What Are You Holding On To?

,

Jesus Unveiled

What Are You Holding On To?

(Revelation 6:9-11)

 

INTRODUCTION

“One of the repeated emphases of the entire New Testament is that it is the very nature of the church to be a martyr people. ​​ When Jesus taught that a man to be his disciple must deny himself and take up his cross (Matt 10:38; 16:24), he was not speaking of self-denial or the bearing of heavy burdens; he was speaking of willingness to suffer martyrdom. ​​ The cross is nothing else than an instrument of death. ​​ Every disciple of Jesus is in essence a martyr; and John has in view all believers who have so suffered.” ​​ [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 146].

 

“On December 2, 2014, the Christian Post carried a story titled, ‘Vicar of Baghdad: ​​ Four Iraqi Christian Kids Beheaded After Refusing to Convert to Islam, Telling ISIS Militants ‘No, We Love Jesus.’’ ​​ That story contained the following:

 

Four Iraqi Christian children, who were all beheaded by the Islamic State, refused to betray Jesus and graciously died in his name when the ISIS militants gave them one last chance to say the Islamic words of conversion, the Rev. Canon Andrew White revealed in a recent interview. . . . White recounted the recent incident when ISIS militants beheaded four kids, all of who were under the age of 15, when the kids refused to say that they would follow the Prophet Muhammad and told the ISIS fighters that they will always ‘love’ and ‘follow’ Jesus.

 

“ISIS turned up and they said to the children, ‘You say the words that you will follow Muhammad.’ ​​ The children, all under 15, four of them, they said, ‘No, we love Yasua [Jesus]. ​​ We have always loved Yasua. ​​ We have always followed Yasua. ​​ Yasua has always been with us,’” White said. ​​ “[The Militants] said, ‘Say the words!’ ​​ [The Children] said, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ ​​ They chopped all their heads off.” ​​ (“Beheaded,” Dec. 2, 2014).” ​​ [Akin, 146-47] ​​ 

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Earbuds over Relationship

        • I want to share one of my failures that happened recently

        • We were traveling to FL for the Pastor and Spouse Summit and Levi was with us

        • He asked to borrow a set of earbuds, so when we stopped next I got a pair out of my book bag (I always carry two pair with me)

        • I gave him my older pair to use

        • When we stopped later, I was getting into my book bag to look for something else and noticed that the newer pair of earbuds were not in their case

        • So, I asked Levi if he knew where they were

        • He had taken the newer pair at another stop and started using them

        • I was upset, because he had switched them and hadn’t asked me to use the newer pair

        • He returned the newer pair, but a little while later I felt convicted for overreacting and holding on to the newer pair of earbuds too tightly

        • I apologized to Levi and told him that he could use my newer pair of earbuds, which he did for the rest of the trip

        • It’s sad that my initial reaction was to value the earbuds over my relationship with Levi, but the Holy Spirit quickly convicted me of that

 

  • WE

    • Valuing Possessions over Relationships

        • Perhaps we’re all guilty of doing this in some form

        • We can easily become upset when our children or grandchildren touch something that we highly value (our fear is that they will break it, making it valueless)

          • It can be our vehicle

          • It may be some decorative piece in our home

          • Perhaps it’s an electronic device

          • It could be a computer or gaming system, a television or sound system

          • Maybe it’s an heirloom

        • I want you take a moment to think about that one item that you perhaps value over a relationship

    • Comfort over Eternal Relationships

        • We tend to do that when it comes to sharing the Gospel with those in our sphere of influence and especially outside our sphere of influence

        • Keener expresses it well after he says that Christians should witness boldly because we know that we will be persecuted and that God will vindicate us, “Yet, in the United States, it is often my experience that Christians are complacent, satisfied with their own conversion and personal ‘growth.’ ​​ As I witness to members of various cults like Mormons, I often find a greater commitment to spreading their message – though it is a false gospel – than I find among most evangelical churchgoers.” ​​ [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 225]

John sees the souls of martyred believers, and hears that there will be more martyrs coming. ​​ If he was here with us today, he would probably ask us the question . . .

 

BIG QUESTION – Are we willing to sacrifice everything for the Gospel?

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 6:9-11)

    • Martyrs (v. 9)

        • Fifth seal opened

          • Jesus opens the fifth seal and immediately John sees an altar in heaven with the souls of martyrs under it

          • For those who hold to a pre-tribulation rapture of the church, there is an effort to explain the scene that John reveals after the opening of the fifth seal

            • Some scholars suggest that this is an interlude in the judgments, that give us a glimpse of where those who have been martyred, throughout history, have gone

            • Yet the prayer of supplication from these souls would not apply to the martyrs of past history, because those who persecuted and killed them would have already died and come into judgment before God

            • So it’s probably not referring to all souls that have been martyred, but rather to the most recent souls that were killed at the hands of the inhabitants of the earth

              • “Far more probable is that the opening of the fifth seal introduces the fact that even the elect of the tribulation period do not avoid the consequences of the far-reaching impact of the seal judgments.” ​​ [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 183]

              • Osborne cites Heil, “He believes the ‘slaughter’ occurred as the result of the ‘slaughter’ of the first four seals (6:4) . . .” ​​ [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 283]

              • Both Patterson and Heil suggest that believers are still here on earth during the opening of the first four seals

              • They would have been killed when the red horse and its rider removed peace from the earth and made men slaughter each other

              • Other believers would have died from starvation caused by famine, through illness caused by plague/pestilence, and by wild animals because of their weakened physical state

          • These martyrs are under an altar

        • Martyrs under the altar

          • Added to the throne room scene is now an altar

          • There is no explanation about this altar, because John is more concerned about what is under the altar

          • There are two viewpoints about which Old Testament altar is represented by this altar in heaven

            • Position of the martyrs

              • We see that the martyrs (souls) are under the altar

              • This would have recalled for the 1st Century reader the blood that the priests poured out during the sacrifices – it went under the altar of burnt offering

              • Leviticus 4:7, The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. ​​ The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

              • The same procedure is carried out for all sin offerings and for the ordination of the priests (Lev. 4:18, 25, 34; 5:9; 8:15; 9:9)

              • “At the ancient tabernacle of the Israelites, the blood of slaughtered animals was drained at the base of the altar, with the blood representing the life (soul) of the animal.” ​​ [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 109]

              • Leviticus 17:11, For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

              • We see a similarity then in the souls of the martyrs who are at the base of the altar in heaven

              • The other viewpoint is that the altar in heaven, from John’s vision, represents the altar of incense

            • Prayers of the martyrs

              • The reasoning behind this viewpoint comes from verse 10 and the fact that the martyrs are lifting up prayers of supplication before the Lord

              • Those who prefer the altar of incense refer to the other references of an altar in heaven and how it talks about it being an altar of incense (Rev. 8:3, 5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18; 16:7)

              • Revelation 8:3, Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. ​​ He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

              • We also see in Scripture that the prayers of the saints are like incense

                • Psalm 141:2, May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

                • Revelation 5:8, And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. ​​ Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are like the prayers of the saints.

          • Mounce’s viewpoint is mentioned by two other commentators [Akin & Osborne] when he says, “It is probably unnecessary to conjecture whether the altar is the altar of burnt offering or the altar of incense. ​​ The theme of sacrifice would suggest the former, but the prayers that rise (v. 10) seem to indicate the latter. ​​ There is no reason why in John’s vision the two should not blend together as one.” ​​ [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 146]

            • We saw in Leviticus 4:7 that the blood of the animal sacrifice was put on the horns of the altar of incense and the remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering

            • Both altars had the life of the animal (soul) used on them

          • Which altar is represented here is of less importance to me than the reason behind why these souls were martyred

        • Why they were martyred?

          • Word of God

            • For the readers of the 1st Century, the Word of God went hand-in-hand with the teachings/testimony of Jesus Christ that they had heard directly from Jesus or from His apostles

            • It is not necessarily two different things that are being communicated here, but rather the second being more specific about the first [Mounce, 147]

          • Testimony they had maintained

            • Is this the testimony they received from Jesus or the testimony they maintained for Jesus

            • Maintained

              • John was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony he had maintained for Jesus (Rev. 1:9)

              • It is important for us to maintain our testimony for Jesus, but our testimony comes from who Jesus is and what He did and said on earth

            • Received from Jesus

              • “The Greek word martus, which gives us our English word martyr, simply means ‘a witness.’” ​​ [Wiersbe, 588]

              • Revelation 2:13, I know where you live – where Satan has his throne. ​​ Yet you remain true to my name. ​​ You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives.

              • Revelation 17:6, I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

              • “Those who died, therefore, are those who gave their lives in faithfulness to God as revealed in and through Jesus Christ.” ​​ [Mounce, 147]

        • We see here that these martyrs from the time of the tribulation (opening of the first four seals) gave everything for the Gospel of Jesus Christ

          • “Some ants build; some ants sow and later reap the crop; and some apes fight and have wars although they are not as cruel as people are. But nothing in nature, except for man, ever tries to think of the meaning of life. Nothing climbs above its natural physical needs. No living creature, except for a man, is able to take a risk, and even the risk of death, for the sake of truth. Thousands of martyrs who have lived are a unique phenomenon in the history of all our solar system.”

            Slain Russian Orthodox priest Aleksandr Menn, cited by Larry Woiwode in Books & Culture, Vol. 2, no. 2.

            [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1998/february/2843.html]

          • They did not hold on to their own lives too tightly

          • Are we willing to sacrifice everything for the Gospel?

            • PRINCIPLE – God may require some of His people to give their lives in service to Him and the Gospel.

            • Keener shares that some of his students (primarily from the United States) in his Revelation class at Palmer Theological Seminary were getting nervous about the possibility of martyrdom

            • Emmanuel Itapson, a student and minister from northern Nigeria, “explained that martyrdom looks small when you actually face it.” ​​ Keener continues, “If we have proved our faithfulness in most of the tests we face today, we will have practiced for bigger tests if they come.” ​​ [Keener, 226]

            • Hudson Taylor was looking for men and women to establish “culturally sensitive indigenous Chinese churches” and who would put Jesus, China, and souls, above everything else in their lives, including their own lives [Keener, 226]

            • The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 tested the testimony of the missionaries and Chinese Christians (188 Protestant missionaries and 30,000 Chinese Christians were slaughtered), yet their martyrdom launched a “threefold church growth in the next decade.” ​​ [Keener, 226]

            • As Christians in the United States, who have rarely if ever experienced any kind of persecution for our faith are really unwilling to sacrifice anything for the Gospel, let alone our own lives

            • Musician, John Fischer, expresses our lack of sacrifice well, “Point a gun at each of the 60 million people who, according to Mr. Gallup’s poll, are born-again Christians. ​​ Tell them to renounce Christ or have their heads blown off, and then take a recount. ​​ I think George, like Gideon, would find his troops dwindling. ​​ Actually, the price probably wouldn’t have to be so extreme. ​​ Threatening to confiscate their TV sets might just produce the same results. ​​ When faith is cheap, it is easily pawned.” ​​ [Keener, 227]

            • Billy Graham asked the question of himself that applies to every believer: ​​ “In my eagerness to give away God’s great gift, have I been honest about the price He paid in His war with evil? ​​ And have I adequately explained the price we must pay in our own war against the evil at work in and around our lives?” ​​ [Keener, 227]

              • Here’s the difficult part for many Christians in the United States today, Billy Graham was highly motivated and eager to share the Gospel with everyone he came in contact with and yet questioned his own heart

              • As followers of Jesus Christ (who are mostly fearful about sharing the Gospel with our closest friends) do we even care about or love those in our communities who will spend all eternity separated from Jesus Christ and God?

              • We may say we care about and love them, but are we willing to sacrifice everything we have, including our own lives to share the Gospel with them

          • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask the Lord to help me willingly sacrifice everything for the Gospel.

            • I’m not asking you to go sell everything you have and move overseas to share the Gospel

            • If God prompts you to do that, then be obedient to Him

            • I’m asking you to consider sacrificing one or two things in order to be on mission to Pursue, Grow, and Multiple Disciples for Jesus Christ

            • I can’t tell you what it is you need to sacrifice, but I encourage you to diligently pray until you hear the voice of God telling you what He wants you to sacrifice

            • It may be money, possessions, time, fear, or something else

        • “Throughout the persecution and suffering in the book, the church is presented as a witnessing church. ​​ They do not flee for their lives or compromise the gospel in order to avoid persecution but boldly maintain their witness in the desperate situation.” ​​ [Osborne, 285-86]

        • The martyrs under the altar are praying a prayer of supplication

    • Martyr’s Request (v. 10)

        • They are calling out in a loud voice, which is again representative of their prayer being clearly heard and understood

        • Their prayer

          • They are praying to the Sovereign Lord

            • The Greek word for “Lord” is despotes and is used for the master of slaves

              • What is being expressed is that God has absolute power and authority – they are recognizing Him for who He really is, Omnipotent

              • It is only used here in Revelation

            • They also use two other attributes of God

              • Holy – perfect

              • True – trustworthy

            • Our prayers to the Lord should also be seasoned with the attributes of God

          • How long until you judge and avenge our blood?

            • We see the use of the question, “How long,” in other parts of Scripture

              • The Psalmist asks the Lord, how long, How long will the wicked, O Lord, how long will the wicked be jubilant? ​​ (Psalm 94:3)

              • The prophet Habakkuk asks the Lord, how long, How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? ​​ Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? ​​ (Habakkuk 1:2)

              • Jesus explains in the parable of the persistent widow that God will bring about justice, And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? ​​ Will he keep putting them off? ​​ (Luke 18:7)

              • God is not blind, His arms are not short, He is aware of the plight of the martyrs

            • The martyrs are not pleading for personal revenge or vengeance, but rather for God’s divine justice to be served

              • They are not questioning whether or not God will judge, but rather inquiring about the timing – when will it happen?

              • The opening of the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-17) will bring some judgment on those who have slain these martyrs

              • We will also see that the Lord has heard their prayers as the seventh seal is opened and the golden censer is used

              • Read Revelation 8:3-5

          • Inhabitants of the earth

            • This is talking about the human race that is in rebellion against God

            • These are not believers that are being referred to here

        • The martyrs do not have to wait long for the Lord’s answer concerning their prayer of supplication

    • More Martyrs (v. 11)

        • God responds in two ways

        • White robe

          • First, the Lord gives each of the martyrs a white robe

            • “Was given” is another divine passive, which tells us that this is the sovereign will of God

            • The white robe in this passage would have been one that reached to the floor

              • It was a robe of honor and dignity

              • The color white speaks of purity, holiness, blessedness, and victory

              • “The white robe assigned each of these martyr-spirits as a pledge of future and final glory (vii. 9) and a consoling proof that no judgment awaited them (xx. 4-6), is a favourite gift in the Jewish heaven (cf. Enoch 1xii. 15 f., and ASC. Isa. Ix. 24 f.).” ​​ [Moffatt cited by Patterson, 185]

            • They were probably given this robe as a reward for their faithfulness to the Lord, even to the point of death

          • “As we began to pastor our first church, my wife, Lori, and I found we were going to have a third child. Several weeks later, Lori was going through her clothes, which no longer fit. Watching her, our 5-year-old son asked, ‘Mom, now that you're going to have a baby, are you going to have to wear 'eternity' clothes?’”

            Rev. Bill McKibben, Woodlake, Cal. "Kids of the Kingdom," Christian Reader.

            [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/august/778.html]

          • That’s what I envision when I see the Lord giving these martyrs a white robe – they have received their “eternity clothes”

          • We see that the Lord responds in a second way

        • Wait for more martyrs

          • He tells the martyrs to wait a little longer

          • The Greek word for “wait” can be translated “stop” or “rest”

            • Within the context, the martyrs are being asked to stop their plea before God

            • But it also has the sense that they can rest knowing that God will judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge their blood

          • They are told to stop or rest, because there are more martyrs who need to join them before God is ready to judge the wicked on earth

          • PRINCIPLE – God will avenge the death of His saints at the right time.

            • “The emphasis is on divine sovereignty. ​​ God knows each one who is to be martyred and will vindicate them all at the proper time, which will soon come.” ​​ [Osborne, 289]

            • There is nothing to fear in martyrdom, because God is still in control

            • Those who are martyred for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are precious to God

            • Psalm 116:15, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

            • We know that the Lord is the One who will defend and avenge us – He has promised that in Scripture

              • Deuteronomy 32:35a, It is mine to avenge; I will repay.

              • Romans 12:19, Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ​​ “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

 

  • YOU

    • Martyrdom

        • We don’t know if God will require us to give our lives for the Gospel

        • The question is really, are we willing to sacrifice everything for the Gospel?

          • Is there something that is holding you back?

          • Perhaps you need to sacrifice that item(s)

          • Most of us know, intuitively, what we should sacrifice in order to be on mission for the Lord

          • Are we willing to take that step

          • Romans 12:1-2, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. ​​ Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. ​​ Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

    • Hope for our eternity

        • We know that God will judge those who persecute us and avenge the blood of His saints

        • Paul taught this hope of eternity to the Corinthian believers

        • 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ​​ We live by faith, not by sight. ​​ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with Lord.

        • Do you have that confidence today?

 

CONCLUSION

“Mark Batterson tells of a modern day martyr in his book Chase the Lion:

 

With his hands tied behind his back, missionary J. W. Tucker was beaten and then with sixty of his Christian compatriots he was thrown into the crocodile-infested Bomokande River. It wasn't ISIS or Al-Qaeda who claimed responsibility. The attack took place on November 24, 1964, at the hands of Congolese rebels.

 

Our natural instinct is to feel sorry for Tucker, whose earthly life was seemingly cut short. But life can't be cut short when it lasts for all eternity. A holy empathy for his wife and children, who survived the terrorist attack, is biblically mandated. But heaven gained a hero, a hero in a long line of heroes who trace their genealogy back to the first Christian martyr, Stephen.

 

In the grand scheme of God's good, pleasing, and perfect will, eternal gain infinitely offsets earthly pain. God doesn't promise us happily ever after. He promises so much more than that—happily forever after.

 

It was that eternal perspective that inspired J. W. Tucker to risk his earthly life for the gospel. Tucker didn't fear death because he had already died to self. It wasn't an uncalculated risk that led J. W. Tucker into the Congo during a civil war. He counted the cost with his missionary friend Morris Plotts. Plotts tried to convince his friend not to go. "If you go in," he prophetically pleaded, "you won't come out." To which Tucker responded, "God didn't tell me I had to come out. He only told me I had to go in."

 

Adapted from Mark Batterson, Chase the Lion (Multnomah, 2016), page 107

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2017/september/7091817.html].

10

 

/by

The Horses of a Different Color

, ,

Jesus Unveiled

The Horses of a Different Color

(Revelation 6:1-8)

 

INTRODUCTION

Somewhere in Eastern Europe, an SS officer watched languidly, his machine gun cradled, as an elderly and bearded Hasidic Jew laboriously dug what he knew to be his grave. Standing up straight, he addressed his executioner. "God is watching what you are doing," he said. And then he was shot dead.

 

What Hitler did not believe, and what Stalin did not believe, and what Mao did not believe, and what the SS did not believe, and what the Gestapo did not believe, and what the NKVD did not believe, and what the commissars, functionaries, swaggering executioners, Nazi doctors, Communist Party theoreticians, intellectuals, Brown Shirts, Blackshirts, Gauleiters, and a thousand party hacks did not believe, was that God was watching what they were doing.

 

And as far as we can tell, very few of those carrying out the horrors of the twentieth century worried overmuch that God was watching what they were doing either.

 

John Lennox, Gunning for God (Lion Hudson, 2011), page 89

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2016/january/4011116.html]

 

What every one of those world leaders thought was that they had created their own power and authority. ​​ It was not given to them by anyone or anything. ​​ They had taken it or created it on their own. ​​ But that was not the case. ​​ It was given to them, but they did not acknowledge the source.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Leading my family

        • The authority to lead my family is not something I created or took on by myself

        • Ephesians 5:22-24, Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ​​ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ​​ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

        • 1 Corinthians 11:3, Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

        • The authority and responsibility to lead my family comes from God

    • Leading the church

        • My calling to pastoral ministry was clear – it came from God

        • My ordination as an elder in the United Brethren in Christ denomination came after completing the necessary years of service, educational requirements, and examination from the regional Ministerial Licensing and Ordination Team and the approval of the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team

        • The authority to lead in the church is not something I created or took on by myself – it comes from God

        • Romans 13:1, Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. ​​ The authorities that exist have been established by God.

 

  • WE

    • Authority at home

        • The authority you have in your home comes only from God

        • We may not recognize or acknowledge that it comes from Him

        • We like to think that we have created our own authority, but that’s not the case

    • Authority at work

        • The authority we have at work is not our own

        • It is given to us by those in authority over us

        • Ultimately, the authority is given by God

 

John watches as Jesus begins opening the seven seals on the scroll. ​​ The first four go together because of the four horses and their riders that are sent out. ​​ From this scene we will see that . . .

BIG IDEA – Evil is allowed to act only within the sovereignty of God.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 6:1-8)

    • Background

        • What we see with the first four seals is what Jesus mentions during His Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:1-25; Mark 13:1-23; Luke 21:5-24)

          • One of His disciples comments on the size of the stones and the beauty of the buildings in Jerusalem

          • Jesus tells them that a time is coming when all the stones will be thrown down

          • The disciples want to know when this is going to happen and what the signs will be

          • Mark 13:7-8, When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. ​​ Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ​​ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ​​ There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. ​​ These are the beginning of birth pains.

          • Jesus doesn’t say it is the end, but that it is the beginning of the end

          • “The seven seals are preliminary judgments on the earth that prepare for the trumpets and bowls.” ​​ [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 269]

        • We see various colored horses in Zechariah’s prophecy

          • Read Zechariah 1:7-11

          • Read Zechariah 6:1-8

        • “The primary theme is divine sovereignty, as the Lamb initiates the event, and in three of them the divine passive ‘was given’ (6:2, 4, 8) controls the action. ​​ This means that the activities of the horsemen take place only as authorized by God . . . the first four seals center on the depravity of mankind . . . In other words, God simply allows human sin to come full circle, turn in upon itself, and self-destruct.” ​​ [Osborne, 272]

        • This leads us to Revelation 6:1-8 and the first seal that is opened

    • White horse (vv. 1-2)

        • We know from Revelation 5:5 that there is One who is able to open the scroll and its seven seals

          • He is identified as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David

          • When John turned to see the Lion, he saw a Lamb that looked like it had been slain

          • This is the same Lamb mentioned in Revelation 6 that is opening the first six seals on the scroll

        • After the first seal is opened one of the four living creatures that is surrounding the throne of God speaks

          • His voice is like thunder

          • He simply says one word, “Come!”

            • In the Greek it is an imperative form of the verb, which is in the present tense

            • It means that living creature is saying it as a command

          • He is summoning something or someone to enter the scene

        • A white horse comes into view with a rider on its back

          • Who is this rider?

