or the witnesses of Jesus, and so he wants to tell them what is to come, to signal, to show notice the things that soon must take place. [00:09:27] Now he writes, John will unpack this vision from the understanding that these things that he is writing are taking place soon will take place. He's not waiting on anything in context here. [00:09:45] John writes during the last days, which is a phrase that summarizes the time from the resurrection of Jesus Christ to Jesus second coming. [00:09:56] And that is the revelation that's given to John what is happening during this time period you're living in John. I'm going to give you a vision of that so that you have hope. What is to soon take place as you endure this last stage in human history? And again, the point he wants him to see, he's revealing to him Jesus Christ. So he sees Jesus is in charge of this last stage. So have hope. [00:10:22] Notice he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. Again, this is from God, from God the Father to Jesus, then to an angel or a messenger to, to John. [00:10:34] But notice who it's given to to John who bore witness. [00:10:39] Now, what's significant about this word witness, it's where we get the word martyr. [00:10:45] And the word just means to tell the truth. [00:10:49] It meant to stand trial and give testimony of what is true. [00:10:56] But because so many Christians stood trial and bore testimony that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is king, back from the dead, they would tell the truth and die. [00:11:12] The Word came to mean to die for your faith. [00:11:17] And so he writes to one who is a witness who may die for his faith, but notice why he might die for his faith. He bore witness to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all he saw. Now, this is the John that wrote the Gospel of John, first, second and third John. And he claims to have been an eyewitness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Remember how John begins his Gospel, the Word made flesh. We saw him, we touched him, we ate with him, we know him, we had fellowship with him. And John is very clear that he saw it. And he's given testimony that this is true. This Jesus of Nazareth lived, died, has risen from the dead. And for that he has been exiled to the isle of Patmos, which is a rocky island in the gnc, and prisoners were sent there to work in mines until they died. [00:12:23] And this is the cost for the Apostle John in testifying that Jesus is God's son. [00:12:32] He's enduring suffering, and so he gets this revelation of Jesus to give him hope. [00:12:38] God is saying to John, as you suffer, I want to show you heaven and the one you're suffering for. He's worshiped there and he's ruling and reigning. Don't give up, don't despair. And tell your brothers and sisters not to give up or despair. Jesus is King, Jesus is Lord. [00:12:58] And so then he says in verse three, blessed, which means to be happy or peaceful or content in God, is the one who reads aloud the words of prophecy. [00:13:13] Now, this is one of seven beatitudes in Revelation that tells us how to be happy in Christ as we suffer. You're going to suffer. [00:13:24] Now let me tell you how to do that with contentment. [00:13:27] And here, he says, is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy. This is a revelation from God what is to come in these last days. And you're going to be happy as you suffer if you read these things aloud. Now, this isn't just individuals off to themselves reading aloud. It was written to churches, seven churches specifically. And in corporate worship on the Lord's day, someone would get up and read the Word of God and he's saying to the churches, you will be happy if you read aloud this word of prophecy. If you make the word of God in this revelation central to your worship. It was the same thing that happened with Israel. As the law and prophets were read to the assembly, they would stand and they would listen. This is what the early church did around the teaching of the apostles and the scriptures that they had. [00:14:20] He said, you will be happy if you give adherence to this word, this vision from God. And notice he says, blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. So it's not just reading, it's hearing it, but not just hearing it. It's keeping what is written in it for the time is near. This time of intense suffering, the last days that are upon you, it is near. What do you need? You need a word from God. You need the Scriptures and you need to read them. Not just read them, hear them and keep them. [00:14:58] Now, that's important as we move through Revelation. [00:15:01] It's not just that you would know more Bible trivia, it's that you would hear the word of God and do it. [00:15:09] That is the point. [00:15:10] And if you come before it with any other purpose, you're going to be disappointed because Revelation calls us to radical worship and radical gospel witness. And you got to get your mind and heart ready for that. [00:15:25] But it's important that this would be read aloud. It's not a TikTok can't draw, it can't make a movie about was meant to be read and