            • There are three interpretations of who this rider is

              • The first is that it represents Jesus Christ riding out in victory with the Gospel

                • Those who hold this belief look at Revelation 19:11 where Christ is identified as the rider of a white horse

                  • Revelation 19:11, I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. ​​ With justice he judges and makes war.

                  • His weapon in 19:15 is a sword that comes out of His mouth and not a bow

                • The only similarity is that both riders are riding on white horses

                • If Jesus is the One opening the seals, it seems strange that He would then ride out on a white horse at this point

                • The living creature is commanding the rider to come, and no heavenly being would command Jesus to do anything [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Christ in Revelation, 134]

                • It would be unusual for one of the four horsemen to represent something good when the other three are representing the judgements of God on humanity

              • The second is that it represents the Antichrist

                • This is certainly a good and viable option

                  • The Antichrist will attempt to look like Christ, to imitate Christ – riding on a white horse

                  • He will appear to come in peace, but eventually his true purpose will be revealed

                • Daniel 9:26-27, “After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. ​​ The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. ​​ The end will come like a flood: ​​ War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ​​ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ ​​ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. ​​ And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

                • Jesus mentions this prophecy from Daniel when He talks about the future with His disciples in Matthew 24:15

                • The very first thing that Jesus mentions in His Olivet Discourse is the arrival of those who will claim to be the Christ

                • Matthew 24:5, “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

                • John 5:43, I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.

              • The third interpretation is that it symbolizes military conquest

                • The second and third ones can be easily connected

                • The reason for making it distinct is that the other three are all symbolic of something else

                • Conquest would naturally lead to war, war would naturally lead to famine, famine would naturally lead to death

            • The rider is on a white horse and has two items that John mentions

          • Significance of the white horse, bow, and crown

            • In order to understand the significance of the white horse, bow, and crown we have to place ourselves in the 1st Century

              • The 1st Century hearer of this revelation would have immediately thought of a military force that utilized white horses and bows

              • “Parthians were famous, like Scythians, for their horses. ​​ There were known as mounted warriors, and their cavalry were especially known for their formidable archery . . . the Parthians were all mounted archers; they were the only group of mounted archers know in the ancient Mediterranean world. ​​ White was the sacred color of the Parthians, and every Parthian army included some sacred white horses.” ​​ [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 202]

              • The Parthians had conquered a Roman army twice – once in 55 B.C. and once in A.D. 62 [Osborne, 277]

              • They were a group of tribes east of the Euphrates River that were skilled at accurately shooting arrows from a charging horse [Osborne, 277]

              • The Parthian victory was probably part of the history taught to Greco-Roman children

            • Only the bow is mentioned here and not arrows, which some believe points to this rider coming in peace, which the Antichrist will do at first, but eventually will conquer the world through war, famine, and death

            • The crown is again the “victors crown” and not the royal crown

              • The Greek word is stephanos instead of diadema

              • Jesus will be wearing the royal crowns (diadema) when He comes, as we see in Revelation 19:12

              • For the hearer in the 1st Century the “victors crown” may have symbolized the independence of the Parthians from Roman rule – they had not been conquered by Rome

              • One more very important aspect of the crown was that it “was given” to the rider

                • The first, second, and fourth riders are all “given” certain things

                • Mounce cites Caird who says that normally in Revelation this refers to “the divine permission granted to evil powers to carry out their nefarious work.” ​​ [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 142]

                • This takes us back to our big idea that, evil is allowed to act only within the sovereignty of God.

                • God is in control of His creation and He orchestrates all that happens, even the final judgements on mankind

            • This rider is sent out by God to accomplish a particular purpose on the earth

          • His purpose is to conquer and he’s intent on carrying out that purpose

        • We don’t know the timeframe between the opening of the first seal and the opening of the second, but when the Lamb opens the second seal another horse and its rider appear

    • Red horse (vv. 3-4)

        • The second living creature commands the second horse and his rider to come

        • The color of the horse is symbolic of what will take place as this rider moves out – there will be bloodshed and slaughter

        • God’s sovereign control

          • The phrase “was given” is again important

          • It is mentioned twice in these two verses

          • The rider of the red horse is not acting on his own

          • BIG IDEA: ​​ Evil is allowed to act only within the sovereignty of God.

          • He is given the power or authority to do two things

            • Take peace from the earth

              • This goes back to what Jesus said in Mark 13:7-8, that there would be wars and rumors of wars and that nations and kingdoms will rise up against each other

              • There have been wars throughout history, but even during the two World Wars there were pockets of peace

              • That will not be the case when the red horse and its rider are released

              • He will remove peace from the entire earth

              • Many believe Paul is referring to the red horse and its rider when he shares with the Thessalonian believers about the man of lawlessness

              • 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ​​ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.

              • Peace will be gone, because God will remove His hand of protection from the earth

                • He is the One who holds back the power of lawlessness

                • He is the One who has not allowed humanity to express its full depravity

              • We see the result of God removing His sovereign protection from the earth

            • Make men slaughter each other

              • The rider is also given the power or authority to make men slay each other

              • The verb in Greek is very strong and means more than just killing each other

              • It means to slaughter

                • There will be a thirst for blood

                • Any moral or ethical boundaries that God and society have established will be stripped away

                • We see this kind of thirst for blood in serial killers

                  • Once they cross the line the first time, they have to continue taking lives

                  • There is a rush, a euphoric feeling that pushes them to continue to take lives

                  • All humanity will experience that thirst for blood

              • “Assassination and civil unrest, riots in the streets, and rebellion against authority will run rampant. ​​ No one will be safe. ​​ One will live in constant fear of life not knowing whom to trust.” ​​ [Akin, 135]

                • Matthew 24:9-11, “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ​​ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

                • There’s a series of three movies called The Purge and the idea behind the series is that due to an increase in crime and overcrowding in the prison system, the government of the United States sanctions a 12-hour period every year where any and all criminal activity, including murder, become legal

                • When the fiery red horse and its rider are released, this idea from The Purge will not last just 12-hours, but will be continual

            • While the rider is given the authority to take peace from the earth and to make men slaughter each other, he is also given a large sword to accomplish this purpose

          • He is also given a large sword to accomplish his task

            • The sword that is referenced here is not the double-edged long sword

            • It is the Roman short sword or dagger that is used for close hand-to-hand combat

        • Peaceful conquest has given way to bloodshed, which prepares us for the next horse and rider

    • Black horse (vv. 5-6)

        • The third living creature commands the third horse and his rider to come

        • The color of the horse (black) is symbolic of what will happen when this horse and its rider are released on the earth – there will be famine

        • The rider is holding a pair of scales

          • The scale was a common tool used in the agora (marketplace) of every Roman and Near Eastern city in the 1st Century

          • It was a balance beam with a scale on each end, designed to ensure justice

          • They would use the scale to measure out the appropriate amount of grain

          • “During war the conquering army would live off the countryside, often taking the food by force and leaving a denuded countryside in its wake. ​​ Famine was the natural result.” ​​ [Osborne, 280]

          • Farmers would have been included in the individuals who were slaughtering each other after the second horse and its rider were released, so you also have the scarcity of those who planted and harvested the crops

          • Having grain or bread measured out by weight was a sign of scarcity/famine

            • Leviticus 26:26, When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. ​​ You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

            • Ezekiel 4:16-17, He then said to me, “Son of man, I will cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. ​​ The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, for food and water will be scarce. ​​ They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.”

          • While this rider is not given power or authority to do anything, we still see the sovereignty of God at work

        • God’s sovereign control

          • John hears what sounds like a voice among the four living creatures

            • It is not stated directly that it is the voice of God

            • The only thing that is among the four living creatures in the throne room scene of chapter 4 is God sitting on His throne, so it stands to reason that the voice is probably His

            • God was explaining the severity of the famine

          • Inflation for daily bread

            • Grain

              • Wheat

                • This was the preferred grain, because it had a better nutritional value

                • It was primarily eaten by the wealthy

              • Barley

                • This was primarily eaten by the poor and fed to animals, because the nutritional value was less than wheat

                • It was less expensive than wheat because of supply and demand

            • Quart

              • This measurement would have been enough for one person for one day

              • Imagine having wheat or barley kernels poured out into your hands as they are cupped together – that is approximately the measurement used here

            • Day’s wages

              • The standard for a day’s wage was a denarius, a single silver coin in the 1st Century

              • During that time period the day laborer was paid at the end of every day, so he or she could go to the marketplace and purchase food for themselves and their family

              • Leviticus 19:13, “Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. ​​ Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.”

              • 1 Timothy 5:18, For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

              • In Matthew 20:1-16 we see Jesus’ parable of the workers

                • Each of them agreed to receive a denarius for the amount of work they did

                • Some worked all day while the others only worked a portion of the day

                • They were all called together at the end of the day to receive their wages – one denarius

                • The landowner did not wait until the next day to pay them

            • Inflation

              • During the time of the black horse and its rider individuals will only be able to purchase enough wheat (one measure) or barley (three measures) to feed themselves

              • “Ordinarily, a person could buy eight to twelve measures for a penny, and much more for barley, which was the cheaper grain.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 588]

              • We are looking at an inflation rate of 1000 to 1500 percent [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 107], about ten to twelve times the normal rate [Mounce, 144]

              • “There might be good reasons why many of us feel stressed by financial challenges. Economists have a term for our rising costs—they call it ‘Cost Disease.’ Here's how one researcher summarized all the stats about this ‘disease’:

                So, to summarize: in the past fifty years, education costs have doubled, college costs have dectupled, health insurance costs have dectupled, subway costs have at least dectupled, and housing costs have increased by about fifty percent. US health care costs are about four times as much as equivalent health care in other First World countries; US subways cost about eight times as much as equivalent subways in other First World countries.

                I worry that people don't appreciate how weird this is. I didn't appreciate it for a long time. I guess I just figured that Grandpa used to talk about how back in his day movie tickets only cost a nickel; that was just the way of the world.                 But all of the numbers above are inflation-adjusted. These things have dectupled in cost even after you adjust for movies costing a nickel in Grandpa's day. They have really, genuinely dectupled in cost, no economic trickery involved.

                Scott Alexander, "Considerations on Cost Disease," Slate Star Codex (2-9-17)

                [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2017/march/4032017.html]

            • We see next that God only allows the famine to go so far

          • Don’t damage the oil and the wine

            • This is an imperative from the Lord

              • Again we see God’s sovereignty at work

              • BIG IDEA: ​​ Evil is allowed to act only within the sovereignty of God.

            • “Ancient Mediterranean warfare included destroying the standing crops in the fields but not the vines and olive trees; destruction of vines and olive trees would produce long-range devastation of the local economies (and so negate the entire point of conquering the land). ​​ Destroying wheat and barley meant hardship for a year until the new harvest would come, but destroying olive trees (which took about seventeen years to grow) and vines spelled enduring disaster.” ​​ [Keener, 205]

            • God was sovereignly protecting the olive trees and vineyards, for now, by limiting the black horse and its rider

        • Widespread famine naturally leads to death, which segues into the final horseman

    • Pale horse (vv. 7-8)

        • The fourth living creature commands the fourth horse and his rider to come

        • The color of the horse (pale) is symbolic of what will happen when this horse and its rider are released on the earth – there will be death

          • The Greek word for pale is helpful in understanding the color of this horse

          • The Greek word is chloros

            • Two English words are derived from this Greek word

            • Chorine – meaning to bleach

            • Chlorophyll – which is the green pigment found in all green plants

          • It would have been a yellowish-green or grey-green colored horse – just imagine a human corpse before the funeral director prepares it for a viewing

          • The color of the horse matches the function and purpose of its rider

        • Name of the rider

          • Here we are given the name of the rider unlike the other three riders

          • His name is Death

            • Often in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX) the Greek word thanatos (death) is used to translate the Hebrew word for “pestilence” [Osborne, 282]

            • This is significant when we see what he and Hades have power and authority to do

          • Hades is also present

            • Hades can be literally translated as “the grave,” but this gives us a different understanding than what the 1st Century reader would have envisioned

            • We think about it as the place where our loved one’s body is interred

            • “Hades is the unseen and partially unknown and unknowable world to which the dead have departed.” ​​ [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 182]

            • Hades is acting like a street sweeper that is following behind Death [Patterson, 182] as he strikes down victim after victim [Osborne, 282], up to a fourth of the population

        • God’s sovereign control

          • Here again we see the phrase “were given power”

            • Death and Hades have no power to act independently of God’s sovereign will

            • BIG IDEA: ​​ Evil is allowed to act only within the sovereignty of God.

            • They are not able to act beyond the boundaries He has set

              • The boundary for Death and Hades is set at a fourth of the earth

              • The population reached 7 billion people in 2011

              • That would mean that 1.75 billion people would be killed by Death

              • It will only get worse when the trumpet judgments are unleashed – during those judgments a third of the remaining population will be killed

            • We see the various methods that are used

          • The methods used to kill

            • We see these four methods used against the Israelites in Ezekiel’s prophecy

            • Ezekiel 14:21, “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ​​ How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments – sword and famine and wild beasts and plague – to kill its men and their animals!”

            • Sword

              • We saw this with the second fiery red horse and its rider

              • He had the Roman short sword used for hand-to-hand combat

            • Famine and plague

              • The third horse, that was black, and its rider brought widespread famine to the earth

              • While it’s not stated directly, there will probably be people who will die as a result of hunger from lack of food

              • The unsanitary conditions that many will probably experience as a result of the famine will create plague-like symptoms (perhaps people will be scrounging for food and eating items that are spoiled)

            • Wild beasts of the earth

              • The weakened state of people’s bodies due to lack of food and sickness will make them easy prey for wild animals

              • This would be the natural result of war and famine

              • With the death of billions of people in a short period of time, the ability to bury them properly will allow wild animals access

              • Wild animals will also be affected by the conditions of famine and will probably scavenge where they would not normally venture

    • PRINCIPLE – When God allows humanity to exercise their full depravity, without His sovereign protection, then war, famine, and death are the result.

 

  • YOU

    • Blaming God

        • Perhaps you’re feeling like you’re experiencing the four horsemen of the apocalypse in your life right now

          • Maybe someone is deceiving you in a relationship

          • Perhaps your home is not a peaceful place and war is raging

          • You may be struggling to make ends meet and you’re wondering where your next meal is going to come from

          • An illness may be plaguing you and you don’t see any end in sight

        • It’s easy during those times to blame God and question His sovereignty

          • That’s what Job did

          • Jesus’ disciples also wondered who had sinned when He healed a man blind from birth (was it the man or his parents?) [John 9:1-12]

          • Jesus said it was neither of them, but it was all according to God’s sovereign plan, so the work of God might be displayed in his life (it was for God’s glory)

    • God’s sovereign protection is for His glory

        • We have to remember that the evil or difficult things that are happening to us right now are not a surprise to God

        • There are limits to what evil is allowed to do in our lives

        • Evil is allowed to act only within the sovereignty of God for His glory

          • That concept is difficult for us, especially within our culture

          • We think that bad things happen or difficulties come only when we are not following Jesus like we should

          • When difficulties come, we go back to church, start praying or pray more, begin reading the Bible or spend more time in the Bible

          • When we do these things we’re really showing that we believe in a works salvation theology

          • We show that we don’t really trust the sovereignty of God, that He has the right to rule and He rules rightly

          • We show that we’re really not interested in God’s glory, but rather our own comfort

          • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Trust in the sovereignty of God and believe that what He is allowing to happen in my life is for His glory.

 

  • WE

    •  

 

CONCLUSION

“Reviewing the various interpretations assigned to the Four Horsemen tends to rob the contemporary reader of the dramatic nature of the vision itself. ​​ It is good to place oneself back in one of the seven churches and listen to the visions as they are being read. ​​ Instead of discussing the probable significance of each of the four colored horses those first listeners would undoubtedly have recoiled in terror as war, bloodshed, famine, and death galloped furiously across the stage of their imagination. ​​ Visions at best are to be experienced rather than analyzed. ​​ Those who approach Revelation with a sympathetic imagination are most apt to understand its true meaning.” ​​ [Mounce, 145-46]

14

 

/by

Optimus Prime Jesus

,

OPTIMUS PRIME JESUS

Have you noticed the fascination our culture has with superheroes these days? In 2017, there were movies about Spiderman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League. Already in 2018, we have had the Avengers: Infinity War movie that came out not that long ago. These heroes are usually ordinary people who are able to transform into superheroes. For instance, we have Clark Kent who was an ordinary human being who would go into a phone booth and come out as Superman. Then we have Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson who would go down the bat-pole and come out as Batman & Robin. Then there is Bruce Bannon who would transform into the Hulk when he got angry and Steve Rogers who was a frail young man enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum and became Captain America. Finally, we have the transformers. The transformers are on the earth posing as vehicles hiding in plain sight. In the first movie, the main character gets in trouble and to his surprise his old rusted Chevy Camaro turns into one of these transformers and saves his life. What fascinates us so much about these superheroes? ​​ I think one thing that fascinates us is the transformation from the ordinary to the superhuman. Another, is that an ordinary person can transform themselves into a superhuman and save the day.

For those who may not know I have been volunteering with Youth For Christ at the Bermudian Middle School in their campus life club on Wednesday afternoons. A couple of Wednesdays ago, Perry, who runs the club asked me to bring in a wedding picture for his topic on commitment. As I was preparing this message I was reminded of the picture I took in. It made me think about the changes and the transformation of Judy and myself over the past 30 years. So, here is our wedding picture from 30 years ago.

I also thought about the changes and transformation some of you in our congregation have made since your wedding day and I asked some of you if I could use your wedding pictures for the message this morning, so here they are. See if you can guess who these are:

Wedding day and then now, Ben & Kelly, wedding day and then now, Doug and Stacey, wedding day and then now, Pam & Bill Emig; wedding day and then now, Pastor Stuart & Judy, wedding day and then now, Gene & Roxey.

We all have changed haven’t we? Through the years, we get older not younger. We grow from a little baby into a child to a youth into a young adult and finally into an adult. That is the nature and order of life. Even in our examples of superheroes earlier they went from the human to the superhuman first not the other way around. We go from young to old not old to young as we live out our lives.

Today, we are going to again be looking into the throne room of God. A couple of weeks ago Pastor Stuart showed us that John was transported to heaven into the very throne room of God where he saw the glory and magnificence of God. There were 24 elders encircled around the throne. There was flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. If you remember, the Holy Spirit was there and in front of the throne there was this thing like a sea of glass. Then between the throne and the 24 elders in a circle around the throne were these four living creatures. They had eyes in front and in back and they six wings all covered in eyes. One was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. It says that night and day they never rested they were always worshipping the God of Creation while the 24 elders fall down worshipping and laying their crowns before God’s throne.

We saw last week that John sees a sealed scroll in the right hand of God that was written on the front and the back but could not be opened. There was no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth that was able to open the scroll. We see John weeping because there was no one worthy enough to open the scroll. The passage then ends with one of the elders commanding John to stop weeping because Jesus the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory and he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.

Which brings us to this morning. What happens now is right out of one of those transformers’ movies but with a plot twist. In our scripture this morning we will see that what John saw was not the Lion he was expecting to see. The Lion of Judah had been transformed but this transformation was more like the Transformer being changed back into a Chevy Camaro and the Camaro saving the day and becoming the hero. It is because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross that makes him the only one worthy to open the scroll. And when that happens the throne room of God breaks out into a worship service for the ages. John wants us to know this morning that the Lamb of God is the only one worthy of our worship. That is our Big Idea this morning.

So as we begin to unpack today’s scripture, let us pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you this morning for your son who was obedient even to death on the cross for us. We praise Jesus for his sacrifice and for allowing our sins to be forgiven. As we look into your word this morning may the Holy Spirit open our hearts and minds to the words you want us to hear, know and obey. We thank you for your love for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

This morning we will be in Revelation chapter 5, verses 6-14. There are 3 acts, so to speak, in our passage today. We will start with the first act which is found in verse 6: This is what God’s word says, 6Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Here we see the transformation of Jesus from the Lion of Judah, the conqueror, to the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain. This is not your normal superhero movie. This is more like if ​​ Superman turned back into Clark Kent or Batman back into Bruce Wayne and then saved the day. In our story this morning, the lamb is the hero. He is the only one who can open the scroll and usher in the judgments of God on the earth. He is the one that the 24 elders, the four living creatures, the angels and all the saints that have gone before have been waiting and praying for.

This lamb was unlike any lamb that John had ever seen. First of all, it looked as if it had been slain. The Lamb who is victorious bears the sacrificial wounds from the crucifixion. He has the nail pierced hands and feet. The hole is in his side from the spear and there are marks on his head from the crown of thorns. These wounds will still be there when we see Jesus in heaven.

At the same time the lamb is standing, symbolizing victory through sacrifice. He is clothed with the very might of God which can now shatter and break its enemies. Second, it had seven horns and seven eyes. We already know that the number seven means completion and perfection. In the OT horns stood for two things, power and honor. In 1 Kings 22:11, Zedekiah, the prophet, made iron horns as a sign of promised triumph over the Syrians. In Zechariah 1:18, Zechariah sees the vision of the four horns which stand for the nations who have scattered Israel. These are pictures of power that cannot be withstood. The horns also stands for honor. In Psalm 112:9 it says the good man’s horn shall be exalted with honor and in Psalm 148:14 it says God exalts the horn of his people. The horn then stands for the honor that God gives to his own. Here in the fifth chapter of Revelation the horns stands for the honor and power of the lamb that is perfect, full, compete and cannot be withstood.

The lamb also had seven eyes. John tells us the seven eyes are the fullness of the Holy Spirit dispatched into all the earth. This is the all-seeing omniscience of God. There is no place on earth which is not under the eye of God and which God does not see. This means that the Lamb sends the Holy Spirit out to the ends of the earth and he knows all, he sees all, has perfect knowledge and his presence is everywhere among us.

This is a tremendous picture of Jesus Christ. The tragedy of the cross has turned to triumph, and the shame to glory and he is the one with all the power and all knowledge, whose all-conquering might no one can withstand and whose all-seeing eyes no one can escape.

There are few passages of Scripture which show at one and the same time what Swete called “the majesty and the meekness” of Jesus Christ, and which in one picture combines the humiliation of his death and the glory of his risen life.

As we continue, in verse 7, we see the second act of this drama. We see what the Lamb was able to do. Follow along as I read verse 7: He (meaning the Lamb) went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

In one dramatic moment, Jesus Christ, the Lamb, boldly approaches the throne of God and exercises his sovereignty by coming and taking the scroll out of the Father’s right hand. This symbolizes a transfer of authority from the Father to the Son to reveal the future and to hand out judgment.

Now we come to the third act. John describes for us three waves of worship that take place in Heaven because of what they Lamb was able to do. We will look at each wave by itself. The first wave is in verses 8-10. Listen to verses 8-10 as I read.

8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

When the lamb takes the scroll immediately the 24 elders and the four living creatures fall down before the Lamb in worship. This transfer resulted in an outpouring of praise for the Lamb because it signaled that Christ would begin judging.

That is the only response for them for what they saw Jesus do. When the Lamb, who is the only one worthy to take the scroll, takes it, the worship experience starts and as we will see it does not stop until all creation is praising the Father and the Son. The Lamb of God is the only one worthy of our worship.

John says the elders had harps and bowls filled with incense. Throughout the Bible the harp is an instrument of joy and gladness and is used more than any other instrument to praise God. Psalm 33:2 says, Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy. And Psalm 98:5 says, make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing.

John explains that the bowls contained the prayers of God’s people and they are like the fragrant aroma of burning incense to him. These prayers are probably all the unanswered petitions that people have prayed asking God to judge the unrighteous. They are the pleadings of the saints already in heaven, requesting God to right every wrong on earth and to vindicate his name by pouring out his judgments upon an unbelieving world.

As a result of the Lamb’s authority from God to advance God’s plan, the four living creatures and the elders sing a new song. This song represents new praise for deliverance about to take place. In this song the Lamb receives honor as being the only one worthy because of four things.

The first reason that the Lamb is the only one worthy is because of his sacrifice for us. He willingly went to the cross in obedience to the Father. He took the sins of the whole world on himself. He was slain for each one of us.

The second reason the Lamb is worthy is because he purchased or redeemed us for God by his blood. It goes on to say that he redeemed people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Meaning persons from every people group will be in heaven.

The third reason is that his death not only saved us but makes us priests and kings so that we would share in his kingdom. Priesthood involves immediate access into God’s presence for praise and worship as well as the privilege of priestly service.

And the fourth reason is the blessing of his people by allowing them to rule on the earth. We will worship God by fulfilling God’s ordained responsibilities on a new earth for all eternity.

These four things remind us of our Big Idea this morning which is the Lamb of God is the only one worthy of our worship.

The second wave of worship expands to all the angels of heaven in verse 11-12 it says this:

 

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”

Now an innumerable hosts of angels joins the four living creatures and the 24 elders and all heaven breaks loose in ascribing worth to the Lamb. John describes the scene of worshippers as “myriads of myriads” meaning hundreds of millions times hundreds of millions. The number is easily in the billions but then John records there are still thousands of thousands in addition to the billions. There are multiplied millions spilling over the billions of worshippers already counted. This staggering number exceeds the limits of our human language and our ability to comprehend it. Again, try to imagine the worship scene unfolding before John’s eyes. It had to be mind boggling.

But, we want to pay attention to the angels because what they do is important. They praise the Lamb with a magnificent sevenfold blessing, again signifying perfection, to indicate the wonder of the Lamb. The repetition of the word “and” between each quality brings special emphasis to each one. These seven characteristics of which Jesus is worthy are things he already possesses in heaven. Therefore the song of the angels implies he is worthy to break the seals, open the scroll and commence the great tribulation starting in chapter 6, in order to gain these seven characteristics on earth. The Lamb is the only one worthy of these seven things not only in heaven but on earth as well.

These seven characteristics are as follows:

First is power. It emphasizes the sacrificial death of the Lamb as the “power” by which the forces of evil have been conquered. It may be mentioned first because the immediate situation calls for the need of great power to accomplish God’s purposes on the earth. He alone is worthy of such power for he alone will and can use it with perfect justice and equality.

Second is wealth. This refers to the riches of the universe. This is the only place in the book of Revelation that wealth is used as a worship attribute. In Matthew 6:19-21 it says we are not to store up treasures on earth but rather store up our treasures in heaven for where our treasures are there are hearts are also. The only source of true riches lies in Christ.

Third is wisdom. This refers to his omniscience and its wise use in carrying out the purposes of God in the world. The Lamb’s wisdom speaks of his choice to become the God-ordained sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

Fourth is strength. This is the Lamb’s omnipotence in carrying out God’s will. No one or thing can stand against him. All he has to do is speak the Word and his will is done.

Fifth is honor. This is the esteem, the value and the respect which is due to Christ because of who he is and what he has done and will do for the glory of God and the benefit of the world.

Sixth is glory. This is the tribute and public display of adoration Christ is due again because of what he has done in the past, present and the future.

Lastly is blessing which refers to the praise that should be given to Jesus because of his wonderful acts of redemption.

What is being emphasized here is that the Lamb is worthy to receive all the power, wealth, strength, honor, glory and praise that the entire cosmos can bring to him in gratitude for salvation.

Finally, in verses 13-14 we see the third and final wave of worship and it is universal praise to the Father and the Son. Verses 13-14 say this:

13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

In his vision John hears every created thing giving praise to God and to the Lamb. No living creature failed to join in the great and final hymn of praise. The crescendo that is added to the symphony of praise is all creation, everywhere and everything worships the father and the son. The stones, the birds, the animals and the fish finally cry out – all creation had been groaning under the futility of the curse, now they know they are about to be set free. Romans 8:22 sums it up, 22 We know that the whole of creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Even all of creation is waiting for the day of a new heaven and new earth.

This also shows us that God the Father and God the Son are both equally to be worshipped forever and ever.

This passage concludes as the worship culminates in John’s vision with the four living creatures saying “Amen”, after the vast multitude falls silent. Since the four living creatures were the first to offer their praise it is appropriate that they should also end it. As the four living creatures say, “Amen”, the elders fall down and worship before God’s throne.

Maybe you have heard this story before: A boy once captured two little birds and put them in a cage. A man saw the boy carrying the cage and asked him what he was going to do with the birds. “Oh,” the boy replied, “I’m going to play with them for a while and feed them to my cat.” The man looked at the caged birds and took pity on them. “Say, I’d like to buy the cage and the birds from you. How much do you want for them?” The boy thought for a minute and then named his price. The man paid it and the boy handed over the cage, after which the man immediately opened the cage and set the birds free.

That’s what Jesus did for us. Satan had us caged and was going to feed us into the jaws of eternal death. But Jesus Christ purchased us, cage and all, and set us free. We are going to be worshipping him for all eternity because he paid that price. We need to start practicing our worship down here because the Lamb is the only one worthy of our worship.

When I think of the times of awesome worship in my life, there is one that comes to my mind. I was probably 20 maybe 21 and I was on a young adult trip with my church and we went to Youghiogheny River Lake near Pittsburgh. On one of the nights there I decided to spend it outside and I remember laying on the boat dock under the stars. I was blown away. The awesomeness of God’s planetarium was one of the most awe inspiring, might I say, spiritual worship experiences I have ever had. From the east to the west and from the north to south and everywhere there were stars and shooting stars and constellations. Here is a picture of what it may have been like that night.

It was crazy to lay there and think how the God of Creation, the creator of the stars, the planets and the moon, put it all up there and it just stays there. I feel like John writing this book. I can’t do it justice. I can’t put it into the right words for what I saw that night. All I know is, it was awesome.

So I want you to imagine that the God that created those stars created you and me even though he knew we would sin against him. And even if we didn’t praise him all of creation would. The Bible talks about creation praising and worshipping God. In Luke, when Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on the donkey it says the disciples were joyfully praising God and the Pharisees were upset and told Jesus to rebuke his disciples and in Luke 19:40 it says ​​ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Isaiah 55:12b says, “The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. And in Psalm 148:3 it says, Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.

I have asked Pastor Stuart and the praise team to come up and they are going to lead us in a final song of worship that really sums up how I feel about God’s creation and our worship of him. Some of the words of this song are:

And as You speak
A hundred billion galaxies are born
In the vapor of Your breath the planets form
If the stars were made to worship so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You’ve made
Every burning star ​​ A signal fire of grace
If creation sings Your praises so will I

If the stars were made to worship so will I
If the mountains bow in reverence so will I
If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I
For if everything exists to lift You high so will I
If the wind goes where You send it so will I
If the rocks cry out in silence so will I

But this song goes on and toward the end it says:

God of salvation
You chased down my heart
Through all of my failure and pride
On a hill You created
The light of the world
Abandoned in darkness to die

Did you catch that? God created the hill that we crucified him on and yet he still created us and loves us and wants a relationship with us.

I will never forget one Wednesday a couple of years ago one of the youth was telling me about their worship experience at Rhodes Grove and how awesome it was and how they worshipped with their hands raised, etc. and they wondered why it never seemed to happen here on a Sunday morning. I had to stop and think about it because I certainly don’t worship like that here in this public place like I do in private. Why is that? Maybe it’s the fear of standing out and being different. But I want to challenge us this morning during this last song in this place right now to worship the Lamb of God the way we would if we weren’t worried about what the person beside was doing, or without the fear of being different or standing out. Maybe that’s with your hands raised, maybe that is on our knees, the altar is always open for you, maybe when you are alone you shout Amen or sing at the top of your lungs or maybe it is standing right where you’re at. God is giving you permission to express yourself in worship to him.

And while I hope you take me up on my challenge this morning, I also want to challenge you to do so in the future as well, so our last next step this morning is this, to:

find the courage to worship Jesus in public the same way I find myself worshipping Him when I am alone.

Worship is not all about the posture of your body in worship but it is all about the posture of your heart. So, with our final song this morning, let’s worship the Lamb of God who alone is worthy of our worship.

/by

The Seal Master

, ,

Jesus Unveiled

The Seal Master

(Revelation 5:1-5)

 

INTRODUCTION

“The twelfth-century poet Robert de Boron adds the tale of the Sword in the Stone to the legend. ​​ After baby Arthur was born, Merlin secretly took him to be raised at the castle of Sir Ector, a loyal ally of the King’s. ​​ There, the young prince was raised as the bastard child of Sir Ector’s, and no one, not even Ector himself, knew the boy’s true identity. ​​ But Ector also had a son, named Sir Kay. ​​ And because young Arthur was thought to be a bastard child, Sir Kay and his friends teased and taunted him, and his adopted parents looked down on him. ​​ The poor boy grew up in shame of his birth, never knowing of his royal lineage.

 

Meanwhile, all was not well with the King. ​​ Just months after giving away his only son, Uther Pendragon turned ill, and died shortly after. ​​ With no heir to lead the kingdom, the country fell into despair. ​​ Rival dukes and lords disputed over who was the best fit to rule England.

 

In the midst of the turmoil, the nobles called on Merlin to find a solution. ​​ Having seen to it that baby Arthur was safe, he erected a large stone, on top of which sat an anvil, in a churchyard in Westminster, a region of London. ​​ Stuck in the anvil was a sword. ​​ An inscription on its blade read: ​​ “Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone, is right wise King born of all England.”

 

The sword was magic, Merlin explained, and only he who was fit to rule England could pull it from the stone. ​​ Nobles from far and wide came to try and pull the sword from the stone, but not even the strongest of men could accomplish the task. ​​ Eventually, the sword became forgotten, and England fell into greater ruin.

 

As the boy Arthur grew older, Merlin introduced himself to him. ​​ Merlin and the boy would meet after he had finished his chores for Sir Ector, and the two of them became close friends. ​​ Merlin tutored the boy in many subjects, always teaching him that knowledge was greater than brute force. ​​ For, although Arthur was a small, scrawny lad scarcely capable of lifting a sword from its sheath, Merlin saw in him the potential to be a wise and just ruler who would unite Britain, and rescue her from the chaos into which she had fallen. ​​ And so, through education and experience, the wizard helped the young prince to realize his full potential: ​​ a potential of greatness. ​​ The potential to rule with justice and compassion what would become the greatest kingdom ever known.

 

One day, when Arthur was fifteen, Merlin brought him before the Sword in the Stone. ​​ A crowd had been assembled, and was waiting anxiously. ​​ Arthur’s stepbrother, Sir Kay, was the first to try and pull the sword, but it would not budge. ​​ Then Arthur tried. ​​ The sword came loose. ​​ The crowd cheered, and Arthur was crowned King of England.”

 

[http://www.heroofcamelot.com/legend/sword-in-the-stone]

 

This legend reminds me that it isn’t always physical strength that is needed, but rather strength of character in order to be a great leader.

BODY

  • ME

    • Physical strength

        • There have been times in our marriage that Judy has relied on my physical strength to help with certain things

        • When she can’t get the lid off of a jar, she will ask me to help

        • There have been a very limited number of times when I haven’t been able to get the lid open

        • After handing it back to her, she was able to open the jar by herself – I obviously loosened it up for her

    • Strength of character

        • There have also been times in our marriage when Judy has relied on my strength of character

        • During the financially thin times I could have told Judy that we couldn’t afford to tithe to the church, yet we continued to tithe in spite of our financial struggles

        • When we had cable/satellite television, I could have insisted that she and I both know the password for the parental controls

        • But, she was the only one who knew the password

        • Our boys thought for sure I knew the password, but refused to use it – that wasn’t the case

 

  • WE

    • Strength of character

        • Each one of us has to wrestle with character issues each day

          • We have to determine whether or not we’re going to be honest with those we work with and for

          • We have to decide whether or not to talk about someone behind their back (school, work, neighborhood, church, or at home)

          • Others of us have to make the decision about whether or not to include or omit something on our taxes

          • Students have to decide whether or not to study hard for their finals or to rely on wandering eyes (cheating) to help them pass

        • Strength of character is important

    • Broken trust

        • When the strength of our character is found to be lacking – when we’ve broken trust with someone – it takes a long time to rebuild

        • We have to be extremely transparent and vulnerable for a long period of time in order to prove that we are trustworthy again

        • Just like working our muscles, we have to continually exercise good character, so that others will see the strength of our character

 

As John continues the throne room scene, his attention is turned to a scroll with seven seals in God’s right hand. ​​ We’ll see today that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – It’s strength of character and not physical strength that breaks the seals.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 5:1-5)

    • God (v. 1)

        • What John saw (review from chapter 4:1-11)

          • The first thing John saw, after being invited to come up to heaven, was the throne with God sitting on it

          • He described God’s glory before looking outward in ever larger circles

          • He saw four living beings that immediately surrounded the throne

          • He also saw 24 thrones with 24 elders sitting on them surrounding the four living beings and the throne

          • He saw what looked like a sea of glass as clear as crystal that was before the throne

          • He watched as the four living beings lead worship in heaven

          • He saw the reaction of the 24 elders as they fell down in worship of the Lord and presented their crowns to Him

          • The worship was continual (day and night)

        • Chapter 5 continues the throne room scene

          • John’s attention is once again focused on the throne and God sitting there

          • He notices something in God’s right hand

            • The Greek word translated here as “in” is epi and should be translated as “on”

            • It gives the picture of God holding the scroll out in His open palm waiting for someone to take it [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 247]

            • This makes more sense within the context of this passage, as we’ll see in a moment

            • The fact that it is resting on the right hand of God is important

              • The right hand is symbolic of power and authority

              • To be seated or standing to the right of the King was a prestigious position – a position of authority

              • We see multiple references to Jesus occupying this very position beside God the Father

                • Mark 16:19, After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

                • Acts 7:55-56, But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ​​ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

                • Romans 8:34, Who is he that condemns? ​​ Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

                • Ephesians 1:19b-21, That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

                • Additional references (Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 3:21; Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:33)

              • Jesus is not currently occupying that position, as John is looking at the throne of God, but He will be there shortly

            • There are some important things about this scroll that we need to look at

          • Scroll

            • The Greek word for scroll is βιβλίον (biblion), which is where our English word “Bible” is derived from

            • Scrolls could be made from several different types of material (papyrus, leather, skin, or parchment), but in the first century papyrus was primarily used

              • Papyrus was made by taking strips of pith from the papyrus plant and laying them together in two layers at right angles to each other [Osborne, 247]

              • They were then beaten, pressed, and smoothed to make a type of paper [Osborne, 247]

              • Multiple pieces of papyrus were laid side-by-side and glued together to make long sections of papyrus that were 10 meters long (32.81 feet)

              • These long pieces of papyrus were wound around a wooden handle to make a scroll

              • Those who wrote on the papyrus usually did so on the side where the fibers ran horizontally (just imagine trying to write on the side where the fibers ran vertically) [Osborne, 248]

              • One side of the papyrus was normally smooth, while the other side was coarse and rough

              • Most scrolls only had writing on the smooth side, but there were examples of those that had writing on both sides

            • Writing on both sides

              • While most scrolls only had writing on the smooth inside portion, Jon Courson explains that studying Jewish history gives numerous examples of one particular kind of document that had writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, New Testament, 1700]

                • A title deed to a piece of property was initially written on the smooth side and sealed with a single seal

                • If the owner defaulted on his financial responsibilities then he would have to relinquish his title deed

                • The deed would not be opened, but rather his debts would be written on the backside of the document and seven seals would be placed there

                • If he was able to pay off his debts during the seven years before Jubilee, then the seals would be broken and his title deed returned

              • Two Biblical examples of writing on both sides

                • Exodus 32:15-16, Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. ​​ They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. ​​ The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

                  • Moses had both copies of the Testimony

                  • The same thing was written on both tablets

                  • In the Ancient Near East, when a conquering country wrote up the terms of the treaty, they did it in duplicate

                  • One copy went into the temple of the highest god in the conquered country and the other went into the temple of the highest god in the conquering country

                  • God gave both copies to Moses to be placed in the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle and eventually the Temple

                • Ezekiel 2:9-10, Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. ​​ In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me. ​​ On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

              • The writing on both sides of the scroll laying in God’s hands is representative of “the great quantity of suffering in judgment that the book records.” ​​ [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 185]

              • There are numerous ideas about what was written on the scroll

                • A contract deed [Osborne]

                • Title deed to planet earth originally given to Adam, but forfeited by him to Satan through his overt and calculated sin [Courson]

                • A scroll of judgment like Ezekiel saw (we will see that as each seal is broken there are consequences for those on earth)

              • Sealing the contents of the scroll was important both in the 1st Century and in John’s vision

            • Sealed with seven seals

              • “The perfect passive participle of the Greek graphō, as well as the perfect passive participle of katasphragizō, bears witness to the completed activity of writing and sealing the scroll. ​​ In Roman law, according to some evidence, a testament was sealed with seven seals by seven witnesses before its legality could be established.” ​​ [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 162]

              • After God had written the final chapter of mankind, what would take place at the end of our time on earth, He completely and totally sealed the scroll until the intended time for it to be opened

              • Daniel 12:4a, But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end.

              • The seals could only be broken by the person to whom the document was addressed or by one of the witnesses who originally sealed it

        • We see in verses 2-4 that a search is initiated and completed for a person to break the seals and open the scroll

    • Mighty angel (vv. 2-4)

        • Identity of the mighty angel

          • We are not given the name of this mighty angel

          • It was perhaps one of the archangels identified elsewhere in Scripture (Michael or Gabriel), but we’re not told

          • It was not one of the four living creatures surrounding the throne of God or one of the 24 elders seated on their thrones

          • He had an important role to play

        • Proclaiming

          • The Greek word used here for “proclaiming” is κηρύσσω (kērussō) and can be translated as “herald”

          • This Greek word, and one other one, is used in the Greek New Testament to describe preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ [Patterson, 162]

          • “Actually, the kērux was a relatively common character in Greco-Roman society, particularly in the day of the Greek city-state. ​​ The kērux almost always possessed an unusually good vocal instrument, which like the ‘town crier’ he used to assemble people for whatever reason or to deliver important messages to courts or to the people in general. ​​ He was responsible for pacifying large crowds and for establishing peace and order.” ​​ [Patterson, 162-63]

          • What Patterson describes here as an “unusually good vocal instrument” describes what John calls a loud voice

        • Loud voice

          • The two Greek words for “loud voice” are φωνή (phōnē) and μέγας (megas) and literally means “megavoice”

          • It’s not hard to hear the word megaphone from these two Greek words – a megaphone amplifies a person’s voice, it makes it louder

          • “A loud voice is needed because the challenge is sent out to the far reaches of creation.” ​​ [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 130]

          • The challenge is to find someone who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll

            • We have to understand what “worthy” means in order to grasp the significance of the search that will ensue

            • “This is not so much a moral or spiritual ‘worthiness’ (though it includes that) but rather an inherent ‘sufficiency’ (the term is a close equivalent to ἱκανός, hikanos, ‘sufficient’) that enables a being to perform an act like opening the scroll. ​​ It is authority more than virtue that is the subject.” ​​ [Osborne, 251]

            • As fallible human beings, we do not have the inherent sufficiency/authority to break the seals and open the scroll

            • In chapter 4 we talked about the worthiness of God to receive our worship – His glory alone is worthy of our worship

            • This all-powerful God is the one who wrote the scroll and sealed it

            • “. . . these seals, on a book in the right hand of the living God, are too strong for ordinary mortals to break.” ​​ [Keener, 185-86]

          • So, this mighty angel speaks loud enough that all creation can hear his question and the search begins

        • Search

          • The threefold division of heaven, earth, and under the earth is not speaking specifically about three kinds of created beings or even to three spheres of life, but rather about creation as a whole

          • Of all that God created, there were none that were found to be worthy to open the scroll or even to look inside it

          • No one is found to have the authority to approach God, take the scroll, open it and usher in the eschaton

          • Heaven has a problem, or so it seems

          • John realizes the significance of the failure of the search

        • John’s reaction

          • He wept much

          • He continued to weep much

          • The search must have taken a while, because the original Greek tense and voice makes it clear that there was a continuation of weeping [Patterson, 163]

          • As the search continued to take place with no one found to be worthy, John’s weeping becomes more intense

          • John is grieving deeply about the fact that the scroll cannot be opened

            • Jesus had promised John that he would be shown what must take place (Rev. 4:1), but that seems to be on hold

            • “. . . John regretted that God’s righteous judgments against evil appeared to be postponed indefinitely.” ​​ [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 91]

            • “Until the scroll is opened, God’s purposes remain not merely unknown but unaccomplished.” ​​ [Caird cited by Patterson, 164]

            • Our hope as followers of Jesus Christ is that one day good will triumph over evil completely – that the temptation to sin will be removed – that sickness will no longer plague us – that death will be shallowed up in victory

            • John is weeping deeply, because no one has been found who can take the scroll from God’s hand, break the seals, and open it, ushering in His final judgment on sinful humanity

            • It appears as though evil has triumphed over good

              • Have you ever felt that way in your own life?

              • It seems like those who do evil, either openly or in secret, get ahead in life

              • Those who bend the rules and live life in the gray areas are blessed and successful

              • While those who strive to live holy lives, doing what is right, seem to struggle

              • Don’t lose hope, believer – the story isn’t over yet

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Not lose heart, but to wait patiently for God’s plan to be completed.

        • The search wasn’t completed yet and that’s what one of the elders tells John

    • Elder (v. 5)

        • The elder commands John to stop crying

          • The long search seemed futile, because it seemed liked no one was worthy

          • But, the elder encourages John to see that someone has been found who is worthy – who has the authority to approach God on His throne and take the scroll, break the seals, and open it

          • PRINCIPLE – Jesus Christ is the only One worthy and able to unfold God’s plan.