heard. [00:15:38] Why is that? [00:15:40] Because in hearing the words, it was to captivate the individual's mind. [00:15:47] As we read through, we see all of this crazy imagery in Revelation, it is meant to captivate your mind in a way that you can't recreate in a drawing, a painting, or even a movie. [00:16:00] Your mind is to be captivated with Christ, you as an individual. [00:16:05] And then what the imagery does is that it stimulates the emotions as your mind is captivated. And this leads to worship, which moves to action in witness. [00:16:20] And that's what it means to be faithful, that you would hear the word of God, Jesus is Lord, that you would worship and witness. So you want to know how to be blessed in the end times. [00:16:33] Declare Jesus as Lord, worship him, and that leads to witness. And there's a promise of happiness and blessing for the one who remains faithful in this. And this is what revelation does. It opens up the window to heaven and says, look, Jesus is king. He's worshiped, he's ruling. [00:16:52] Now you worship him and then go tell everybody about him and don't stop, even though you might suffer. Look, he's king. [00:17:02] Nobody is going to take his rule away. No one can hurt you. They may take your life, but they can't hurt you forever. [00:17:10] Worship him and go tell other people about him. That is the blessing here. That's what it means to be faithful, is that you would worship, Worship and witness. The word worship means to declare worth. That's what we do in worship. We come before God and we say, you are worthy, meaning you're. You're more worthy than anything else I know. And I experience anything else that I want. Jesus, you are worthy. And so we want to declare his worth in worship. [00:17:41] But what witness does, it's also a form of worship because you prove in your witness he really is worth it. [00:17:50] So you say, you are worthy. [00:17:52] I worship you, and you're worth it. I witness for you. [00:17:58] That's what revelation is about. That's what it's calling you to. [00:18:02] And so the question for us as we begin is, will we see and believe he is worthy? [00:18:10] Will we worship and witness for Him? [00:18:13] Now, one of the things that goes on in the early church, particularly the churches that are hearing this letter read, is that their worship was their witness. [00:18:27] They gathered on Sunday, which is called the Lord's Day, and it separated them from the culture, from the synagogue. [00:18:37] We're not Jewish, and Rome says that we can't say Jesus is Lord. We're going to do it anyway every Sunday, and we're going to call this the Lord's Day. [00:18:49] And it identified them as followers of Christ. Their worship on the Lord's Day was their witness to the world around them. [00:19:01] And it cost them their family, their status. They lost jobs for, even cost some of them their life. [00:19:09] And in Hebrews 10:25, we read even so, do not forsake the assembling of yourself together. [00:19:18] Gather as your witness. [00:19:21] Worship as your witness. Remember, witness, tell the truth. He is back from the dead. And every Lord's Day, we're going to tell you about it, even if it cost us our life. [00:19:35] So one of the things that you may want to ask in your own life is, is he worthy of your Sunday? [00:19:41] Is he worthy of your Sunday? [00:19:44] In our culture, it's not illegal. [00:19:47] It's just really inconvenient. [00:19:50] And I got news for you. [00:19:53] We live in a secular culture, and it's only going to keep moving in that direction. [00:20:00] The culture sees Sunday as just another day to do things. [00:20:05] It's just another day to get the event in, the game in or whatever. [00:20:10] And it's going to eventually cost us. [00:20:14] It's going to cost us some things to say. [00:20:17] No, I just, I go to church on Sunday. [00:20:21] We're going to be identified in that way. Not because it's illegal. It's just going to be really inconvenient for us. And so I just want to challenge you. And let me say this. Let me say this about this place, because some of you are going, oh, is he talking about me? [00:20:35] This church loves to gather. [00:20:37] The people here love to gather. [00:20:40] And members here are committed to gathering. [00:20:43] All I would say is considerate up your commitment just a little bit. Hey, I'm going to be more committed to that. [00:20:53] When we had a rough week, I'm not going to say to my kids, you know what, we've had a rough week. Let's just stay in. [00:21:00] No, Jesus is worthy. Is Jesus worthy to get up and go and gather with the church parents? You do know that's a slam dunk witness to your kids, right? [00:21:12] That's easy. [00:21:14] Some of you make parenting complicated. That's an easy win as a parent to say Jesus is worthy for us to get up and go to church today, but draw lines and just say, we're just not going to be there. [00:21:30] What does that mean for you? We don't want to be legalistic. We want to be reasonable. Understand me? We do a good job of that here. [00:21:38] But you personally, your attitude about it, the priority it is in your life, the way you prepare for it, would