        • Description of the worthy One

          • Two unique titles are used for this individual

          • Lion of the tribe of Judah

            • This title comes from the blessing that Jacob gives to each of his sons, but specifically to Judah in Genesis 49:9-10

            • Genesis 49:9-10, You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. ​​ Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse him? ​​ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

            • The Messiah would come from Judah and He will be a king

            • This title reminds us that Jesus has authority, power, and strength

          • Root of David

            • The Messiah would be of the lineage of David

            • As the root, He is the source and genesis of everything that God has done for His people [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 124]

            • Isaiah 11:1, 10, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit . . . In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

            • Paul quotes Isaiah 11:1 in Romans 15:12 and refers to it as messianic in nature [Mounce, 131]

          • Jesus has the heritage and the authority as King to open the scroll and its seven seals

          • It’s strength of character and not physical strength that breaks the seals.

        • He has triumphed!

          • The Greek word used for “triumphed” is νικάω (nikaō) and means, “to conquer, prevail, and overcome”

          • We get our English word “nike” from this Greek word

          • Jesus has won the battle, but He did it in an unexpected way

            • Throughout history from the Ancient Near East until today, a battle is won by one side defeating the other side through force and violence

            • In ancient times, when a king was defeated, his entire family and perhaps even those in his court were all executed

            • This was done so that no heir would remain and the conquering country or individual could establish their reign without fear of being overthrown by an existing heir

            • Jesus won the battle over sin and death in a completely antithetical way

              • He sacrificed Himself on a cross

              • “Jesus conquered not by force but by death, not by violence but by martyrdom.” ​​ [Keener, 186]

              • It was through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection that He was found worthy to open the scroll and the seven seals

              • That same self-sacrifice also provided a way for us to be reconciled to God

                • We’re all born with a desire to have our own way – this is called the sinful nature – wanting our own way instead of God’s way (Rom. 3:23)

                • God gave us a free will, so we have the choice to either accept His plan or reject it and choose our own way, but there is a consequence for choosing our own way (Rom. 6:23) – we will be eternally separated from God and His love if we die in a state of rebellion against Him

                • God understands the draw toward selfishness/having our own way, yet He loves us unconditionally

                  • Jeremiah 31:3, The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ​​ “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

                  • Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: ​​ While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

                • God knew that we would rebel against Him and reject Him, so He formulated a plan that would allow us to be reconciled to Him

                  • He shared His plan with humanity through prophets since the beginning

                  • 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: ​​ that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . .

                  • His plan was fulfilled through Jesus, His One and only Son, who was tempted like us, but did not sin – He lived a perfect life

                  • Because He is perfect, without sin, He is the only One who could take the punishment for our sin and reconcile us to God

                • Romans 5:9-10, Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ​​ For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

                  • Reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ is available for everyone in humanity

                  • It is not reserved for just a select few

                  • You can turn from rebellion against God to reconciliation today

                  • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Turn from my rebellion against God to reconciliation with Him, through faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

 

  • YOU

    • God’s complete plan has not yet been fulfilled, but we can have hope while we wait patiently because Jesus has triumphed

    • He has made a way for us to be reconciled to God as we wait for His final judgment on mankind and the establishment of His new heaven and earth

 

  • WE

    • We should be sharing this hope with those we work with, live beside, and enjoy entertainment with

    • This is what the Lord has called us to as His followers

 

CONCLUSION

“Between them [the children] and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagles’ eyes they could hardly look at it. ​​ They came on and saw that it was a Lamb.

 

‘Come and have breakfast,’ said the Lamb in its sweet milky voice.

 

Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it. ​​ They sat down and ate the fish . . . and it was the most delicious food they had ever tasted.

 

‘Please, Lamb,’ said Lucy, ‘is this the way to Aslan’s [the Christ figure, appearing as a great Lion] country?’ . . .

 

‘There is a way into my country from all the worlds,’ said the Lamb; but as he spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane . . .

 

[Then he said,] ‘I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. ​​ But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.’” – C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

 

[Easley, 89]

 

We saw today in Revelation 5:5 that Jesus is identified as the Lion of Judah, but in verse 6 He will be identified as a Lamb.

12

 

/by

Prostrate in Praise

,

Jesus Unveiled

Prostrate in Praise

(Revelation 4:1-11)

 

INTRODUCTION

“I'll never forget something I saw close to 20 years ago when I walked into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. Just inside the door, in an alcove, was an arrangement called "The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nation's Millennium General Assembly." There were 180 pieces in the arrangement—from tables to chairs to small decorative items—all pulled together by James Hampton, a quiet, virtually unknown janitor from the D.C. area. Hampton simply wanted to depict God's throne room.

 

This extraordinary collection had been found in his garage after he died in 1964. No one knew he had been working on it for some 20 years. All these pieces were made from cast-off items—old furniture, gold and aluminum foil from store displays, bottles, cigarette boxes, wine bottles, rolls of kitchen foil, used light bulbs, cardboard, insulation board, construction paper, desk blotters, and sheets of transparent plastic—all precariously held together with glue, tape, tacks, and pins.

 

On a bulletin board in the garage he had copied this verse from Proverbs 29:18: ‘Where there is no vision the people perish.’ He believed people needed a vision of God's glory, so he set out, singlehandedly, to give it to them.

 

No one knows much about James Hampton, but we know this: what he imagined as God's throne room has become a national treasure.”

 

Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; sources: various sites about the project, most notably this link http://www.fredweaver.com/throne/thronebody.html

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2010/april/5041210.html].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Weeping worship

        • There are times when I’m praying or worshiping the Lord when my only response is to weep

        • When God’s attributes are particularly evident to me through a scripture I’ve read, spending time in prayer, or when I’m singing worship songs to Him

        • When I’m acutely aware of His grace, mercy, love, compassion, sovereignty, wisdom, power, presence, immutability, glory, majesty, or hand at work in my life, then my only response is to cry tears of joy and gratitude.

    • Worthy of worship

        • Over the years, I’ve fallen into the trap of just worshiping God out of rote

        • There have been times when I’m not attentive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting concerning God’s attributes at work in my life

        • That does not negate the fact that God is worthy of my worship

        • In fact there is nothing God has to do for me in order to be worthy of my worship

        • His glory alone is worthy of my worship

 

  • WE

    • Worthy of worship

        • Have we taken time recently to dwell on God’s glory?

        • Have we taken time to think about the many attributes of God and how He is using them in our lives?

        • Have we taken time to think about His throne room and what it will be like when we stand before Him?

    • God’s throne room

        • We’re going to be swept up this morning, through John’s vision, to the throne room of God

        • We’re going to see how John describes God’s glory

        • We’ll also see the setting of God’s throne room and those who are surrounding Him

 

John wants us to understand from the second part of his vision that . . .

BIG IDEA – God’s glory is worthy of our worship.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 4:1-11)

    • Background

        • We have finished the second section of the book of Revelation, the letters to the seven churches

        • Pastor Marc did an excellent job last week of reviewing those letters and what was being communicated not only to those 1st Century churches, but to us as the modern church

        • As we move into the final section of the book of Revelation we have chapters 4 and 5 which take place in the court of heaven and we see adoration for two parts of the Godhead

          • Chapter 4, as we’ll see today, focuses on the worship of God as Creator

          • Chapter 5 will focus on the worship of the Lamb (Jesus) who alone is worthy to open the scroll

          • These two chapters set the stage for the remainder of the book

        • The vision and revelation from Jesus continues, but the location changes

    • Earth to Heaven (vv. 1-2a)

        • After these things

          • ​​ The original Greek, meta tauta, should be translated as “after these things”

          • The Greek is in the plural, so the NIV rendering of “after this” does not adequately translate the original Greek

          • The original Greek helps us to understand that it is not after one particular event that John’s vision continues, but after a series of events (his initial vision of the resurrected Christ and the revelation to the seven churches)

          • Osborne states, “Μετὰ ταῦτα most likely refers to the whole vision of 1:10-3:22. ​​ John first saw Christ walking among the lampstands, and now he sees the throne room itself.” ​​ [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 223]

          • The first part of the vision is completed and now a transition takes place for the second part

          • As the second part of the vision begins, John looked and saw a door standing open in heaven

        • Door standing open in heaven

          • This is not the first time in Scripture that we see heaven opened – Easley sites several other times [Easley, Homan New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 74]

            • The heavens opened when Jesus was baptized (Matt. 3:16)

            • They were also opened when Stephen was stoned (Acts 7:56)

            • When Peter saw a vision of a sheet filled with “unclean” animals (Acts 10:11)

            • In Revelation, John will see more deeply into heaven when its temple is thrown open (11:19; 15:5)

            • Finally, in Revelation John sees the conquering rider on a white horse sent out from heaven to earth in vengeance (19:11)

          • Ezekiel experienced something similar, In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God (Ezekiel 1:1)

          • It is not by accident that in Revelation 3:20 we see the imagery of a door

            • Here I am! ​​ I stand at the door and knock. ​​ If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

            • If we open the door our hearts to Jesus, then the door of heaven is open to us

          • John did not see the door being opened – it was already standing open when he looked

            • The original Greek uses the perfect passive participle

            • So, this section of Scripture could be translated, “There was a door having been opened.” ​​ [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 148]

            • Obviously God and/or Jesus had opened the door to heaven for John to see this incredible throne room scene

          • John sees the door standing open, but that is not all he will see or experience, because he is invited to come up to heaven

        • Voice from heaven

          • He hears the same voice he had heard in Revelation 1:10

          • It had the same qualities this time as it did then

            • It was clear like a trumpet

            • John understood what was being said

          • Jesus was asking John to join Him in heaven

            • Come up here

              • Some scholars see this as evidence that the church will be raptured prior to any of the things that will take place as outlined in chapters 6-22

              • They reference Paul’s word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. ​​ And so we will be with the Lord forever.

              • The Greek verb “come” is in the 2nd person singular form, so it is only speaking of John being summoned to heaven and not the entire church

              • There is argument that John is the representation of the church, but that reasoning is thin

            • Jesus had some important information to share with John

            • Jesus wanted to show John what must take place after these things

              • We see the emphatic “must” being used here, which indicates that the future is determined [Easley, 74]

              • “In 1:19 Christ commanded John to write ‘what will take place later’; now he will show him those things.” ​​ [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 118-19]

              • As mentioned earlier, chapters 4-5 are setting the stage for John to see what must take place after these things

              • John will see the glory of God and the worthiness of Jesus and how those surrounding the throne of God worship Them, then he will see what will take place during the end of time

          • Immediately upon hearing the summons from Jesus to come up here, John is transported in the Spirit to heaven

        • In the Spirit

          • The gap between earth and heaven is immediately removed and John is standing either in heaven or at the doorway to heaven

          • John does not mention whether or not he is in his body or out of his body

          • Paul also experienced something similar to this

            • Paul was defending his authority before the Corinthian believers

            • The false apostles were making incredible boasts about what they had suffered and experienced

            • While Paul prefers not to match them, he boasts about his suffering and his experiences with the Lord

            • I must go on boasting. ​​ Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ​​ I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. ​​ Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. ​​ And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to paradise. ​​ He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

            • While Paul perhaps saw some of the same things John saw, he was not permitted to share them with the Corinthian believers or any of the other churches where he ministered

            • That is not the case with John – he is commanded to write down what he saw in heaven

        • That is what John attempts to do – he tries to put into human words the glory and majesty of God and explain what he saw surrounding and emanating from His throne

    • The Throne Room – Setting (vv. 2b-8a)

        • God’s glory (vv. 2b-3, 6a)

          • As John enters heaven, he immediately sees a throne with someone sitting on it

            • He doesn’t immediately tell us who is sitting on the throne, but through the hymn of the four living creatures and the 24 elders, we’ll see that it is God

            • “While Ezekiel describes God as having ‘a figure like that of a man’ (1:26), John avoids all anthropomorphic language. ​​ Instead, he uses the brilliant colors of precious jewels to describe him.” ​​ [Osborne, 226]

            • “John is careful not to try to depict the one seated upon the throne of heaven in any sort of human form. ​​ Rather, God is portrayed as the brilliance of light reflected from precious stones.” ​​ [Mounce, 120]

              • Psalm 104:1-2, Praise the Lord, O my soul. ​​ O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. ​​ He wraps himself in light as with a garment;

              • 1 Timothy 6:15b-16a, God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.

            • John is at a loss for words to describe the glory of God

              • He is reminded of two precious jewels

                • Jasper

                  • Most scholars believe that jasper was an opaque stone

                  • It is likened to an opal or diamond

                  • The walls of the New Jerusalem will be made with jasper (Rev. 21:18)

                  • The foundations of the city walls will be made up of twelve precious stones, the first being jasper (Rev. 21:19)

                • Carnelian

                  • The Greek word for this stone is sardius, because it was primarily found around the ancient city of Sardis

                  • It was blood-red in color and very popular in the ancient world

                  • It is the sixth foundation stone mentioned in the description of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:19)

                • There is some discussion about what John’s use of these two jewels represent about God, but those representations about God and His glory are secondary to the actions of those surrounding the throne – we’ll get to that in just a moment

              • There is also a rainbow resembling an emerald that encircled the throne

                • Rainbow

                  • When we think of a rainbow, we think of a half circle going across our sky

                  • This particular rainbow encircled the throne vertically

                  • It was not like a halo that is horizontal

                  • This makes sense when we talk about what was before the throne (something that looked like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal)

                  • The vertical rainbow could be seen through this “sea of glass”

                • Emerald

                  • When I hear the word emerald, I immediately think of a vibrant green stone

                  • That may be what John saw

                  • “The σμαράγδινος (smaragdinos) can be a bright green precious stone or a transparent rock crystal that could serve as a prism and yield a ‘rainbow’ of colors . . . Either way, the imagery is that of the glory surrounding God on his throne.” [Osborne, 227]

            • Ezekiel uses other elements to describe God’s glory

              • Ezekiel uses one precious stone to describe the throne and also the idea of a rainbow

              • His description of the one seated on the throne uses the imagery of glowing metal, fire, and a brilliant light

              • Ezekiel 1:26-28, Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. ​​ I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. ​​ Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. ​​ This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. ​​ When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

            • God’s glory gives light

              • Revelation 21:23, The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

              • Revelation 22:5, There will be no more night. ​​ They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.

          • What looked like a sea of glass (v. 6a)

            • John doesn’t actually see a sea of glass, but rather what looks like a sea of glass

            • This is the only way he knows how to put into to human terms what he is seeing

            • Moses, Aaron, and the spiritual leaders of Israel went up on Mt. Sinai to see God, they describe something under his feet that is similar to what John is trying to describe

            • Exodus 24:9-10, Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. ​​ Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.

            • This expanse before the throne that was a clear as crystal simply adds to the splendor and glory of God as He sits on His throne

          • TRUTH – God’s glory is magnificent and beyond human words.

            • All of the imagery that John uses in describing God’s glory is simply to help us understand that it is awesome and magnificent

            • God’s glory alone should cause us to worship Him

            • God’s glory is worthy of our worship

          • John is riveted by God’s glory, which was the first thing that caught his attention, but then he begins to look around and sees that there are others who are surrounding the throne

        • God’s attendants [outer circle] (v. 4)

          • There were 24 other thrones surrounding God’s throne

          • Seated on those thrones are 24 elders who are dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads

            • There is much debate surrounding who these 24 elders are

            • I’m going to briefly share a few of the ideas that have surfaced, but who they are is less significant than what they do and say (we’ll get to that in the third point this morning)

            • Human or Angelic beings?

              • Human

                • “Those who argue for the elders as human beings state that angels are not called elders, nor do they wear crowns or sit on thrones in the Bible. ​​ Moreover, white clothing in Revelation is always worn by the saints (3:4-5, 18; 6:11; 7:9, 13; 19:14).” ​​ [Osborne, 228]

                • Those who favor the elders as being human instead of angelic differentiate between the two Greek words for crown (stephanos – victor’s crown and diadema – royal crown). ​​ Stephanos is used in this context and could very well be referring to those who have overcome ​​ 

                • Among those who think they are human there is debate about who they represent [Osborne, 228-29]

                  • The 12 patriarchs (OT) and 12 apostles (NT), representing all humanity as God’s people (Read Revelation 21:12-14)

                  • The great saints of the OT seen as preceding the NT saints

                  • A perfect representation of the 24 priestly and Levitical orders God instructed the Israelites to have in OT times (1 Chron. 24:4; 25:9-13)

                  • The church as the true Israel, the heavenly counterpart of all “victors” who remain true to God

                  • A heavenly court sitting on thrones of judgment

              • Angelic

                • “However, many others believe these are angelic figures. ​​ There are no other human beings in chapter 4, and in Isa. 24:23 angels might be called ‘elders’ (it is debated whether they are angels or the elders of Israel). ​​ In Ps. 89:7 God sits in the ‘council of his holy ones’ (=angels). ​​ Moreover, angels are called ‘thrones or powers or rulers or authorities’ in Col. 1:16, and they wear white in Matt. 28:3; John 20:12; Acts 1:10. ​​ The thrones and golden crowns could refer to their royal function under God similar to the way first-century kings were subject to the Roman emperor.” ​​ [Osborne, 229]

                • There is a distinction between elders and saints throughout the remainder of Revelation, which could lead us to understand the elders as being angelic in nature

                • Their white garments could signify purity and holiness in God’s court and the golden crowns could represent their royal status

          • God does not reveal to us whether these elders are human or angelic, because who they are is less significant than what they do and say – we have to focus on that

        • God’s power (v. 5a)

          • In the middle of John describing who is surrounding the throne, he gives us a description of God’s power

          • It is seen through flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder

          • How many of you enjoy thunder storms?

            • I used to sit in the dining room of the parsonage in Shippensburg and watch, with awe and wonder, the amazing light show and chest rattling thunder claps that God produced with a thunder storm

            • We know the power of a thunder storm

              • We see it through a lightning strike that splits trees in two or completely destroys electronics in a house

              • It’s evident through the wind that shreds roof shingles and topples trees

          • The Israelites experienced this first hand when God descended on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16-20)

          • ATTRIBUTE – God is omnipotent (all-powerful)

          • John then returns to identifying those surrounding the throne of God

        • God’s Holy Spirit (v. 5b)

          • He sees seven lamps that were blazing

          • He identifies the seven lamps as the seven spirits of God, which we discussed earlier in this book (Rev. 1:4) as representing the Holy Spirit in His perfection

          • In the very center, surrounding the throne were four living creatures

        • God’s guardians [inner circle] (vv. 6b-8a)

          • It’s not hard from John’s description to realize that these living creatures are something other than human

            • Our best hope of understanding what these living beings are is by looking at some other descriptions of living beings that other prophets saw in their visions

            • Isaiah 6:2-3, Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: ​​ With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ​​ And they were calling to one another: ​​ “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” ​​ (seraphim)

            • Ezekiel 1:10-11; 10:12, Their faces looked like this: ​​ Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. ​​ Such were their faces. ​​ Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body . . . Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. ​​ (cherubim)

            • John’s description is a combination of these two prophetic passages in the Old Testament

          • Similarities

            • All of the living beings had eyes that covered their entire body

              • “These eyes mean that the creatures see unceasingly and are ever-watchful protectors of the divine throne.” ​​ [Easley, 77]

              • These living beings are aware of and have knowledge about everything that is happening

              • They are vigilant in knowing about and overseeing the affairs of God

              • It is a reminder of God’s omniscience (all-knowing)

            • All of them had six wings

              • While John doesn’t mention anything about these living beings flying, they probably could have or did

              • “The wings may suggest swiftness to carry out the will of God.” ​​ [Mounce, 125]

          • Differences

            • While all of them have six wings and eyes over their entire body, their appearance is different

            • John doesn’t know exactly how to describe them, so he likens them to earthly things they he had seen

            • Remember, they are not a lion, ox, eagle, or man

            • Those are the only things John could compare them to that human beings would be able to identify with

            • There are all kinds of speculation surrounding what these four living beings represent, but it is not for us to try to determine it definitively

          • I like what Patterson says, “If portions of their descriptions seem to defy explanations, their purpose in the throne room vision is clear. ​​ Day and night they never stop saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy / is the Lord God Almighty, / who was, and is, and is to come.’ ​​ The purpose of the cherubim is to praise God continually and, as the Greek text says, ‘without rest.’” ​​ [Patterson, The New American Commentary, Revelation, 156]

        • We could spend countless hours studying and debating who the 24 elders are and what these four living beings represent, but the most important part of chapter 4 centers around what they say and do in the throne room

    • The Throne Room – Worship (vv. 8b-11)

        • Four living creatures (v. 8b-9)

          • These four living beings are the worship leaders of heaven

          • Their worship never stops

            • As we’ve already mentioned earlier, God’s glory will give light in heaven and the New Jerusalem, so there will be no day or night as we understand it here on earth

            • Their worship of God never ceases

            • “That they never rest from worship (Rev. 4:8) suggests both divine empowerment for worship and the worthiness of God (cf. 7:15).” ​​ [Keener, The NIV Life Application Commentary, Revelation, 175]

            • The worship of the four living beings highlight the attributes of God

          • Attributes of God

            • Holy

              • The fact that God is holy means that He is completely pure/perfect

              • Repetition in Scripture is significant and is seen often in repeating something a second time

              • Triple repetition is rare and should not be taken lightly

              • “The four living creatures ceaselessly proclaim the holiness of God: ​​ ‘Holy, holy, holy’ (cf. Isa. 6:3). ​​ In Hebrew, the double repetition of a word adds emphasis, while the rare threefold repetition designates the superlative and calls attention to the infinite holiness of God – the quality of God felt by creatures in his presence as awesomeness or fearfulness (cf. Ps. 111:9: ​​ ‘Holy and awesome is his name’).” ​​ [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 116-17]

            • All-powerful

              • Second, the living beings use three words to identify the One sitting on the throne

              • Three descriptors [Easley, 78]

                • Lord – the personal name for God used by the Israelites (Yahweh)

                • God – this refers to His deity

                • Almighty – the Greek word literally means “all-power”

              • The living beings are identifying the One sitting on the throne as the all-powerful deity that can be known personally

            • Eternal

              • Finally, they speak of His eternality

              • Who was, and is, and is to come

              • He has always been and will always be

              • We see God’s eternal quality expressed again in vv. 9 and 10 when John writes – who lives for ever and ever

          • The four living beings verbally give three things to the One who sits on the throne

            • Glory – Greek doxa, English word doxology, can also be translated “praise” (sing doxology)

            • Honor – Greek timé, “high respect, value”, literally “honoring God”

            • Thanks – Greek eucharistia, English word Eucharist (Lord’s Supper), “thanksgiving”

            • “Glory and honor are offered to God for who he is: ​​ the ​​ Sovereign of the universe who sits on the throne . . . Thanks is offered to God because of what he has done: ​​ as the one who lives forever and ever, he has given life to his creatures – so that they will praise him.” ​​ [Easley, 78-79]

          • The four living beings lead the worship of God continually, but what do the 24 elders do?

        • The 24 elders (vv. 10-11)

          • Actions

            • We have to go back to the beginning of v. 9 to understand the actions of the 24 elders

            • The key word is “whenever” – every time that the four living beings cry out in worship to God the 24 elders do two things (these are continual actions, never ending)

              • They fall down before the Lord and worship Him

                • This is an act of submission to the authority of God

                • They are willingly subjecting themselves to their sovereign

                • “Falling on one’s face before another (4:10) was the ultimate obeisance, the supreme gesture of honoring the other far above oneself, appropriately applied to worship of God.” ​​ [Keener, 175]

                • PRINCIPLE – The only response of God’s people to His glory is worship.

                  • During the closing song, we’ll have an opportunity to respond to God’s glory

              • They cast their crowns before the throne

                • The 24 elders recognized their authority was a delegated authority – they did not earn it or merit it

                • They were simply returning to the Lord what He had given to them (they were not holding back anything)

                  • “This brings deep conviction and raises a question: ​​ Am I withholding anything from my God, even good things? ​​ Money? ​​ Time? ​​ Mind? ​​ Service? ​​ Heart? ​​ Chuck Swindoll is right: ​​ ‘We miss it when our focus becomes horizontal – riveted on people and things – rather than vertical – centered on God and God alone’ (Insights, 98).” ​​ [Akin, 118]

                  • PRINCIPLE – God’s desire is that His people offer back to Him all that He has given to them.

                  • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize that everything I have and am comes from God, and willingly offer it back to Him as an act of worship.

            • The 24 elders also had words of worship for the Lord

          • Words

            • They recognized that God deserves to receive glory, honor, and power

            • They are praising and honoring Him for his creative energy that is evidenced through the fact that He created all things [Easley, 79]

            • God’s creation was a direct result of His will

 

  • YOU

    •  

 

  • WE

    •  

 

CONCLUSION

“The Westminster Confession says that humankind was created to ‘glorify God and enjoy him forever,’ and worship in our day needs to return to the NT pattern that views it as a daily lifestyle and not just relegated to the church service.” ​​ [Osborne, 243]

 

As we close today, I’m going to ask the ushers to remain in the back to collect the Communication Cards as we leave today, because during the closing song I’m going to ask you to respond as the elders did in worship to our Sovereign Lord. ​​ The Lord is inviting you today to come forward and fall down before Him in worship and to symbolically cast down your crown (everything He has given to you) at His throne in worship.

 

God’s glory is worthy of our worship!

14

 

/by

It’s Not About A Religion

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IT’S NOT ABOUT A RELIGION

Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, give us ears to hear what your Holy Spirit wants us to hear this morning. May your words be heard and hidden in our hearts and may we have the courage to share them with the world that we come in contact with every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have you ever thought about the word religion or ever have someone ask you if you were religious? I have personally never cared for the word religion when it comes to my faith. It’s always seemed like something was missing. It didn’t truly encompass the entirety of my faith and what I believe. ​​ I have never liked the question because it seems like the person asking the question is giving the person asked an out. Are you religious? Sure, I go to church. I believe in God. I have never stolen anything or murdered anyone. The question are you religious seems to miss the point. It seems to be asked in order to not have to admit who it is we follow as Christians or to hide the fact that we may not be following the Christ we proclaim to be following.

On the website “All About Religion .org” it says that religion is a fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a group of people. Ever since the world began, man has demonstrated a natural inclination towards faith and the worship of anything he considered superior or difficult to understand. Religion consisted of trying to appease and get favors from the Supreme Being they feared. This resulted in performing rituals (some of them barbaric) and keeping traditions or laws to earn goodness and/or everlasting life. 

When we look at what the major world religions believe there are two things that stand out that are very much different than what we as Christians believe. One, of course is that they do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and two, they believe in a god that is impersonal and unknowable. A god who created the world and everything in it and has left us to our own devices. A god that doesn’t care about us and would never want to know us.

Interestingly enough but maybe not surprising is that Montifiore, the great Jewish scholar, said that the one thing which no Jewish prophet and no Jewish Rabbi ever conceived of is the conception of God actually going out in quest of sinful men, who were not seeking him, but who were turned away from him. They believed that God would be there when man turned to him but never envisioned a God who would pursue them.

We as Christians know that God is a knowable, personal God who wants to have a personal relationship with us and actually pursues us to have it.

Jesus talked about religion in Matthew 23. In Matthew 23 Jesus was addressing the religious leaders in Israel and he had some very serious condemnations to say about them. Jesus said the following things about the Pharisees:

He said, they are teachers of the law so obey them but do not do as they do because they say one thing and do something else, they are hypocrites. He also said, they pile burdens onto the people and do nothing to help them. Everything they do is to show off to others. They put themselves above others instead of serving others. They keep people from going into the kingdom of heaven by teaching false things. They made sure they paid their tithe for all to see but they neglected the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Finally, he said they were like whitewashed tombs. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth. Outside they looked good, but inside they were evil and only pretended to be good.

Sounds like some of the same things that people say about Christians and the church today? They say we are hypocritical, judgmental, condescending, two-faced and the church is all about the money. ​​ 

The authors of unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity … and Why It Matters (Baker) claim that "Christianity has an image problem," ​​ In interviews with hundreds of 16- to 29-year-olds, coauthors Gabe Lyons and Barna Group president David Kinnaman discovered that nearly half of unchurched young Americans hold a bad impression of evangelical believers. They are especially bothered by, among other things, evangelicals' conservative political activism, hypocrisy, anti-homosexuality, and judgmentalism.

Another thing that Carey Nieuwhof says that hurts Christians today in the eyes of the world is that relatively few Christians actively pursue meaningful friendships with people who don’t share their faith. Between churches that offer programs 5 nights a week (leaving little time for Christians to make friends outside the church) and Christians who are afraid of the world, many Christians don’t pursue authentic relationships with non-Christians. Isn’t that a shame. God through Jesus has pursued us while we were yet sinners and even died on a cross for us and I think if we truly evaluated our own lives even this morning and counted how many non-Christian friends we really have and are investing in we might find ourselves lacking in that department. I know I do.

Mahatma Ghandi famously (and sadly) said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Maybe this was what Jesus was saying in Matthew 23. The Pharisees knew the scriptures, they knew the 10 commandments, they thought they knew what God was like, but Jesus was maybe saying, “I love your God, but I am not so sure about his followers. You Pharisees are so unlike my God, my heavenly Father, who sent me and I think at times he would say the same about us.

I believe Jesus was saying the same things about the seven churches in Revelation. To the church in Ephesus the Risen Christ said, “I know your works, your toil, your steadfast endurance, you have put false apostles to the test, but you have lost your first love. They had worked so hard on orthodoxy, making sure that the beliefs and rituals of being a Christian were followed that they lost love for each other. They used to be a band of brothers in fellowship together, but that orthodoxy had been achieved at the price of fellowship. It was all about a religion for them.

To the Church in Pergamum, the Risen Christ said that there were people within the church who hold to false teachings, teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. These were people within the church who said it was ok to conform to the world’s standards and to compromise with the practices and the morals of the world. When the church does that it is no different than the world. Romans 12: 2 says, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. We as Christ followers are called to be set apart from the world in which we live. The church is to be look different than the world and when it doesn’t it’s no more than a religion.

Thyatira had much the same problem as Pergamum. There was a woman named Jezebel who taught compromise within the church. It may have been that the teaching of Jezebel was that the Christians did not need to be so exclusive in their worship of Jesus Christ. She would argue that there was no harm at all in conforming to the outward rituals and ceremonies of heathen worship. It may even help to convert the heathen to Christianity more easily. A person who walked into this church would be impressed with its abounding energy and generous liberality. It would be crowded, because its people come to it to be entertained instead of instructed, and to be soothed instead of challenged and confronted with the fact of sin and the offer of salvation. This is a picture of a highly successful Christian club rather than a real Christian congregation. More about a religion than about the Risen Christ.

To the church in Sardis, the Risen Christ says “Thou art dead.” This may have been an indication that ritual and ceremony often crowded out the true life underneath. The church at Sardis was untroubled by heresy or outside persecution. It had become a lazy church. It was so ineffective that it had ceased to matter in the life of the community. It had no witness for Christ, it was mere religion.

Which brings us to the final church that John wrote to. The church we are going to talk about this morning is the church of Laodicea. The Risen Christ calls it “lukewarm”. This church was indifferent. It had all kinds of organizations, programs, committees, activities but it had no power, no power of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul tells us, But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. In the Church of Laodicea there was no transformation of souls from darkness to life. They were more interested in social action than Gospel action, more interested in reformation than transformation, more interested in planning than praying. This church had gotten so far away from what the Lord founded it to be that it was nauseating to God and literally made Him sick.

The church of Laodicea had lost their dependence on Christ. It had become self-dependent and self-sufficient to the point that it had no need for the Holy Spirit. It was trying to be the church in its own power.

But this church had also lost its passion for the things of the Lord. They had reached a place where they were going through the motions and were unmoved by the things of the Lord.   And when we try to do church without Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit it is only a religion.

Is this not the condition of the modern church?  People going through the motions with no burning passion for the things of the Lord! 

I think we need to examine ourselves (myself included) and our church. Are we apathetic or indifferent to the things of God?  We may not be exactly dead because we are praying, preaching, singing, etc.  But, are we on fire? Are we excited and passionate about, what we hear, and what we are doing and who we serve?  Do we just come to church, take our seats and fold our arms? Do we ever feel the need to go to the altar to pray?  To testify about what Jesus has done for us?  Do we ever feel the need to do anything but come and go?

This morning through this letter to the Church in Laodicea the Risen Christ wants us to know that it is not about a religion, it’s about a relationship with himself. That is our BIG IDEA this morning. It is all about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is what all those world religions have missed. They feel that God is impersonal, unknowable and would never want a relationship with his creation, but as Christ followers we know better. We know that Jesus pursues us with an everlasting love and wants a personal relationship with every single one of us.

Before we read our scripture this morning, I want to give you some background information on Laodicea. It was founded about 250 BC by Antiochus of Syria and is named after his wife, Laodice. It was only important because of its position. It was a hub out of which all the important roads leading out of it acted like spokes in a wheel. These roads that ran right through Laodicea were important destinations in the known world. Because of that it was one of the greatest commercial and strategic centers of the ancient world.

It set high up on a hill and at one point it was a fortress but it had one fatal flaw. All its water supply had to come by an underground aqueduct from springs no less than 6 miles away. This would be a perilous situation if they were ever besieged. Laodicea was also the last stop on the route that began in Ephesus as you see on the map above.

Laodicea had certain characteristics which have left their mark on the letter written to it. First, it was a great banking and financial center. It was so wealthy and independent that in 61 AD when it was devastated by an earthquake the city refused any help to rebuild from the Roman government. They rebuilt the city entirely from their own resources and in their own efforts. They had gained so much wealth and were so rich they had need of nothing.

It was also a great center of clothing manufacturing. The sheep that grazed around Laodicea was famous for their soft, violet-black, glossy wool. It mass produced cheap outer garments from it.

It was also a great medical center. There was a medical school there that was famous for two things throughout the world, an ointment for ear problems and an ointment for eye problems.

The words of the Risen Christ to the Church at Laodicea arise directly from the prosperity and skill in which they had so much pride and which in the minds of its citizens, and even in its church, eliminated the need for God.

Let’s look at the Risen Christ’s words to this church in Revelation 3:14-22:

The Risen Christ, just as in all the letters before it, identifies himself by using characteristics of himself. You can follow along as I read from Revelation 3. I will start with verse 14. This is what God’s word says: “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 

The Risen Christ identifies himself to the church of Laodicea as the Amen, the faithful and true witness and the ruler of God’s creation. First, the Risen Christ is characterized by his dependability. Identifying himself this way recognizes that Jesus was reliable, true and trustworthy. When Jesus said he was the Amen he was affirming he was the answer to all the promises of God. As the Amen, Jesus was also the faithful and true witness. This description stands in stark contrast to the Laodicean church. Jesus is reliable, they are not. Jesus is faithful, they are not. Jesus was the true witness, but they had no real witness at all.

Second, Jesus said he is the ruler of God’s creation which means Jesus is the originator of God’s creation. In John 1:1-3 it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

And in Colossians 1:15-18 it says, The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Both these scriptures affirm Christ as the chief, the ruler and the originator of both creation and the church. He is Lord over both the material and spiritual realms. He is first in time and position. We can trust what Jesus says and we can trust what Jesus starts.

In verses 15-17, the Risen Christ gives his condemnation of Laodicea which harkens back to the characteristics that Laodicea was so proud of in themselves. Follow along as I read those verses.

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 

The Risen Christ says he knows their works. He knows what they are doing. He knows their spiritual condition. He said they are neither hot, meaning zealous or on fire for him nor are they cold, meaning lifeless. Instead they are lukewarm or indifferent and because of that he will spit them out of his mouth.

We can interpret this statement against the geographical background of Laodicea. In nearby Hierapolis, there bubbled up hot, medicinal waters like a spa. If you have ever been in a steam room or hot tub you know that the hot steam or water can soothe tired achy muscles. Then in nearby Colossae, cold, pure refreshing waters flowed. But if you remember we said earlier that their water supply for Laodicea came from 6 miles away. The water in Laodicea was barely drinkable and volcanic activity in the area left sulphuric deposits in the water, so it was not only unpleasant temperature wise, but it was even horrid smelling and almost toxic. This water had the effect of making the people sick and want to throw up. The water and the people of the church in Laodicea had a kind of nauseating quality that made the Risen Christ want to vomit them out of his mouth.

Jesus wants His church to be a place where people can relax and find healing, like a trip to a hot spring.  He wants His church to be a place where people can be refreshed by His worship and His presence.  

The Risen Christ was condemning their attitude of indifference and neutrality. He was saying with that attitude you are useless to me and even offensive. Indifference is the hardest thing to combat. Have you ever tried to persuade someone about something that they could care less one way or the other about? It’s not easy. If you feel strongly about something, it is possible to persuade someone who feels just as strongly the other way but it can be impossible to persuade someone if they just don’t care at all about what you are talking about.

To many people, Christianity and the Church have ceased to be relevant to them and they have become indifferent to it. Also, Christians have become indifferent and complacent in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world. If we as Christians and in the church are indifferent in sharing the gospel how can we expect non-Christians to care about receiving it. To be neutral about our faith is to be an obstacle to Jesus. He works through us to pursue, grow and multiply disciples, to accomplish the Great Commission and that cannot be done if we are indifferent about our faith and what we believe.

The Risen Christ goes on to condemn them because they were saying they are rich, they have become wealthy and in need of nothing. Like their city, the church boasted about who they were and what they had. They claimed to have reached this lofty spiritual status on their own. They had gotten where they were without the assistance of anyone. They needed nothing and no one including the Lord.

The Risen Christ is saying, “Let me set the record straight.” Five marks of their true spiritual status are noted. They are wretched meaning miserable and unfortunate and because of that they are pitiful. They are poor meaning destitute and reduced to begging. There are in extreme poverty, spiritually. This was a slap at a city that bragged of its wealth, commerce and banking industry. And they are blind which of course slapped at their pride on having the cure for eye problems that their medical school had produced for the world.

Lastly, the Risen Christ said they were naked, which ridiculed a city that boasted of it famous glossy black wool. They were clothed with religion not clothed by faith with the garments of Jesus’ righteousness. This imagery and illustration would have hit them right between their eyes and where they lived. The Risen Christ exposed their spiritual destitution, deception and desperate condition. Jesus had judged the Laodiceans. Now they knew who they really are. They can no longer plead ignorance. Action is now called for.

We also need to look at our own lives and make sure we are not wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked spiritually either. We can fall into the same traps today and the Risen Christ is speaking to us this morning and asking us to examine our church and our lives so as to not fall into the same deception the Church at Laodicea did.

In verse 18, we see the counsel of the Risen Christ to the Church of Laodicea. Verse 18 says, 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

There is a sustained irony that confronts the arrogant attitude and smug satisfaction of the Laodicean Christian. The Risen Christ counsels them to make specific purchases from himself in precisely those areas where they are so certain they have no need. Jesus sternly instructs them to buy from HIM gold refined in the fire so that they may be rich. Only from Christ can true and lasting riches be purchased. The currency to buy that which will last is always the same. It is faith, trust, and radical dependence on Christ and Christ alone. The cure for spiritual poverty is first faith for salvation followed by faith for sanctification. We need the spiritual wealth that comes only by constant and abiding faith in Jesus. In John 15:4-5, it says, Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Such wealth, unlike earthly riches, will endure forever. Day by day we need to renew our faith in the Risen Christ for everything we need.

Next the Risen Christ tells the church they need “white clothes so that they will be dressed and their shameful nakedness not be exposed.” White clothes symbolizes the righteousness of the Savior. The Laodicean Christians were walking around spiritually naked, completely unaware of their humiliation and their need for the pure white righteousness of Jesus. ​​ He invites them to adorn themselves in spiritual garments that is available only by calling upon the name of Jesus for salvation.

They are naked and lost in their sins.  If they will come to Him, He will cloth them in robes of righteousness and they will no longer be naked and exposed in the sight of God. Nakedness in the ancient world was a sign of judgement and humiliation. To receive fine clothing was a symbol of honor and acceptance. Before Jesus we are all stripped naked and exposed for who we really are. We dare not stand in the filthy rags of our own righteousness and good deeds. We need Christ’s righteousness.

The Risen Christ tells them to buy ointment or salve to spread on their own eyes so they could see. They were famous for their own eye ointment but ironically the church was blind to its own spiritual condition. Such healing comes from looking to Christ and into his word for instruction and wisdom. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. We need Christ’s remedy that comes from knowing and obeying the Word of God.

We need to honestly evaluate our own spiritual conditions daily and regularly. Spiritual compromise and complacency are “spiritual cataracts” that shut out the light of spiritual sight. We need to ask God to reveal our spiritual blind spots and the areas of sin in our lives that we can no longer see.

In verse 19 we see that all is not lost for this church in Laodicea. This is what God’s word says, 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 

Here we see the encouraging part of Christ’s discipline. He says that he loves the Laodicean Christian even if they have fallen away from him. Their sin does not quench his love for them just as our sin does not quench his love for us. Jesus says he corrects and disciplines those he loves. Discipline that educates and brings about repentance and change is what the Risen Christ offers the church at Laodicea. If they reject his discipline he will spit them out of his mouth but if they accept it he will come in and stay with them. Turning from our sin once is not enough. It must be a daily practice and habit in our lives. A community of daily repenting sinners characterizes healthy churches and healthy Christians.

So, we started off talking about religion. I believe that all the churches including the one at Laodicea were just playing church. They were being religious. They were no better than the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. They were probably hypocritical, judgmental, condescending, two-faced and all about the money. ​​ 

But in verse 20, we see the remedy for religion. God’s word says, ​​ 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

We see that it is all about a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus says Listen! Which means to look, to see, take note and to wake up. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” Jesus has taken up a position outside the door of the church and will remain there knocking and patiently waiting. If anyone, if just one hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him and have dinner with him and he with me. What an amazing promise. Revival starts with one. It can start with me. It can start with you. Here we see the offer of Christ that he will always come in if we invite him.

John here uses the Greek word for dinner or the evening meal. The Greeks had three meals in a day, breakfast which was no more than a piece of dried bread dipped in wine. Lunch, the midday meal which was simply a picnic snack eaten by the side of the road or in the city square. You didn’t go home for it. Then there was dinner, the evening meal. It was the main meal of the day. You would linger at this meal and talk about the day you had after your work was done. This was a time of unhurried, intimate fellowship together. This is what Christ would share with the person who answered his knock. This is what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ would look like. This is what the Risen Christ wanted with the Laodicean Church and what he wants for us here at Idaville and for all of us individually as well. If you open the door, Jesus Christ will come in and linger long with you. He wants a personal, intimate relationship with you.

But there is also a human responsibility. I love this picture. It is probably one of two of my favorite pictures of Christ. You are probably familiar with this picture of Christ standing at the door of your heart knocking and wanting to come in and have a personal relationship with you. But you know what? He will not force himself in, he cannot force himself in. You notice there is no handle on the door outside your heart. Only you can let him in to your heart. Only you can ask Christ into your heart and start that personal relationship with him that he so much wants with you. It is the reason we were created. We were created to be in relationship with him not to just practice a religion or to be religious.

Maybe this morning you are ready to let Jesus into your heart. Romans 3:23 says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all are in need of a savior because as Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. Death is a separation from God and is not what we were created for. God’s Words says that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. In Romans 10:9, it says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Maybe that is right where you are at this morning. Maybe you are ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and let him into your heart this morning. If so, on the back of your communication card that second next step is for you.

I hear Jesus knocking on the door to my heart and I want to let him in and be saved.

Maybe you here this morning and have already asked Jesus into your heart but confess that you have just been religious and have been playing church. You are ready this morning to start a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. If so on the back of your communication card that last next step is for you.

I want to stop being religious and stop playing church and start a personal relationship with Jesus.

If you marked either of those next steps, please put your name on the front so Pastor Stuart and I can talk with you. We want to celebrate those decisions with you and help you on the road of discipleship.

Next, in verse 21, we see the promise of the Risen Christ.21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 

The promise of the Risen Christ to the victor is that they will sit with Christ on his victorious throne and rule and reign with Christ in his coming kingdom. In the eastern world the throne was more like a couch than a single chair. Imagine one day we will sit with Christ on his victorious couch and rule the nations with him. Heaven will be like the grandest living room/throne room.

Finally, every letter finishes with the same words. This what verse s 22 says, ​​ 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” This phrase individualizes the messages of the letters. It says to whoever hears these words, “This means YOU.” If you have been here at Idaville and have heard Pastor Stuart speak on the previous six churches that means the Risen Christ has been speaking to you. There are now no excuses for us. We know and understand that the Risen Christ is calling us out of a religion, out of being religious and into a personal relationship with himself. I have been moved by these seven letters. Every time I have heard Pastor Stuart preach these letters I have noticed where I have fallen short. If you have heard these sermons and don’t believe that they are for Idaville church in this place and in this time then you don’t have ears to hear. I pray that we all have the ears to hear not only the commendations of the seven churches but also the condemnations to the seven churches. If we at Idaville Church can have ears to hear then this body of believers and our lampstand will never disappear.

 

As Gene and Roxie come to lead us in a final song and the ushers prepare to pick up the communication cards please bow your heads with me.

Dear Heavenly Father, again let us have ears to hear what your Spirit is saying to us. Let us leave this place encouraged by these letters to the seven churches. Help us to share the gospel of Jesus with those we come in contact with and not be ashamed of the gospel as it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. Take us from this place in your strength and protection in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

/by

Open Doors

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Jesus Unveiled

Open Doors

(Revelation 3:7-13)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Even before finishing his degree, and still lacking pastoral experience, Charles Simeon put his name forward for the pastorate of Cambridge's Holy Trinity church. This was unheard of. Amazingly Simeon was given the parish and would labor there the rest of his life.

 

The church was less than pleased to receive this blustering minister who insisted that those who called themselves "Christian" be truly saved by grace and live lives more closely conformed to Christ. They distrusted his ivory-tower background—they were largely artisan's families, or more bluntly, in Simeon's words, "very poor church folks," and they were wary of his fervor.