your worship be your witness to the world around you? [00:21:49] And then we must speak boldly and clearly. This is what happens. He is worthy. I've seen it. He's ruling, he's reigning in heaven. I've declared it in worship. And then being bold, gospel worth witnesses for Jesus. [00:22:09] Guys, we live in a moment in history in our country right now where there is a window that's opened up with just a little bit of clarity. And let me warn you, it's closing fast. [00:22:26] It's closing fast. [00:22:28] A week and a half ago, there was some clarity in the world in which we live. [00:22:34] Some clarity. [00:22:37] But it wasn't 24 hours later till all that was gone because we were back yammering about a bunch of stuff that doesn't matter. [00:22:47] And let me just be honest with you. Been on vacation. [00:22:50] It's got a lot to say. [00:22:53] Some of you on social media need to chill out. [00:22:57] You're ruining your gospel witness, and it's not doing anything but making you miserable. [00:23:03] And you're headed to Cuckooville on an insane train and you're driving yourself and everybody else crazy. [00:23:14] And nobody looks at that and goes, jesus is lord of their life. [00:23:18] They don't they go unfollow, mute, delete. [00:23:25] There you go. I'm sorry, Vacation, vacation mode. Got to come off of that. [00:23:32] But we need to be bold gospel witnesses and we need to prove that the one that we say is worthy in heaven is worth the nerves. [00:23:41] When you go to share the gospel with your co worker, that adrenaline rush, oh no, oh no. Jesus is worthy. Prove it to yourself. Speak He's Lord, He's King, he's worthy. [00:23:53] Have those conversations. Oh, if I speak now, I'm going to be cut out of the conversations in the break room from now who cares? Jesus is worth it. He's worthy. He's worth it. I can speak about Him, I can declare the truth about Him. He is worth a clear gospel witness. [00:24:13] Would we see he is worthy of our worship? And would he be worth it in our gospel witness? [00:24:21] Next we see Revelation gives grace and peace for faithful witnesses. Notice verse 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia. Revelation is one letter that will be circulated to seven local churches. So all of these churches read this one letter. [00:24:40] It's one letter that's circulated. And so even as other churches read about other churches that there's application for them. And one of the things we see in Revelation is that this is a letter written to seven local churches. But then it applies to the universal church, all churches throughout human history. [00:25:00] And so it's, it's written in a local context, but it has implications far reaching, which is a model of what Christianity should be for us. It begins local and it extends, extends out geographically and historically. But he begins local. I identify myself as a Christian in my local church with real people doing real things, hearing the word of God and applying it. [00:25:27] That's who the letter is written to. We'll talk more about that in the next few weeks. [00:25:32] But notice what they get in this revelation is grace and peace from God the Father. Notice grace to you. This is unmerited favor, blessing and peace, which is shalom or rest from him who is and who was and who is to come. Now that phrase is all throughout Revelation. We're going to talk about it a lot here. It is referring to the Father's presence with the church. [00:25:56] It's very similar to when Moses asked God, who should I tell these people you are? And he says, I am who I am. [00:26:04] And it means I am with you. I've always existed and now I am with you. And here this is God the Father. Grace and peace from God the Father. Then we see grace and peace from the Spirit who is building the church, notice. And from the seven spirits who are before the throne. [00:26:21] Now, this is referring to the Holy Spirit. And we got to understand the word 7 here. It is completeness, and it refers to fullness. This is the fullness of the Spirit, who we're going to see is representing the churches before God. Now, I believe he's talking about the Spirit here because it's in the context of a Trinitarian address from the Father, Son, and here in the middle, the Spirit and grace and peace come from God, who is Trinity. [00:26:49] And there is a. There's a reference here in the seven spirits to Zechariah 4. And in Zechariah 4, there are seven lampstands before God. [00:26:59] And God is talking about the way he's going to rebuild the. The temple. And he says, I'm going to do it not by power or might, but by the Spirit of God, the Spirit who represents you in these lampstands. And in Revelation, we see seven lampstands that represent the seven churches. And so what this means is these churches are full of the Spirit, but the Spirit also represents these churches before God. And like the temple, the church is being built not by might, but by the Spirit of God. God. [00:27:31] And so in Revelation, you have grace and peace from the Father, you have grace and peace from the Spirit who is with the church, building the church. And then verse 5. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful. Witness. It means true witness. It means right witness, the firstborn from the dead. He is the worthy witness and ruler of kings of the earth. [00:27:51] Now, this term firstborn from the dead, it is an Old Testament term that refers to the heir of the throne, specifically God's throne. [00:28:00] God's king was called the firstborn. And here Jesus is God's king, and he is ruler even of the dead, over the dead and ruler of kings of the earth. Because he was raised from the dead, he is superior to any king on planet Earth. [00:28:18] And this is who you have grace and peace from. [00:28:21] God the Father who is with you, the Spirit who is building the church, and Jesus, who is alive and ruling on behalf of the church. [00:28:29] Grace and peace to worship and witness. [00:28:34] Grace and peace when I worship, and grace and peace when I witness. You see, the question is, when you talk about Jesus, what do you have to lose? [00:28:46] Or who do you have to lose? [00:28:48] Because what he's saying here is, if you're alienated and rejected, God is still with you. The Father is still with you in Christ who's taking care of. You have nothing to lose. You have nobody to lose. [00:29:02] What do you have to offer? [00:29:04] You might say, what status or gifts do I have in the world to talk about Jesus, to share the gospel? [00:29:12] Well, the Spirit is with the church. And through the proclamation of the gospel, this is how the kingdom moves forward. [00:29:19] And so that's what you have to offer. [00:29:22] The power of the Spirit through the proclamation of the word of God. And then what do you have to fear? Jesus is back from the dead. He's ruling above any power on planet earth to protect the church. [00:29:37] What do you have to lose? What do you have to offer? What do you have to fear? You don't even have to fear death. [00:29:44] You can speak. This is the grace and peace that we have in God to speak the Gospel. [00:29:51] But back to this idea again. [00:29:54] If you're not spending time worshiping, you don't experience that. [00:29:59] The reason some of us don't share the Gospel is because we don't experience the grace and peace of walking with God in worship on a regular basis. [00:30:12] You understand this. When you spend time with someone that you're enamored with, that you're fascinated with, that you love, you end up talking about them. [00:30:23] I sat down right here this morning getting ready to preach, and John and Jennifer were just yammering about their grandkids because they love them to death. [00:30:34] And they were talking about things they did this morning and all of that. You didn't know I was listening. [00:30:41] That's what happens when you spend time with God, who is with you, when you are praying to your Father and you are in the word of God and you are walking with Jesus with courage and boldness. You end up talking about him all the time because he's real and he's with you and you love him and you are enamored by Him. And so this is grace and peace that comes in worship, but bleeds out in witness. And then here, as we continue to move forward, John gives two examples of worship and witness. [00:31:16] Notice. First of all, we see worship is an act of freedom. Notice. To him, this is a statement of worship. He is. He is declaring the worth of Christ here who loves us. Now remember, John was the disciple who boldly declared he was the disciple Jesus loved. [00:31:35] Jesus loved me. Sometimes we read John's letter and we say, you must think he loved you more than anybody else because you talk about it a lot. [00:31:43] But he also said, there's no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend. He saw Jesus as his friend who laid down his life for him. But it wasn't just some generic giving his life. Notice what he did. And he freed us from our sins. [00:31:59] We know he loved us because he died to free us, which means to release from bondage. [00:32:05] And when Jesus died, he released us from the bondage of guilt that condemns us to death because of our sin. Notice how he did it. By his blood, his life on the cross, paid in full. The debt of hell that you owed God. This is how we know he loves us. Because he gave his life to do this for us. And notice the result. He made us a kingdom which is citizens, distinct from Rome, distinct from any other rule. We are our own kingdom, our own people who have been set apart by the blood of Christ. [00:32:41] Notice he says priest to his God and Father. He allows us access to his God and Father. [00:32:50] And the imagery here is that of the Exodus. [00:32:54] Remember how Israel was freed from Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb? They were allowed to go. [00:33:04] And what did they go do? They were free to go out. And in the wilderness they set up a tabernacle where they began to worship. [00:33:14] They began to worship. And from the tabernacle in the wilderness to the temple in Jerusalem, they celebrated their freedom from Pharaoh's rule by worshiping the one who delivered them. [00:33:28] Now, what revelation is going to show us that while in their worship, only the priest