 

Opponents harassed Simeon by locking the family-owned pews, forcing those who wished to hear the new minister to find standing room as best they could. When Simeon brought in benches, church council members tossed them out into the churchyard, but he was undeterred.

 

Simeon was also determined to provide the Cambridge undergraduates with decent training in theology and pastoral ministry. In 1790 Simeon began holding informal seminars for ministerial students on Sunday evenings. In 1812, he instituted weekly "conversation parties" in his rooms, essentially theological and pastoral Q&A sessions. By 1823, some 40 students were attending. By 1827 the number was closer to 60, straining the room's capacity and keeping two servants busy distributing tea. Along the way, the eager participants acquired the labels "Simeonite" and "Sim," which they wore as badges of honor.

 

Of the undergraduates Simeon trained during his 54 years at Holy Trinity, some 1,100 became effective—and many, distinguished— parish ministers, chaplains, and missionaries.”

 

Chris Armstrong, "Simeon's Brigade," Leadership (Summer 2003)

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/december/14717.html].

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Stuart

        • CEF

          • I was aware of the Local Director position for CEF of Hardin and Hancock Counties, because Judy’s parents were part of the local board

          • They considered me for the position partly because of their connection with the local board

          • When I started working as the Local Director, they had to resign from the board

          • The key to obtaining the position was my connection with Judy’s parents

        • EGM

          • I had been laid off from the CEF headquarters and was working for Walmart at the time

          • A dear couple, whom I worked with at CEF contacted me about an open position with Every Generation Ministries

          • They were both serving with EGM at the time

          • They thought that EGM would benefit from my skill set

          • Long story, short, I flew out to California to interview with EGM and was offered the position

          • The key to beginning my service with EGM was my connection with the Cox family

    • Judy

        • Judy and I traveled to Florida right before our college graduation so she could interview for a Kindergarten teaching position at a Christian school

        • She was offered the position, so we returned to college knowing that she had a job prior to graduation

        • The key that unlocked that opportunity for her was a friend from elementary school that she had kept in touch with, who was on staff at the Christian school

 

  • WE

    • Every one of us can probably think of “keys” that have unlocked opportunities for us

    • Keys that have unlocked opportunities

        • Teacher in high school who connected you with a professor at the college or university where you wanted to attend (you were accepted into the college or university)

        • College professor who connected you with a friend of theirs who works in your field of study and you were able to get a job through that contact

        • Perhaps it was a friend who introduced you to the man or woman who became your spouse

        • Maybe it was a colleague you worked with in the past who connected you with a new employer

        • For those of you hunt and fish, there is probably someone who showed you a great spot and you have been successful there ever since

        • Ladies, perhaps a close friend introduced you to a hair stylist, nail salon, or kind of makeup that has made all the difference

 

Jesus wants us to understand from the letter to the church at Philadelphia that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – The key to God’s kingdom is faith in Christ.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 3:7-13)

    • Philadelphia

        • It is located 30 miles east, southeast of Sardis on the small Cogamis River

        • It was called the “gateway to the east” for two reasons

          • It was on the main trade route from Smyrna on the Aegean Sea to the regions of Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia in the east

          • “It also lay on the major Roman postal road from Troas through Pergamum, Sardis, and then Philadelphia to the east.” ​​ [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 184]

        • It was founded by one of two brothers sometime around 189 B.C.

          • It may have been Eumenes II, king of Pergamum

          • It could also have been his younger brother Attalus II Philadelphus

            • He had this name because of his intense loyalty to his older brother

            • Philadelphus means “lover of his brother”

            • Philadelphia is the “city of brotherly love”

            • Rumors had it that Rome was wanting Attalus to overthrow his older brother, but he refused to do it

        • Fertile soil

          • It’s volcanic soil made it the perfect place to grow grapes

          • The soil allowed Philadelphia to prosper agriculturally, although not all crops grew well there

          • In A.D. 92 Emperor Domitian issued an edict demanding that half the grape vines be cut down and not replanted

            • Some believe that Domitian was trying to protect the vine growers in Italy

            • It was probably also due to the need for grain crops to feed the Roman armies

            • Unfortunately the grain crops were not as productive in the volcanic soil as the grape vines had been

            • This edict caused tension between Rome and Philadelphia

        • Earthquake

          • It was devastated by the same earthquake in A.D. 17 that wreaked havoc on Sardis

          • Because Philadelphia was closer to the epicenter of the earthquake, they continued to experience aftershocks for years afterwards

          • Out of fear, many of the inhabitants of Philadelphia lived outside the city as farmers

          • There was evidence of the aftershocks in the cracks that continued to form on the walls of the buildings

          • Emperor Tiberius helped to rebuild the city and out of gratitude the inhabitants renamed it “Neocaesarea”

          • In the 80’s the city also took on the name “Flavia,” which was the imperial dynasty’s title.

        • The history of this city will play an important part in what Jesus has to say to the church there

    • Characteristic of the Sender (v. 7)

        • Holy and true

          • A literal translation of the Greek would be “The Holy One, the True One

          • The attribute of holiness means that God is completely “pure, undefiled, spotless, without stain or blemish.” ​​ [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Revelation, 91]

            • The Old Testament gives this title to God

              • Isaiah 40:25, “To whom will you compare me? ​​ Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

              • Isaiah 43:15, I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.

              • Hosea 11:9, I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. ​​ For I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you. ​​ I will not come in wrath.

            • God came in the flesh and dwelt among us through His Son Jesus

              • His attribute of holiness was evident in Jesus’ life

              • Jesus lived a pure and perfect life on earth, which is why He was able to take out punishment for sin

              • 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

          • The attribute of true or truth means that God never lives and that He is completely trustworthy

            • It can also mean “genuine” or “faithful”

            • We never have to doubt any promises God makes

            • John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. ​​ No one comes to the Father except through me.

            • We’ll see that the description of Jesus, as holy and true, is in direct contrast to the description of those in Philadelphia who are persecuting the believers

          • While the first two characteristics are pretty self-evident, the third one is not as obvious at first blush

        • Key of David

          • Jesus is described as the One who holds the key of David

            • This phrase is used metaphorically in this passage

            • We have to understand the historical significance of a king’s steward

              • King Hezekiah had a steward that had been using his position for his own benefit (Isaiah 22:15-16)

              • Isaiah’s oracle states that the Lord is about to remove him from his favored position, because he was a disgrace to his master, Hezekiah (Isaiah 22:17-19)

              • Eliakim has been chosen to replace Shebna as the king’s steward

              • Isaiah 22:20-23, “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. ​​ I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. ​​ He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ​​ I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ​​ I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father.

              • Eliakim, as the king’s steward, will have authority to determine who will have access to the palace and the king

            • Jesus, as the Messiah, has absolute control over who is granted access to the heavenly kingdom and to God

          • Ultimate authority

            • Jesus’ authority to grant or deny access to God and His kingdom is without question

            • John 10:9, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. ​​ He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

              • Jesus is speaking about Himself being the Good Shepherd

              • As the Good Shepherd He acts as the gate or door to the pen

              • He is the One who grants or denies access to the sheep

            • 1 Timothy 2:5, For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

          • The key to God’s kingdom is faith in Christ

            • “Only one is the sovereign Lord who holds the key to the entrance into heaven and eternal life. ​​ Only one! ​​ His name is Jesus.” ​​ [Akin, 92]

            • We all enter this world with the same human condition, sin (Rom. 3:23), which separates us from God (Rom. 6:23)

            • Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

            • We all try to deal with our sin and separation from God in various ways (good works, religion, philosophy, morality, etc.)

              • Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

              • We cannot bridge the separation, that our sin created, by ourselves

            • God provided the only way to bridge that separation

              • 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.”

              • Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

              • John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

            • We have to repent – change our mind, attitudes, and actions

            • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Believe in Jesus as the key to God’s kingdom and eternal life.

        • Through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection the kingdom of God was opened to anyone who believes in Him, but it is closed to those who refuse to believe

    • Compliment to the Recipients (vv. 8-10)

        • Jesus again expresses that He is all-knowing concerning what the believers in Philadelphia have done

        • Open door

          • Most scholars believe this is a reference to the “door” to the kingdom of God (heaven)

            • Revelation 4:1, After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. ​​ And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

            • It is thought that perhaps the believers in Philadelphia had been excommunicated from the Jewish synagogue when they converted to Christianity – they had been refused access to the synagogue

            • Jesus is reminding them that He has the authority to grant them access into heaven

            • The key to God’s kingdom is faith in Christ and not membership in the Jewish synagogue

          • Evangelistic opportunity

            • Less likely is the belief that the open door is speaking about missionary opportunities that were open to them

            • Philadelphia had been described as a “missionary city” because they were spreading the Hellenistic culture further east

            • “Ramsay explains the expression in terms of Philadelphia’s geographic position at the eastern end of the valley leading up onto the great central plain. ​​ As the ‘keeper of the gateway to the plateau,’ it had been given a unique opportunity to carry the gospel to the cities of Phrygia.” ​​ [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 100-101]

            • While this belief doesn’t match the context as closely, it is an important principle for us to embrace

            • The kingdom of God is available to anyone who repents and turns to Jesus Christ for eternal life

            • Mike Stachura has said, “The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.” ​​ [Akin, 93-94]

          • Jesus not only knew about their deeds, but also knew about their faithfulness

        • Small but faithful

          • This church was small in number and influence

          • While some churches who are small and have very little influence in their community may become discouraged, the church in Philadelphia remained faithful to the Gospel and the name of Jesus

          • PRINCIPLE – God is not concerned about the size of His church, but rather the faithfulness of His church.

            • They had remained faithful to the Gospel and the name of Jesus through constant trials and consistent opposition [Akin, 93]

            • I read the article, “The Hottest Thing At Church Today,” this week posted on March 22, 2017 by Tim Challies. ​​ In the article it said that the hottest thing in church today is the preaching, but not just any kind of preaching, rather preaching based on the Bible. ​​ He cautions pastors not to jump on the bandwagon and begin expositional preaching if it is for pragmatic reasons only. ​​ Challies says, “A Christian wants nothing more than God’s Word because there is nothing he needs more than God’s Word. ​​ The Christian may not know it or be able to verbalize it any more than a baby can, but within every true believer will be a deep hunger to be fed by spiritual food – food that is found only in the Word of God. ​​ Those churches that committed to preaching endless series of sermonettes for Christianettes were starving their people. ​​ They were starving sheep in order to entertain goats.”
              [https://faithit.com/hottest-thing-church-today-tim-challies/]

            • I strive to expound God’s Word here at Idaville UB Church, which is why I preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible

            • I want to make sure that I’m preaching God’s Word so we can keep God’s Word

            • I want us to make sure that we don’t deny the name of Jesus

          • As we’ll see, the Jews were the ones who were opposing them and causing them problems

        • Access denied

          • As mentioned earlier, it is believed that the Jews who had converted to Christianity were being denied access to the synagogue – the door had been shut to them

          • The Jews who remained in the synagogue were convinced they were the true people of God, because of their religious heritage

          • They were claiming to be God’s people and yet they had rejected His Messiah, Jesus Christ

          • They were following Satan’s lead instead of God’s

            • This was not the first city or the first time that the Jews and their synagogue was labeled as belonging to Satan

            • Jesus identified them the same way in the city of Smyrna

            • Revelation 2:9, I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! ​​ I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

            • They were continuing to live under the old covenant between God and Abraham

            • They were continuing the sacrificial system, even though Jesus’, once-for-all sacrifice, fulfilled that perfectly

            • The Jews continued to spread fear and doubt among the believers, by claiming they were the true people of God

            • Yet, Jesus calls them liars, because they had rejected the Messiah and were following Satan

            • John 8:44, You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. ​​ He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. ​​ When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

          • They were liars

            • So the Jews were simply following their father’s (Satan’s) lead

            • 1 John 1:10, If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

            • 1 John 2:4, The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

            • The Jews had forfeited their position as God’s chosen people to make Him known to the nations

            • That responsibility had now passed to the followers of Jesus Christ, whether they were Jews or Gentiles

            • Romans 2:28-29, A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ​​ No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. ​​ Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

          • Jesus will make these unbelieving Jews fall down at His feet and the feet of His followers and recognize that God loves the Christians

        • Promise to protect His followers

          • Jesus recognized that the believers in Philadelphia had kept his command to endure patiently

            • They had experienced some difficult ridicule from the Jews and probably from the pagan community as well

            • They understood that God was with them and it was only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His power that they were able to endure patiently

            • Since they had faithfully kept Jesus’ command to endure, He was going to keep them during a time of testing

          • Those who live on the earth

            • In the other passages in Revelation where this phrase is used (6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 12, 14; 17:2, 8) it always refers to unbelievers, those who have rejected Christ and are enemies of God and who worship the beast and persecute believers

            • Those are the individuals who are going to be tested during the hour of trial

            • Will Christians be around when the hour of trial takes place?

          • Hour of trial

            • There are three beliefs surrounding this question

              • Pre-tribulationism (Church is raptured before)

              • Mid-tribulationism (Church raptured in the middle)

              • Post-tribulationism (Church raptured after)

            • “The hour of trial is that period of testing and tribulation which precedes the establishment of the eternal kingdom.” ​​ [Mounce, 103]

            • This one verse does not provide enough information for us to definitively claim any of the three positions above

              • We have to look at more of God’s Word to help us answer this question

              • Jesus told His disciples to anticipate trials and tribulations on earth as His followers

                • John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”

                • John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. ​​ In this world you will have trouble. ​​ But take heart! ​​ I have overcome the world.”

              • We see God’s protection of His children while in the world and during trials

                • In Jesus’ high-priestly prayer for His disciples, we hear His request of God, ​​ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one (John 17:15).

                • During the fifth trumpet there are locusts that come down on the earth with the stinging ability of a scorpion and they are given specific instructions about whom they are to afflict

                • Revelation 9:3-4, And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. ​​ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

                • Another great illustration of God’s protective power over His people during the trials and testing of His enemies is the Israelites in Egypt – they were protected from the plagues while the Egyptians suffered under them

                • God has the ability to do that again

                • “Therefore, the point is that the Philadelphia church (identified with all faithful believers here) will be protected from the wrath of God against unbelievers but not from the wrath of Satan, and that this protection is within and not a removal from (as in a pretribulation rapture) that wrath.”[Osborne, 194]

            • PRINCIPLE – God is able to protect His people.

              • While it’s not definitive in Scripture, I believe God will protect His people through the trials and tribulations that will come during the ends times

              • The pre-tribulation belief is really a North American belief system

                • We have not really experienced persecution like churches in other parts of the world

                • And if we were really honest with ourselves, we don’t want to experience persecution, trials, and tribulation

                • So, we favor a pre-tribulation belief system that allows our minds to be at rest

                • Yet, we have to be prepared to experience persecution, trials, and tribulation

                • We see in Revelation (6:9-11; 12:12-13, 17; 13:7; 16:6; 20:4) that Christians will be “the focus of intense persecution (indeed, martyrdom) from the dragon and his followers.” ​​ [Osborne, 194]

                • Are we ready and willing to give everything, including our lives, to patiently endure the wrath of the beast?

                • Are we prepared to experience persecution and hardships?

                • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Examine my heart to see if I’m prepared to remain faithful to Jesus even through the trials and tribulation.

              • A pre-tribulation belief, that God will remove His people from the earth prior to the Great Tribulation, would be a foreign concept to those in the persecuted church around the world – they are already experiencing trials and tribulation and God is sustaining and protecting them through it

        • Although the church in Philadelphia was small, it had remained faithful to Jesus through the trials and persecution of their culture

        • Jesus then gives them the command to hold on to what they have

    • Command to the Recipients (v. 11)

        • Jesus encourages the believers to hold on, because He is coming soon

          • They were to hold on to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they had received from the apostles and teachers

          • They were also to hold on to their citizenship in heaven that was indicated by the open door that cannot be shut, and their future vindication (the Jews bowing down at their feet) and protection by God (during the hour of trial) [Osborne, 195]

          • “One of the greatest Christian leaders of the last century was John R. W. Stott, rector of All Souls Langham Place in London and a peerless preacher, Bible teacher, evangelist, author, global leader and friend to many. I knew him over many decades, but I will never forget my last visit to his bedside three weeks before he died. After an unforgettable hour and more of sharing many memories over many years, I asked him how he would like me to pray for him. Lying weakly on his back and barely able to speak, he answered in a hoarse whisper, ‘Pray that I will be faithful to Jesus until my last breath.’ Would that such a prayer be the passion of our generation too.

            Os Guinness, Impossible People (IVP Books, 2016)

            [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2016/october/5100316.html].

          • Stott wanted to be known and remembered as a follower of Jesus Christ who was holding on to what he had to the very end

        • The reason they were to hold on was so they wouldn’t lose their crown

          • This is not referring to losing our salvation, but rather losing our rewards

          • We talked about that last week with nominal and incomplete deeds

            • God will test our deeds and see if they will hold up to the fire

            • Wood, hay, and straw will not hold up, but gold, silver, and costly stones will

            • If we build with wood, hay, and straw our rewards will be burned up, but we will still achieve heaven as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor. 3:10-15)

        • Jesus then concludes with His commitment to those who overcome

    • Commitment to all who Overcome (vv. 12-13)

        • PRINCIPLE – God will provide stability and permanence for His people who remain faithful to the end.

          • The image of the pillar is one of stability and permanence

          • This would have provided special encouragement to a church whose city experienced devastating earthquakes that caused the inhabitants to flee their homes and dwell in temporary housing in the fields surrounding the city

          • “Often the only parts of a city left standing after a sever quake were the huge stone temple columns [pillars]” (Revelation, 1983, 61). ​​ [Alan Johnson cited by Akin, 98]

          • Just imagine, then, being a pillar of Christ – it should provide a sense of complete and total security

          • Romans 8:38-39, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

        • We will be identified as God’s people

          • We will receive the name of God, the name of God’s city (the new Jerusalem), and the new name of Jesus

          • “The names signify who my God is, where my home is and who my Lord is! ​​ I belong to the Father, heaven is my home, and Jesus is my Lord. ​​ I bear the signature of my God!” ​​ [Akin, 98]

        • We will find permanence and stability and be identified as God’s children when we remember and embrace the truth that the key to God’s kingdom is faith in Christ

 

  • YOU

    • Have you put your faith in Christ?

    • Have you determined in your mind that you will faithfully hold on to Christ and His Word even during the trials and tribulation that will surely come from the evil one

 

  • WE

 

CONCLUSION

David Platt expresses well the reward we will experience when we put our faith in Christ as the key to God’s kingdom.

 

“This, we remember, is the great reward of the gospel: ​​ God himself. ​​ When we risk our lives to run after Christ, we discover the safety that is found only in his sovereignty, the security that is found only in his love, and the satisfaction that is found only in his presence. ​​ This is the eternally great reward, and we would be foolish to settle for anything less. ​​ (Newell, Mission Quotes, 241).” ​​ [Akin, 98-99]

13

 

/by

Alive?

, , ,

Jesus Unveiled

Alive?

(Revelation 3:1-6)

 

INTRODUCTION

In the September 20, 2004, issue of MacLean's magazine, Lianne George recounts this tragic story:

 

One November day in 2002, Jim Sulkers, a 53-year-old retired municipal worker from Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), climbed into bed, pulled the covers up, and died. Nearly two years later, on August 25, 2004, police who had been called by concerned relatives entered Sulkers' apartment and found his body in a mummified state. Everything else in his tidy one-bedroom apartment was intact, although the food in his fridge was spoiled and his wall calendar was two years out of date.

 

Mr. Sulkers' death went undiscovered for several reasons: he was reclusive, estranged from family members, and had a medical condition that prevented his body from decomposing and emitting odors. In addition, automatic banking deposited his disability pension and withdrew utilities and other expenses as they came due.

 

Terence Moran, who along with Neil Postman co-founded the Media Ecology program at New York University, said, "For many practical purposes, this man was virtually alive throughout that time. This man's life was extended for two years by the technology he used. Postman would have said that what you have here is a lack of community."

 

Lianne George, "A High-Tech Ghost Story," MacLean's (9-20-04); submitted by Daren Wride, Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada

 

[http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2004/october/15591.html].

 

The church can look like it’s alive and yet be dead. ​​ Akin says, “It is now a zombie church, a church of the living dead. ​​ There are live bodies walking around with dead souls on the inside.” ​​ [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Revelation, 80]

 

In Thom Rainer’s book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, he gives several fatal causes that move a church from being alive to being dead:

  • Treating the past as the hero;

  • Refusing to adapt to the needs of the present community;

  • Moving the focus of the budget inward;

  • Allowing the Great Commission to become the Great Omission;

  • Letting the church become preference-driven out of selfishness and personal agendas;

  • Seeing the tenure of the pastors decreasing;

  • Failing to have regular, corporate prayer;

  • Having no clear purpose or vision; and

  • Obsessing over the facilities.

 

Stevan Manely in his article “When Does My Church Need Revival?” highlights six tell-tale signs of a church standing at death’s door:

  • The church is plagued with disagreements.

  • The preaching is ineffective.

  • Few can remember when a person was last saved.

  • God’s supernatural power is never seen.

  • God is not praised regularly.

  • No one is being called into God’s work. (Herald)

[Akin, 79-80]

 

Have you ever done something without thinking about it?

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Flagger outside of Mt. Holly Springs

        • I was returning from running errands to Carlisle

        • I had passed the road construction crew on my way into Carlisle, with the flaggers and everything

        • The road was down to one lane

        • On my return trip, I saw the signs telling me there was a one lane road ahead with flaggers

        • I was thinking about something else at the time and even though I saw the signs, I didn’t slow down like I should have when approaching the flaggers

        • Fortunately, I was able to stop before I got up to the flaggers

        • One of the flaggers came up to my car and asked me what I was doing and if I had seen the signs

        • I told him I was thinking about something else

        • I was able to drive my car without putting too much effort or thought into it

    • Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night

        • As I’ve gotten older, I can’t make it through the night without getting up once to go to the bathroom

        • When I get up, I don’t put my glasses on – I’m not even sure I open my eyes

        • I have a mental map in my mind and my body knows exactly where to go

        • There have been a few nights when we have returned from a trip and I’ve left something on the floor right in the path of my mental map – that is never fun to stumble over in the middle of the night, especially with your eyes closed

        • I can do all of that without really thinking about it

 

  • WE

    • Driving somewhere without thinking about it (school, college, work, etc.) – may not remember exits, turns, landmarks, etc.

    • Sleep walking

    • Any rote activity we do at work or school

    • Singing hymns or worship songs at church (it can be done without really thinking about the words or without allowing those words to impact our lives)

 

It could be said of the church at Sardis that they were simply going through the motions without even thinking about what they were doing or the meaning behind why they were doing it

 

Jesus wants us to understand from the letter to the believers at Sardis that we need to . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Wake up from our spiritual coma.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 3:1-6)

    • Sardis

        • It was located about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira and about 50 miles east of Ephesus

        • It was on the junction of five main roads, which made it a key location for trade – this is partly where their wealth came from

        • The gold dust found in the springs of Pactolus, which ran through the city, was the other source of their wealth

        • It was the first city to mint gold and silver coins

        • The city was built on the northern spur of Mt. Tmolus

          • It looked down over the fertile Hermus plain

          • The city was almost impenetrable, because three of the four sides had nearly perpendicular rock walls that climbed some 1,500 feet

          • The south side provided the only sane assent to this city

          • It was a natural citadel on the top of this hill

          • While it seemed impenetrable, it was defeated twice

            • Both times the same tactic was used

            • In the first defeat a single soldier scaled one of the rock walls and opened the gates allowing the attacking army to enter

            • In the second defeat, a group of soldiers climbed the rock wall and again opened the gates

        • “In the sixth century B.C. Sardis was one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world. ​​ Yet by the Roman period it had declined to the point that Ramsay could describe it as ‘a relic of the period of barbaric warfare, which lived rather on its ancient prestige than on its suitability to present conditions.’” ​​ [Mounce, New International Commentary on the New Testament, 91]

          • An earthquake in AD 17 virtually destroyed it, but it was rebuilt with help from Emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37)

          • It is interesting that the church in Sardis reflected the city so closely – it was resting on its reputation from the past, but was not suitable for the present conditions

          • There didn’t seem to be any opposition from outside the church and it didn’t appear as though they were dealing with any heresy inside the church, and if they were, they weren’t concerned about it

          • They had embraced the pagan environment around them so completely that they were not seen as a threat by the unbelievers in the city or by Satan

          • The community saw that there was activity going on in the church, which made it look alive, but it was spiritually dead

    • Characteristic of the Sender (v. 1a)

        • Jesus is characterized as holding two things

          • The Greek word for “holds” connotes divine control [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 173]

          • The King James Version translates it as “has” instead of “holds”

            • This is perhaps a better translation, since it would difficult to see Jesus holding the Holy Spirit

            • The term “has” gives the idea of a relational connection

          • Jesus is aware of the condition of the church in Sardis and is using His relational connections to help wake this church up from their spiritual coma

        • Two relational connections

          • Seven spirits of God

            • We first saw this reference to the Holy Spirit in Revelation 1:4

            • We know from other passages of Scripture that there aren’t seven actual spirits

            • It is probably a reference to the sevenfold Holy Spirit

            • The number seven in Scripture is used for completion and/or perfection

            • So, it seems to indicate here the complete work of the Holy Spirit in the community of believers in Sardis

            • The Holy Spirit will be an important component in the revival of this church

          • Seven stars

            • This reference first appeared in Revelation 1:16

            • We learned from Revelation 1:20 that the seven stars represented the angels of the seven churches, which many believe represent seven pastors or leaders within those churches

        • Jesus has the power to use His relational connections with the Holy Spirit and the leader of the church in Sardis to bring it back from the dead

    • Criticism of the Recipients (v. 1b)

        • Reputation

          • Jesus has some difficult words for the church in Sardis

          • He does not have anything to commend them for (the church in Laodicea is the only other church that Jesus does not commend of the seven addressed here in Revelation)

          • “It is a sad thing when the only accomplishment (“deed”) of a church is what it names itself, especially if the reality shows that name to be a lie, as here. ​​ Their past deeds gave them a reputation among other churches for being alive for Christ, but their present deeds show a quite different picture (in accordance with their city’s history) . . . Just outside their city was a famous necropolis, or cemetery, with the graves of long-dead kings. ​​ The assembly at Sardis represented that cemetery more than a living church.” ​​ [Osborne, 174]

        • Reality

          • The reality for Sardis was much different than their reputation

          • Jesus says they are dead

          • There were some believers in Sardis whose reputation and reality matched, but the vast majority had compromised with the pagan culture around them [Mounce, 93]

          • They were “nominal” Christians – they were simply going through the motions without thinking or being intentional about their relationship with Jesus Christ

            • They weren’t reaching out to the lost in their city and sharing the life giving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

            • The fact that they had a reputation of being alive means that they had actively shared the Gospel at some point in the past

          • Chuck Swindoll characterized them as “a morgue with a steeple.” ​​ [Akin, 82]

          • Vance Havner expresses their current condition this way, “She had it all in the show window but nothing in stock.” ​​ [Akin, 82]

        • Since their reality did not match their reputation, Jesus gives the church at Sardis five imperative commands

    • Command to the Recipients (vv. 2-3)

        • As we look at these five imperatives, I want us to think about the story of Snow White

          • We’re going to draw some comparisons from what happened to her and the church at Sardis

          • She was alive, but in a deep sleep and not active

        • Five imperatives

          • Wake up

            • This verb can also be translated “be watchful” or “show yourself to be watchful”

            • Twice the city watchmen were proven not to be watchful (they had perhaps not worried about the three sides that had shear rock walls) and Sardis fell, because of individuals who had climbed the rock wall and opened the gates for the attacking army

              • While this happened long ago, it can very easily happen to us as a church today

              • We can become comfortable with where we are, which can lead to complacency

              • We can feel secure in what we’ve done in the past and not remain alert to changes that need to take place in order to continue to reach our community with the Gospel and to be relevant for the next generation

            • Snow White did not see where her demise was coming from

              • The witch came dressed in a disguise

              • She hid the poison in an apple that looked appealing

              • It was this poison apple that caused Snow White to fall into this deep sleep, like a coma

            • Satan had used the same tactics to defeat the church

              • He probably sent an individual or group that infiltrated the church when they were not being watchful

              • He had this individual or group approach from an angle or direction the church was not expecting

              • They didn’t see it coming and eventually compromised with their culture

              • They went from being spiritually alive to being in a spiritual coma

            • Fortunately, there was still some life in the church, unlike Jim Sulkers in the introduction, and Jesus recognized that they could again be spiritually alive

              • Snow White

                • There was nothing the Seven Dwarfs could do to revive Snow White

                • It was going to require an outside force, true loves kiss, from Prince Charming to break the spell that kept her in this deep sleep

              • The church

                • The only thing that would revive the church at Sardis or any church that is experiencing a spiritual coma is an outside force

                • The Holy Spirit is that outside force that has to take over in the lives of the believers

                • “Church revitalization will always begin in heaven with the glorified Christ who longs to raise to new life a church where ‘rigor mortis [has] set in’ (Swindoll, Insights, 64).” ​​ [Akin, 81]

            • The Holy Spirit through Christ’s power will help any church to strengthen what remains

          • Strengthen what remains

            • The original Greek is helpful here in understanding that what needs to be strengthened in not only the people, but also the spiritual characteristics/issues in the church [Osborne, 174-75]

              • As we’ll see in the next imperative, they had to remember what they received and heard – those were the characteristics they needed to strengthened

              • “The verb itself means to ‘support’ or ‘stand something on its feet’ and has the idea of establishing a thing by making it strong.” ​​ [Osborne, 175]

              • What remained, needed to be built back up

              • “Their faith was not radical; it was almost invisible. ​​ The lost among whom they lived, worked, and played saw nothing different or unique about them. ​​ The culture did not oppose them; it simply ignored them as of not real consequence or significance.” ​​ [Akin, 84]

              • There is a statement that has been circulating recently throughout the church community (I’m going to personalize it for us), “If Idaville UB Church shut its doors tomorrow, would the community even miss us?”

              • We have to ask ourselves that question, and if the answer is no, then we need to make some changes

              • For the church in Sardis, the answer would probably be, No!

              • They had to strengthen themselves and the spiritual characteristics in their church, because even what remained was about to die

              • The sad part about many churches today is that they don’t recognize they’re dead, so they don’t strengthen what remains and the community doesn’t even realize when the doors shut for good

              • We see the reason why they needed to strengthen what remains

            • Their deeds were not complete

              • PRINCINPLE – God is displeased when His church is filled with nominal, incomplete, and imperfect deeds.

              • God looked down from heaven at what they were doing and found their deeds lacking

              • Their deeds were nominal, incomplete, and imperfect

              • An interesting fact about Sardis was that the temple to Artemis remained unfinished and incomplete (perhaps Jesus was comparing the deeds of the church to this incomplete temple)

              • I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthian believers in his first letter to them

              • 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. ​​ But each one should be careful how he builds. ​​ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ​​ If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. ​​ It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. ​​ If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ​​ If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

              • If the church in Sardis was even building, they were using wood, hay, and straw

            • Application

              • Is God looking down from heaven and saying that our deeds are not complete in His eyes?

              • What materials are we using to build the kingdom of God with here in the greater Idaville area?

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask the Lord to help me work for Him in such a way that my deeds will be complete in His eyes.

                • Perhaps your service in the church is simply nominal at this point – you feel obligated to serve instead of serving with joy and expectation at what God will do

                • Maybe you’ve stopped serving in the church all together and you realize you need to begin serving again

                • We always have to remember whom we are serving (Jesus), because it’s easy to focus in the wrong place or direction

            • Part of strengthening what remains has to do with remembering what they had received and heard

          • Remember

            • The verb “remember” is in the present imperative form, which means an ongoing action

              • They were to continue recall and put in to practice the truths of the Gospel they had received and heard

              • They had to remember what it was like when they first received Jesus Christ as their Savior – there was joy, enthusiasm, excitement, a burning desire to share with others the transformation that had taken place

            • Received

              • They had received the good news of the Gospel from the apostles

              • They were to continue to remember the truths of the Gospel they had received

            • Heard

              • This represents the teaching of the church they had received after the apostles were gone

              • It was the continual process of passing on the truths of the Gospel

            • Strengthening what remains wasn’t just about remembering, but also obeying

          • Obey

            • It has also been translated as “keeping”

            • It is again in the present imperative, which represents a continual action

            • Since they had forgotten the truths of the Gospel, they obviously weren’t obeying them in their own lives or sharing them with others

            • After they continue to remember and continue to obey, then they have to repent

            • PRINCIPLE – God’s desire for His church is that they remember and obey His Word.

            • Repentance will be a natural outflow of remembering and obeying God’s Word

          • Repent

            • This again is changing our minds, attitudes, and actions

            • We can no longer rest on our past victories of sharing the Gospel

            • We have to wake up from our spiritual comas and begin to do the things we once did to reach the greater Idaville area with the Gospel

        • Warning of judgement

          • Jesus warns them that if they don’t wake up from their spiritual coma, He will come to them when they aren’t expecting it and judge them

          • Most of the time a visit from Jesus would be a welcomed event, but not so with this visit

          • It is not referring to His second coming, but rather a visit, from Him, prior to His second coming

          • The concept of Jesus coming like a thief in the night is found throughout Scripture

            • Matthew writes about it in Matthew 24:42-44

            • Paul references it in his letter to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4)

            • Peter also writes about in his epistle (2 Peter 3:10)

            • The difference between these references and the one found here to the church in Sardis is that all of the other references are to Jesus’ second coming

          • Not knowing the time

            • This is an important concept

            • In Matthew 24:42-44 it mentions that if the owner of the house knew when the thief was coming, he would have been ready for him and not allowed him to steal from him

            • Judy was substitute teaching this past Monday and had an individual come in to observe one child, but they didn’t tell this child or the other children what was happening

              • They wanted to be able to see how this child acted, reacted, and interacted with the other children

              • If they had told the children what was happening, they would probably act differently

            • When we know the big boss is coming we prepare and we act differently than when they aren’t there

              • Some people like second and third shift better, because most of the management is gone for the day and they are able to work without being interrupted

              • I remember working for Chick-fil-A in Birmingham, AL when S. Truett Cathy stopped by our store

                • He had been in Birmingham for a wedding and was wearing a tuxedo with the fancy handkerchief (I though he dressed this way all the time)

                • One of our Managers was sitting in the office in the back with his legs on the desk, counting money

                • He spilled the one register till on the floor and jumped in to action, giving all of the employees jobs to accomplish

                • S. Truett Cathy showed up unannounced so he could see the actual workings of the unit there at Century Plaza

        • After Jesus finishes His commands and warning for the church is Sardis, He shares some promises and commitments for them

    • Commitment to all who Overcome (vv. 4-6)

        • Worthy

          • There were a few people in Sardis who had not been walking around like spiritual zombies

          • They were probably doing what Jesus complimented the believers in Thyatira for doing (loving others through their service and expressing their faith in Jesus through perseverance)

          • Soiled clothes

            • To have soiled garments meant they were unwashed

            • Spiritually it meant they were defiled

            • “In temples of Asia and elsewhere, worshipers dared not approach deities with soiled clothes; the normal apparel for approaching the gods in temples was white or linen.” ​​ [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 144]

            • The believers in Sardis had contaminated themselves by not setting themselves apart from the pagan culture

            • Jesus shared the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14 to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like

              • When it was time for the wedding guests to come, they all refused, so he invited those from the street corners to fill the wedding hall

              • Matthew 22:11, “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.

              • The guest who was not wearing the appropriate clothes was thrown outside, into the darkness

            • The few who had not soiled their clothes were going to be able to walk with Jesus while dressed in white (the proper clothing for the wedding feast of the Lamb)

              • They are worthy because they have remained pure

              • Their works and/or deeds were complete in the eyes of God

              • “In Revelation 7 the great multitude wearing white robes (vv. 9-10) is led by the Lamb to springs of living water (v. 17), and in chapter 14 the 144,000 ‘follow the Lamb wherever he goes’ (v. 4) . . . it would appear that walking ‘in white’ is a way of describing those who are justified.” ​​ [Mounce, 95]

          • Those who are worthy and those who overcome are both going to be able to participate in the wedding feast of the Lamb, because they have the proper clothing

        • Overcomers

          • Dressed in white

            • They have remained pure during external pressures from their society and internal pressures from false teachers

            • These individuals will participate in the victorious procession during the eschaton, when Jesus returns

          • Never have name blotted out

            • The second promise is that their names will never be blotted out of the book of life

              • The idea of having their name removed from a register would have been easily understood by the church in Sardis

              • Sardis had been the capital of the Persian and Seleucid empires for many years and therefore would have housed the records of those who were citizens

              • Jewish and Hellenistic cultures both had the practice of removing names, which meant that an individual could no longer participate in the commonwealth or community [Osborne, 180]

              • “When Greeks were convicted of a serious crime, their names were removed from the civic register.” ​​ [Osborne, 180]

              • In our country the right to vote is suspended for those who have been convicted of a felony

                • Maine and Vermont are the only two states that allow individuals to vote who are incarcerated for a felony

                • Every state is different when it comes to those who have been released from prison

                • Some states do not restore voting rights until after the individual has completed their probation or parole

                • In Pennsylvania voting rights are restored automatically upon release from prison [https://www.nonprofitvote.org/voting-in-your-state/special-circumstances/voting-as-an-ex-offender/]

            • This is in no way talking about an individual losing their salvation

            • There are many ways of saying the same thing – eternal security, assurance of salvation, etc.

            • “It would appear that God’s ‘Book of Life’ contains the names of all the living, the wicked as well as the righteous (Ps. 69:28) . . . as unbelievers die, their names are removed from the book; thus, at the final judgment, the book contains only the names of believers (Rev. 20:12-15). ​​ It then becomes ‘the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 21:27), because only those saved by the Lord Jesus Christ have their names in it. ​​ All the others have been blotted out, something God would never do for any true child of God (see Ex. 32:32; Rom. 9:3). ​​ It is the book of life, and lost sinners are dead (Eph. 2:1).” ​​ [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament, Volume 2, 577-78]

            • Those who have remained watchful and have not fallen into a spiritual coma will experience eternal life

          • Jesus will acknowledge them before God and His angels

        • We are to pay attention to what the Spirit says to us as the church

 

  • YOU

    • Jesus wants more than the status quo from us

        • Perhaps you’re in a spiritual coma today – it’s time to wake up!

        • Maybe you need to strengthen what remains, but is about to die

        • It could be that you need to remember your conversion experience and the truths you’ve been taught from God’s Word

        • For some of you, it may be that you remember the truths of God’s Word, but you aren’t being obedient to them

        • Finally, you may need to repent of your lethargy

    • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Be honest with myself about where I am spiritually and make the necessary changes to wake up from my spiritual coma.

 

  • WE

    • As a church we have to do the same thing. ​​ We have to be honest about where we are spiritually and make the necessary changes so that we are not alive in name only

 

CONCLUSION

“When Mickey Cohen, a famous Los Angeles gangster of the late 1940s, made a public profession of faith in Christ, his new Christian friends were elated. ​​ But as time passed, they began to wonder why he did not leave his gangster lifestyle. ​​ When they confronted him concerning this question, however, he protested, ‘You never told me I had to give up my career. ​​ You never told me that I had to give up my friends. ​​ There are Christian movie stars, Christian athletes, Christian businessmen. ​​ So what’s the matter with being a Christian gangster? ​​ If I have to give up all that – if that’s Christianity – count me out.’ ​​ Cohen gradually drifted away from Christian circles and ultimately died lonely and forgotten. ​​ As Chuck Colson notes:

Cohen was echoing the millions of professing Christians who, though unwilling to admit it, through their very lives pose the same question. ​​ Not about being Christian gangsters, but about being Christianized versions of whatever they already are – and are determined to remain.”

 

[Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 147-48]

14

 

/by

Hold On To Faith

,

Jesus Unveiled

Hold On To Faith

(Revelation 2:18-29)

 

INTRODUCTION

Several years ago a quaint little eatery was purchased by a couple. ​​ It was a favorite place for individuals to frequent on the weekends while enjoying time at the lake.

 

There was one change that this couple made that created quite a stir in the community. ​​ They were no longer going to be open on Sunday. ​​ This was the personal conviction of the couple as followers of Jesus Christ. ​​ Those who frequented this place on the weekends were struggling to understand why they would close on one of the days when most people came to eat there. ​​ There was talk about how this eatery probably wouldn’t survive, because of being closed on Sundays.

 

As they began to serve individuals six days a week during the summer months, it became clear that this little eatery was not failing, but rather thriving! ​​ They were doing some great business and serving their customers well. ​​ Closing on Sunday wasn’t hurting them after all. ​​ They are successful, because they are faithful.

 

This quaint little eatery is our very own Twirly Top. ​​ We are proud of their faithfulness to the Lord and that they did not give in to the economic pressures of our society. ​​ God has blessed them and they have been generous within this community.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Faithfulness in work

        • I have worked independently for most of my career (3 years out of college I began working for Child Evangelism Fellowship as local director)

        • Working independently requires me to be faithful in my work, otherwise nothing would get done

    • Faithfulness in marriage

        • In the 26, almost 27 years of marriage, I have been faithful to Judy and she has been faithful to me

        • We were faithful to remaining sexually pure until we were married

        • Remaining faithful to each other has protected us from any unwanted sexual diseases

 

  • WE

    • Faithful at school

    • Faithful at work

    • Faithful in relationships (physically and spiritually)

 

Jesus wants us to understand from the letter to the believers at Thyatira that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Spiritual faithfulness protects us from the disease of compromise.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Revelation 2:18-29)

    • Thyatira

        • This little known city “was founded by Seleucus I as a military outpost to guard one the approaches to his empire.” ​​ [Mounce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 84]

        • While it was a military outpost, it did not have any features that would allow it be defended very well (it was on a wide open plain)

        • It was well known for its trade guilds

          • “Ramsay notes that inscriptions, although not especially numerous, mention ‘woolworkers, linen-workers, makers of outer garments, dyers, leather-workers, tanners, potters, bakers, slave-dealers and bronze-smiths.’” ​​ [Mounce, 84-85]

          • The most well-known resident of Thyatira would be Lydia whom Paul introduces us to in Acts 16:14

            • Paul and Silas are in Philippi

            • There was no synagogue there, so they went outside the city gates to the river’s edge to see if there was a place of prayer there

            • They found several women there and began to talk with them

            • Acts 16:14, One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. ​​ The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

          • Each trade guild had their own patron god or goddess

            • There were feasts and festivals to those particular gods and goddesses

            • As a member of the trade guild, you were required to attend and participate in the activities associated with the feasts and festivals

            • Not participating in the feasts and festivals or not joining a trade guild were frowned on

            • “Those who participated in this aspect of public economic life would risk a substantial measure of their livelihood by refusing to join trade guilds.” ​​ [Keener, The NIV Application Commentary, Revelation, 133]

          • As we’ll see this was going to be an issue for a follower of Jesus Christ

        • It is amazing how Jesus’ message fits each city so well

        • The characteristics shared for each city has incredible significance

    • Characteristic of the Sender (v. 18)

        • Words of the Son of God

          • This is the only place in the book of Revelation where Jesus is called the Son of God

          • The significance of this has to do with the deities that were worshiped in Thyatira

            • Apollo was one of the main patron deities that was worshiped in Thyatira

            • Apollo was the son of Zeus

            • There was a very tight connection between the worship of Apollo and Emperor worship

            • Both were considered to be saviors in Asia Minor

          • Using the title, Son of God, put in contrast the fact that Apollo was not the true Son of God, but Jesus Christ is!

          • The two characteristics shared, simply amplify the fact that Jesus is the true Son of God

        • Eyes like blazing fire

          • As we saw in Revelation 1:14, Jesus’ eyes being like blazing fire represented the fact that He is all-knowing (omniscient)

          • He is able to see everything that is happening in the churches in Asia Minor, especially the seductive arguments of a self-proclaimed prophetess in Thyatira

          • Jesus is able to “see all actions, thoughts, and emotions.” ​​ [Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, 69]

          • His knowledge is all-encompassing

          • Jesus is not only all-knowing, but He is all-powerful

        • Feet like burnished bronze

          • The burnished bronze feet are representative of strength, stability, and splendor

          • Jesus’ attribute here is His omnipotence

          • This attribute of Jesus is also found in Revelation 1:15

          • The believers in Thyatira would have connected with the concept of burnished bronze, because one of the trades they were known for was bronze-smith

            • They had developed a technique of mixing zinc with copper, which created a purer and stronger alloy

            • This purer and stronger alloy was perfect for coinage and instruments of war

          • Jesus is then identified as having feet of burnished bronze, which meant He was strong and stable and could handle any situation that would come His way as the leader of the church in Thyatira

          • Their burnished bronze instruments were nothing compared to Jesus’ purity and strength

        • This all-knowing and all-powerful Jesus had some good things to say about the believers in Thyatira

    • Compliment to the Recipients (v. 19)

        • Jesus tells them that He knows their deeds, which He then expresses in two aspects

        • Motives

          • The two motives behind the deeds were love and faith

          • Love

            • The Greek word is agape

            • They had a genuine love for Christ and for others

            • This was the opposite of what was taking place in Ephesus

              • There, they were more concerned about orthodoxy (sound doctrine), but were practicing it without love

              • They had lost their first love

              • But, they were testing those who were claiming to be apostles (teachers)

            • As we’ll see some of the believers in Thyatira were loving others, but were not testing one individual who was a self-proclaimed prophetess

          • Faith

            • They had a genuine faith in God that motivated them

            • They understood that faith was not just an internal decision, but that it needed to be put into action

            • James expounds on how faith and actions work together

            • Read James 2:14-26

            • The believers in Thyatira understood that one of the motives for service and perseverance is faith

          • They were motivated to do good deeds because of their love for Christ and their faith in God

        • Results

          • The result of being motivated by love and faith was that they served others and persevered under pressure

          • Service

            • We get our English word “deacon” from the Greek word for service

            • “A person with a servant’s heart is one who, with long-suffering and steadfastness, will give himself deliberately, voluntarily, sacrificially, and joyfully to others in order that he may help meet their needs. ​​ He will walk away from his own concerns and private interests and give himself – his time, his wisdom, his knowledge, his talents, and his gifts – in order to help others.” ​​ [Akin, 70]

          • Perseverance

            • As they held onto their faith in Jesus Christ, they would be able to persevere under the pressures they would face from the trade guilds

            • They probably had been members of these guilds for many years

            • They were also going to be able to endure the pressures to compromise that were being taught by a false prophetess (Jezebel)

          • “Love for others had produced service; faith in Christ had assured perseverance in their commitment to him.” ​​ [Easley, Holman New Testament Commentary, Revelation, 40]

        • Growth in Christian maturity

          • As they grew in their faith with Jesus Christ, they also grew in their love for Him and for others

          • Their service to others and perseverance in trials also grew

          • They had not become stagnant in their love, faith, service, or perseverance

          • In fact it continued to grow, which is unusual for churches that have been established for a long time

            • The natural tendency for long established churches is to focus inwardly on their own needs and desires instead of focusing outwardly

            • We cannot rest on the love, faith, service, and perseverance that we once did

            • We must continue to grow in our love, faith, service, and perseverance

            • PRINCIPLE: ​​ God is pleased when His people continue to grow in their love and faithfulness.