had access to God? [00:33:36] The priest would go in and sprinkle the blood so that the presence of God caressed with the people of God. That's what the priest did. Revelation is going to show us we are all priests, meaning we have all been freed from our sin. But that's not the end of the story. [00:33:52] We've been freed from our sin so we could enter into the presence of God, so that we could enter into the throne room of God, so that we could worship Jesus as an act of freedom. And notice John says to him, to Jesus, be glory and dominion and forever and ever. Amen. Meaning it's done, it's over. Believe it, it's true. [00:34:18] He is worthy. Notice to him be glory. This is a statement of worship. He's giving us example of what it means to worship as an act of freedom. You see, what Domitian did is he required citizens to travel to Rome and worship him. Created a temple. You go in the temple, you would grab incense and you would throw it on the fire. And as you did, you would. You would say, everlasting Lord, Domitian or Caesar is Lord, and you would throw incense on the fire. And everyone was required to do it. [00:34:53] You had to do it. It was by law. And so it was an act of bondage. He held them hostage in worship. [00:35:01] What Jesus has done for you is he has freed you to worship. [00:35:06] Revelation calls us into heaven's throne to worship Christ as an act of freedom. [00:35:12] You see, what the people would do is they would say, no to the Emperor. [00:35:17] You don't rule over us. Jesus does. And so we're going to go worship him. [00:35:23] We're going to go worship him. [00:35:26] And that's the same thing that you do right now. Every Lord's day is you turn from the tyranny of this world that holds you hostage day after day, and you say, no, you don't rule over me. [00:35:41] My sin doesn't rule me. [00:35:43] The bondage of guilt and condemnation, my idols, these desires of my heart, you're not God. Jesus is. And you come here and you say, he is worthy. And you do that in worship continually. [00:35:57] That should be an act of repentance from your sin daily. [00:36:01] When you are tempted to sin, you should say to your sin, you don't rule over me. Oh, Jesus, you are worthy. [00:36:10] You are more worthy than the sin. [00:36:13] And that's what we do week after week here. And it is an act of freedom. [00:36:18] And that's what we should do most in these days. [00:36:21] The world seems to be spinning out of control. We seem to be losing the things that we love. Well, we are to worship and say, these things aren't going to hold me hostile. [00:36:31] And by the way, the more you worship, the more you worship Jesus, you are freeing yourself to be a better witness. [00:36:38] What if I speak and lose this friend group? [00:36:42] Oh, the friend group's not the Emperor, not king, not Lord Jesus is. And so I worship him. And so I'm more free to let go of the things of this world. [00:36:53] And so we worship as an act of freedom. [00:36:56] We then witness as proof of fear. Notice verse seven. Look. [00:37:01] Which is. Behold. This is used 19 times in Revelation. It is very important. Look. Look to heaven. Look at what Jesus is doing. [00:37:10] Stop being focused on what the world around you is doing. You're suffering. Look to Jesus over and over. [00:37:17] Worship, witness. [00:37:19] He's coming with the clouds. We read in scripture, the clouds are his chariots, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. What he's referring to here is justice for those who reject those who killed Jesus. They will endure justice. Those who persecute the church will endure justice in all tribes in the earth will wail. [00:37:38] So John's divided humanity into two groups, those who worship and those who wail on account of him. Even so, Amen. What he's saying is, this is no secret. Jesus is coming. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. And so you can witness through worship now or you will well later. [00:37:58] That's the choice. That's the witness we give folks around us. [00:38:03] You see, we live in a culture that is scared of everything but God. [00:38:07] We are absolutely scared and terrified of everything but God. We're scared of the air, we're scared of the food, we're scared of our kids safety, we're scared of the government, we're scared. We are scared holy, righteous, almighty God, who would send me to hell forever, man. [00:38:28] We're scared of everything but God. [00:38:31] The people around you are scared of everything but God. [00:38:34] And what revelation is going to say is, you see things different. [00:38:38] You see, notice the text. [00:38:40] I know, I'm over here. Bible's over there. [00:38:43] The text says is coming, meaning presently coming. [00:38:49] And you see that, whereas the world around you doesn't. [00:38:53] And so you should tremble that Jesus is coming. And one of the points of revelation is you don't have to fear anything in this world. You don't have to fear the persecution, you don't have to fear the natural disaster. You don't have to fear the chaos. You don't have to fear any of these things if you fear Jesus because he's above all of those things. So let's recalibrate our fear and start trembling before Jesus, who will rule and reign forever and judge all his opponents. [00:39:27] Let's fear him and then let's talk about it. [00:39:31] The way some of you, some of us, myself included, talk about sports is we talk about our teams and we my team's better than your team or my quarterback's hurt and all this. And we get in these little debates and we get intense about it. Or maybe let's get on some politics here. [00:39:50] We debate politics and we look at the other person. We go, if you would just see it the way I do, my team's really good. This is the way the world works. [00:40:00] Well, what is true and real is Jesus is coming and you see that, whereas the world around you doesn't. [00:40:08] And above everything else, you are responsible to tell the world around you what is real. Jesus is coming with passion and clarity as everyone has their head stuck in the sand. Hey, he's coming. Get your head out of the sand. [00:40:26] You're going to be judged. You're going to stand before him. Think about your loved ones. Think about your friends. Think about those who are close to you. You claim to See it in a way they don't. You see he is coming and there's a day, everyone will see it. And so you witness in that way. [00:40:45] Two minutes on verse eight. [00:40:48] Notice how he sums up here. [00:40:50] I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God. [00:40:55] Some. A few weeks ago I said, I don't wear a watch up here. [00:41:01] I do wear. [00:41:03] Just doesn't mean a lot. [00:41:06] So I'm trying to make it mean something today. [00:41:09] Two minutes on this verse, starting now. [00:41:13] I am the alpha and the Omega says the Lord. This is Jesus twice in the book, speaks directly here. He says alpha, omega, which is the first letter in the Greek Alphabet. And the last. What he's saying is, I'm the beginning and the end. [00:41:29] And then adds this, who is and who was and who is to come? The Almighty. Now, there's a formula of this seven times in the book. Remember, seven is fullness, completeness. He says this or it's said seven times in the book. And the point is, he's the first. He was before all things. He created all things. He controls all things. He is the one who will bring all things to consummation. [00:41:53] And what John is trying to get us to see here, what God is trying to get us to see, is that the cosmos, reality, the universe, every molecule floating around is Christ centered. [00:42:06] Every millisecond in human history is Christ centered. [00:42:11] Nothing is distinct or disconnected from Jesus. He created it. He controls it. He will consummate it. All the world history revolves around Jesus. [00:42:24] Get it? Oh, I just wish. [00:42:31] We are so miserable because we think it revolves around us and we think we're the first and the last. If I don't get my way, just miserable, Feel sorry for me. No. [00:42:46] Like John, look up Alpha and Omega. It's all about Him. And that frees us. [00:42:51] It frees us. It makes us happier because we see reality. [00:42:57] That's what he's saying here. This statement, verse 8, is reality. [00:43:02] Reality isn't. You're the center of the universe. [00:43:06] Jesus is the center of the universe. [00:43:10] That means he must be the center of your life. [00:43:13] And it begins by making your past Jesus present Jesus, future Jesus, your past, your sin, the guilt that haunts you. [00:43:34] What defines your life apart from Jesus. [00:43:39] You believe in him. It's covered with the cross and he covers your life. [00:43:45] Your present must be about Jesus. [00:43:49] You're struggling for identity and status. No. In Jesus, you've been given the righteousness of Christ and you're covered in him presently. And your future must be about him as the world is falling apart around us. [00:44:05] We have hope. [00:44:08] Not just that. We know who controls the future. [00:44:12] We are in the One who controls the future. And his resurrection is our resurrection, and his kingdom is our kingdom. And so we walk around. [00:44:22] We talk about this a lot with a holy swagger. [00:44:26] We're not despairing. [00:44:29] We're not angry and miserable. [00:44:32] We sang it. You sang it earlier. [00:44:36] Talking about the tension growing is only a sign he's more near. I don't know if that was the lyrics, but it was close. [00:44:47] That is how you should act. [00:44:50] All the bickering and yammering. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no. [00:44:55] What are you guys doing? [00:44:57] Jesus is coming back. [00:45:01] He's the first and he's the last, and he controls right now. Let's worship him and witness for Him. [00:45:11] I don't like that. [00:45:16] I'll tone it down in light of that, but here's the point. [00:45:23] The degree you're detached from not living in that reality, you're going to be disappointed. [00:45:29] It's kind of like looking online at pristine photos of a cabin on the hill and then finding out that's not reality. [00:45:38] Reality is Jesus. [00:45:40] May we open our eyes to him who is Lord. [00:45:43] Worship him and witness for Him.