              • Are we growing in our love for Jesus and others, which is evident through our service to those in need?

              • Are we growing in our faithfulness to God, which is manifested in our perseverance against societal pressures to compromise?

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask the Lord to help me grow in my love for Him and others and in my faithfulness to Him.

        • While the believers at Thyatira were growing in their love and faithfulness, Jesus had one major concern for them

    • Criticism of the Recipients (vv. 20-22a)

        • Tolerance of a false prophetess

          • “The exalted Christ uses a stronger verb here than with Pergamum. ​​ There the church ‘had’ false teachers among them; here they ‘tolerate’ the leader ‘Jezebel.’” ​​ [Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation, 155]

          • The name Jezebel was descriptive of this woman and not her actual name

            • Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab

            • We find her story in 1 Kings 16:31-21:25 and 2 Kings 9

            • Her marriage to King Ahab was political in nature

            • She lead Israel away from God into the worship of the Canaanite deity, Baal

            • The consequences of her actions resulted in a violent death

          • The modern “Jezebel” was doing the same thing with the believers in Thyatira – leading them away from God into spiritual adultery with the pagan world

            • God had not called her to be His prophetess, but rather she was saying that she spoke for God

            • God has throughout history used women to be His prophetesses, but this woman was not one of them

          • Her teachings

            • We see here that through her teachings she was misleading God’s servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols

            • The believers in Thyatira were between a rock and a hard place

            • In order to avoid social isolation and economic hardship, they had to participate in the various meals that were dedicated to the pagan deity of the guild with which they were members

            • These feasts and festivals from time-to-time included sexual immorality

            • This “Jezebel” was teaching the believers that it was fine to compartmentalize their sacred and secular worlds [Akin, 73]

            • For her, following Jesus Christ didn’t mean making sacrifices that would hurt their livelihood – it wasn’t a complete turning away from sin to following Jesus Christ

            • It was a syncretism of the sacred and the secular – you can have both and still call yourself a Christian

            • However, that’s not what scripture teaches or what God calls us to

            • PRINCIPLE: ​​ God will not tolerate compromise in His people

              • God calls us to purity and holiness, both sexually and spiritually

                • God makes it clear that the sexual union between a man and a woman is to only be enjoyed within the institution of marriage, which he created and formed

                • This sexual union is good within those parameters and when it is practiced the way God designed it, there is no fear of contracting any kind of sexually transmitted disease

                • The same is true of our spiritual walk – when we practice Christianity in the way God designed it, we don’t have to fear the disease of compromise

                  • We also don’t have to worry about the diseases of gossip, anger, bitterness, fear, faithlessness, false testimonies, disunity, discord, lying, cheating, and the list goes on

                  • When we practice the Biblical model of Christianity those diseases will not plague us, because we will handle each of those situations correctly

              • He calls us to follow Him and not the world

              • 1 John 2:15-17, Do not love the world or anything in the world. ​​ If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ​​ For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. ​​ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

              • God understands that spiritual faithfulness protects us from the disease of compromise

              • “When the church looks like the world, you have a sick church. ​​ When the church acts like the world, you have an impotent church. ​​ When the church plays with the world, you have an unfaithful church. ​​ [Akin, 73]

              • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Confess to God that I have not been spiritually faithful to Him and am struggling with the disease of compromise.

          • There are consequences to spiritual compromise and a refusal to repent of it

        • Jesus punishment for her

          • Jesus had given this woman ample time to repent, but she was unwilling

          • He cast her on a bed of suffering

            • She was leading God’s people into spiritual sickness

            • Jesus’ punishment for her was to allow her to experience suffering through sickness

            • We see in the story of Job that his friends wanted him to repent of his sins, because they believed his illness and the misfortunate that had befallen him was a result of his sin

            • Paul explains to the Corinthian believers why some of them were and sick and some had died

            • 1 Corinthians 11:27-30, Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ​​ A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ​​ For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. ​​ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

            • It was not uncommon for sickness and even death to be part of God’s punishment for people who were misleading His people or not being obedient to His commands

        • Jesus is not pleased that the believers in Thyatira have tolerated a woman who has been teaching them that compromise is fine when it comes to trade guild activities

        • He has a couple of commands for those in Thyatira

    • Command to the Recipients (vv. 22b-25)

        • Those who are tolerant of compromise

          • Most scholars see a distinction between the individuals who were tolerating compromise

            • Those who were committing adultery with her

              • They were going to hear what she had to say, but were not completely convinced of her teachings

              • They perhaps thought that her words seemed logical and had some merit to them

              • They understood how difficult it was to make a living in Thyatira without being a member of a trade guild or abstaining from participation in the sexual immorality and eating of food sacrificed to idols

              • While they were being drawn in to her way of thinking, they were not full members yet – they still had doubts

              • Intense suffering

                • God was going to use intense suffering to draw them back to Himself

                • The purpose of the intense suffering was not to alienate them from Him, but to bring about repentance and restoration

                • Proverbs 3:11-12, My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

                • Read Hebrews 12:4-11

              • These individuals still have an opportunity to repent – to turn away from the disease of compromise

            • Those who are her children

              • These individuals have become full members of her teaching

              • They have embraced her ideas about sexual immorality and idolatry being fine if it’s practiced within the confines of the trade guild and if it allows them to remain successful in their livelihood

              • They are unwilling to repent of the disease of compromise and are about to be struck dead by Jesus Christ

            • Jesus knows the hearts and minds of those who are flirting with compromise and those who have embraced it completely

          • Eyes like blazing fire

            • We see the importance of Jesus being characterized as one with eyes like blazing fire

              • He is all-knowing and is aware of the hearts and minds of those in Thyatira who have compromised or are thinking about compromising their spiritual faithfulness

              • He knows if they have committed spiritual adultery and have added to the Gospel of Jesus Christ the teachings of “Jezebel”

              • His judgment on the believers in Thyatira is to be a warning to all the churches of His ability to see things clearly and to judge rightly

              • 1 Timothy 5:20, Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.

            • Since He knows their hearts and minds, He will repay each person according to their deeds

              • We see that Jeremiah and Paul agree with Jesus about being repaid according to our deeds

              • Jeremiah 17:10, I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.

              • Matthew 16:27, For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

              • Romans 2:6, God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”

            • Jesus still has eyes like blazing fire

              • He knows our hearts and minds

              • He knows if we are flirting with the disease of compromise or if we have given ourselves completely over to it

              • He knows if we are trying to syncretize the Gospel with society

              • He knows if we are claiming to be His followers, but continue to participate in sexual immorality and idolatry

              • He knows if we’re trying to justify our sin instead of repenting of it (gossip, bitterness, anger, lying, cheating, faithlessness, fear, false testimonies, disunity, and discord)

          • While these two groups were struggling with the disease of compromise there were others who had remained spiritually faithful

        • Those who are not tolerant of compromise

          • The rest of the believers in Thyatira had not given in the disease of compromise

          • They had not learned the so-called deep secrets of Satan

            • There was a belief system that to really understand and fully embrace the grace of God that an individual must first delve into the depths of evil [Mounce, 89]

            • We certainly know of individuals who have experienced the depths of evil, although they wouldn’t have seen it that way at the time

            • God’s grace was sufficient for them when they were ready to repent of their sins and turn to Him

            • But, we don’t have to experience the depths of Satan’s secrets in order to understand and embrace God’s grace

            • There are individuals who accepted God’s grace at an early age and have continued to mature in their faith over the years

          • Jesus tells them that He will not place any other burden on them

          • His last command to them is to hold on to what they have until He comes

            • They are to “maintain a firm grip on the truths of the faith against the false teachings of Jezebel and the other Nicolaitans.” ​​ [Osborne, 164]

            • They have been loving, faithful servants who have persevered and continued to grow under intense peer pressure

            • Jesus is encouraging them to continue that pattern

            • Spiritual faithfulness protects us from the disease of compromise.

        • Jesus promises two things to the believers who overcome the disease of compromise and remain spiritually faithful to Him

    • Commitment to all who Overcome (vv. 26-29)

        • We will rule the nations with Jesus

          • The verb “rule” means “to shepherd”

          • The iron scepter may be referring to a wooden club capped with iron that a shepherd used to ward off wild beasts

          • The dashing of the nations to pieces like pottery expresses the strength of Christ in overcoming the rebellious nations

          • It is perhaps a reference back to Him having feet like burnished bronze (strength and power)

        • We will have eternal life

          • If we overcome, we will spend eternity with Jesus Christ and experience the “abiding, close, imminent, and eternal fellowship with the Lord himself.” ​​ [Patterson, New American Commentary, Revelation, 118]

 

  • YOU

    • Two thoughts

        • “How far should I accept and adopt contemporary standards and practices?” ​​ [Keener, 137]

        • “Jesus’ approval on the Day of Judgment has to matter more to us than wealth or status in this life.” ​​ [Keener, 139]

    • Where are you at?

        • Are you remaining spiritually faithful to the Lord through the pressures to compromise?

        • Which matters more to you, Jesus’ approval or wealth and status in this life?

 

  • WE

    • As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to protect fellow believers from false teaching about syncretism

    • We have to be vigilant in exposing and rejecting anything that takes our focus off of Jesus Christ and His Gospel alone

    • We cannot tolerate spiritual adultery which will lead to the disease of compromise

 

CONCLUSION

“Seventy-two percent of Americans in the 18-25 age bracket believe there is no such thing as absolute truth; this view appears to be shared by over half of those who claim to be born-again Christians. ​​ Much of our society has absolutized relativism (how is that for oxymoronic thinking?) as the only nonnegotiable truth, in essence arguing that everyone is right unless one claims to be. ​​ One commentator cautions, ‘For some people today tolerance is the only real virtue and intolerance the only vice’; another that ‘while the message to Ephesus warns the church about the dangers of loveless orthodoxy, the message to Thyatira warns against the dangers of a ‘soft’ love that tolerates all things and judges none’. . . because relativism has become increasingly popular in our culture, the absolute necessity of faith in Christ for salvation has become a more uncomfortable position for many to hold. ​​ ‘Over nineteen centuries of Christian missionary activity hinged on this belief alone, but studies reveal that this remains ‘the single most socially offensive aspect of Christian theology,’ and that this has been the most prominent impact of theological liberalism.” ​​ [Keener, 139-140]

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Selfless Sacrifice

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EASTER SUNDAY 2018

Selfless Sacrifice

(Philippians 2:5-11)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Millionaires are booming in the U.S.

 

Since 2008, the country has added 1.1 million millionaires to its roster – a growth rate of 28.6 percent.

 

What do they know that the 99% don’t?

 

There’s one key investing concept millionaires have mastered, according to Brent Fykes, a senior investment partner at GenSpring:

 

They know when to stop being greedy.

 

‘[Most average investors] tend to want to dabble in the stock market and buy the latest hot stock like Facebook or Apple,’ he told Bankrate.com.

 

On the other hand, wealthy investors ‘by nature are less risky because they’ve created a nest egg and don’t need it to grow at incredible rates . . . They just want to stay rich. ​​ On the whole, the 99 percent is in the get rich mode.’

 

This passage from Investopedia drives the point home:

Perhaps the No. 1 killer of investment return is your emotions. ​​ The axiom that fear and greed rule the market is true. ​​ Do not let fear or greed overtake you. ​​ Focus on the bigger picture. ​​ Stock market returns may deviate wildly over a shorter time frame, but over the long term, historical returns for large cap stocks can average 10 to 11%. ​​ Realize that, over a long time horizon, your portfolio’s returns should not deviate much from those averages. ​​ In fact, you may benefit from the irrational decisions of other investors.”

 

Mandi Woodruff, “Consider Greed The First Deadly Sin Of Investing,” http://www.businessinsider.com/greed-is-the-deadly-sin-of-investing-2013-3

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Envy

        • Envy is easy to fall into, especially in this age of technology

        • It’s not hard to do in the pastorate, because I see what other churches are doing and wish that we were able to do those same things here

        • If I allowed envy to have full reign in my life, it wouldn’t be long and I would become discontent here and begin looking for another church where I could serve

        • Envy can drive us to do things we wouldn’t normally do

          • Judy and I were on vacation one year and because of that we let our guard down

          • The sales representative played on our desire to have a nice place to stay when we went on vacation – something better than a hotel or motel room – something with multiple bedrooms, a dining room, kitchen, and living room

          • We were cautious, but still invested in something that we probably shouldn’t have

          • These deals are not easy to get out of – they’ve designed it that way on purpose

          • We were really envying how other people take vacations instead of being content with what we normally do

        • Those desires of envy boil down to the fact that I want to feed my own pride

    • Pride

        • Envy and pride go hand-in-hand

        • I want people to look up to me and consider me to be a success and a great leader

        • It’s the desire to be known that feeds pride in me

        • It’s a reflection of the sin of selfishness in my own life

        • This sin of selfishness can take many forms – envy/pride, greed, ambition/peer pressure

 

  • WE

    • Envy

        • Perhaps you struggle with envy in the position that you hold at work

          • It doesn’t make any sense how or why that other person got the promotion when you should have gotten it

          • You’re better at what you do than anyone else

          • When you allow envy to control you, you struggle with contentment at work

          • It affects your relationships with others

          • You can become paranoid of why people are doing and saying certain things

          • You can incorrectly read something into a statement or action that is said or done

        • As a young person your envy is primarily directed toward those at school

          • You wish your hair, eyes, body, teeth, etc. were like someone else’s

          • You wish that learning came as easy to you as it does to that really smart guy or girl in your class who always gets an “A” on the tests and throws off the grading curve

          • If you’re on a sports team, perhaps you envy the person who seems to be able to excel at the sport without trying very hard

    • Greed

        • Greed is defined as, “Excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions.” ​​ [dictionary.com]

        • Maybe this form of selfishness is the one you’re struggling with

        • Everything you do is centered around making money so you can purchase things

        • The show Clean House highlighted those who had an excessive desire for possessions

          • The show helped families get their house in order

          • It also helped the family overcome some emotional issues that had led to the “mayhem and foolishness” as the host of the show always says

        • Envy can lead to greed

          • Perhaps you’ve done some things that you would not normally do in order to achieve greater wealth

          • You work out a business deal that will make you a bigger profit, but jeopardize the safety of your product – you just hope that most of them will be fine

          • Many times you will compromise your value system in order to achieve greater wealth or possessions

          • Maybe you work out a deal with your friends at school to help you fund a project or event that will benefit you the most – you use your influence and persuasive abilities to convince them that it will benefit them more than it actually will

          • You know that trading a certain toy with another boy or girl at school is not an equal trade, but will benefit you more than them, because you’ll receive the more valuable toy

        • This is a reflection of the sin of selfishness in your life

    • Ambition/Peer Pressure

        • Perhaps the driving force in your life is status or prestige

        • Greed many times accompanies ambition or prestige

        • Your desire to maintain the status you have may drive you to not do what’s right

        • You may begin to listen to the voices of those around you who’ve made you what you are today instead of listening to the truth of God’s Word or being confident in what you know is right

        • Your beliefs become skewed and tainted by what others think

        • You are no longer your own

    • Biblical examples

        • There were two individuals and one group who struggled with these sins of selfishness as it pertained to the life of Jesus and the final days before His death, burial, and resurrection

 

  • GOD

    • Selfishness

        • Judas Iscariot – Greed (John 12:4-6; Matthew 26:14-16)

          • Judas struggled with the sin of greed

            • John 12:4-6, But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? ​​ It was worth a year’s wages.” ​​ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

            • When Mary anointed Jesus feet with perfume (pure nard), we see in John 12:4-6 that he was indignant and scolded Mary for being wasteful

            • He tried to sound spiritual by saying that the perfume could be sold and the proceeds used to help the poor

            • He knew the value of the perfume and how much money could be added to the disciples coffer

            • He was the one who took care of the money bag for the disciples and routinely helped himself to what was in there

            • His intentions were not pure, but rather greedy

          • Jesus scolds Judas for bothering Mary

            • No one really enjoys being corrected, but this is what happened to Judas in public

            • We then see in Matthew 26:14-16 that Judas meets with the chief priests and asks them what they are willing to give him in exchange for handing over Jesus

            • The chief priests count out 30 silver coins and gave them to him

            • From that point on he watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over

          • It was selfishness expressed through greed and perhaps pride that caused Judas to reject Jesus and follow Satan

        • Chief Priests – Envy/Pride (Matthew 26:59-68; 27:18)

          • Imagine being a chief priest in the Jewish tradition during this time

            • You were highly respected and rarely questioned if at all

            • Achieving this level of prestige was something that perhaps many Jewish priests aspired to

            • Everyone looked up to you and would listen to every word you had to say

            • You would teach, and people would take it as law

            • You had the power to influence people in any direction you desired

          • Jesus arrives on the scene

            • He begins to draw large crowds and people begin to follow Him and listen to every word He says

            • They are no longer listening to you

            • In fact, Jesus scolds you on multiple occasions in public, making you look foolish instead of intelligent

            • Even when you finally are able to arrest Jesus because of a traitor in his inner circle of 12, you can’t make any of the false accusations stick

            • You finally have to claim blasphemy as your reason for condemning Him to death, but your Jewish law doesn’t allow you to put anyone to death

            • You take Jesus before the Roman governor because the Roman law allows for death

            • The Roman governor tries to protect Jesus because he knows why the chief priests have handed Him over

            • Matthew 27:18, For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

            • The chief priests were jealous and envious of the power that Jesus exhibited not only in His teaching, but in His ability to heal people

            • They were envious of the fact that Jesus was doing things on the Sabbath that they, had been falsely taught for years, was wrong

          • It was selfish envy that caused the chief priests to reject Jesus as the Messiah and turn Him over to Pontius Pilate to be crucified

        • Pontius Pilate – Ambition/Peer Pressure (Matthew 27:15-26)

          • Questioning of Jesus

            • After talking with Jesus, Pilate knew that the trumped up charges of causing riots, claiming to be a king, and encouraging people not to pay taxes, were false

            • He wasn’t dull and was able to see through the smoke screen to the real reason the Jews brought Jewish to him – it was envy

            • That’s why Pilate stated multiple times that he found no basis to charge Jesus with any crime

          • Pilate’s wife

            • Pilate’s wife had a dream about Jesus that caused her great suffering

            • She encouraged Pilate not to have anything to do with an innocent man

          • Other avenues

            • Pilate tried desperately not to be a part of salvation history

            • He sent Jesus to Herod, so he wouldn’t have to make a decision

            • He tried offering to release Jesus or a real criminal and the Jews chose the real criminal, Barabbas, over Jesus

            • He tried washing his hands of the situation, so he would not be held accountable

          • The decision

            • Pilate’s final decision was made because of his selfish desire to remain as the governor instead of doing what he knew was right

            • Matthew 27:24-26, When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ​​ “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. ​​ “It is your responsibility!” ​​ All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” ​​ Then he released Barabbas to them. ​​ But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

            • John 19:12, From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. ​​ Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

            • Pilate had already been in trouble with Tiberius Caesar on at least two other occasions and he could not afford to be in trouble with him again

            • Caesar only allowed men to remain in positions of power who were able to maintain control of the people

            • So Pilate gave in to the will of the people

          • It was Pilate’s selfish desire to preserve himself and his status that caused him to reject Jesus and hand Him over to be crucified

    • Selflessness (Philippians 2:5-11)

        • Greed (2:5-6)

          • Philippians 2:5-6, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus; Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, . . .

          • Jesus is the Son of God

          • He was there when the world was created

          • He knows about the riches of Heaven

          • He owns everything

          • He has unlimited power

          • Jesus sacrificed all of that for you

            • He set aside the right to his glory and power

            • Even as He suffered a horrible beating at the hands of Roman soldiers, He did not use His power to avoid it

            • As He suffered the brutal death of crucifixion on a cross, He could have called down angels from heaven to minister to Him but He chose not to

            • He showed no signs of an excessive desire for wealth or possessions

          • He was selfless

        • Ambition/Status (2:7)

          • Philippians 2:7, . . . but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

          • Jesus made Himself nothing

          • He took on the very nature of a servant

          • Jesus was selfless when it came to ambition or status

          • He did not allow what others thought about Him to affect what He came to do

            • Mark 8:31-33, He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. ​​ He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ​​ But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ​​ “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. ​​ “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

            • John 11:7-8, Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” ​​ “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

          • He knew what was right and He followed through with it even though the Roman soldiers mocked Him and beat Him

        • Envy/Pride (2:8)

          • Philippians 2:8, And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

          • Jesus showed humility as He went to the cross

          • He didn’t let His deity stop Him from accomplishing His mission and goal

          • He wasn’t prideful about His position as the Son of God, but was willing to take on the essence of man in order to save you and me

          • Perhaps the chief priests wouldn’t have envied Jesus if they had understood who He was and why He had come to earth

          • Jesus selflessly became obedient to death on the cross

        • Jesus’ Exaltation (2:9-11)

          • Jesus death brought you victory, because His death destroyed the devil who holds the power of death (Heb. 2:14) ​​ [Stott, The Cross of Christ, 233]

          • Jesus’ resurrection vindicated Him and declared with power that He is the Son of God and that His death was effective for the forgiveness of sins [Stott, The Cross of Christ, 233]

          • Philippians 2:9-11, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

  • YOU

    • Jesus died for your sin

        • If you’re struggling with the selfish sin of envy/pride, Jesus died to take your punishment

        • If you’re struggling with the selfish sin of greed, this excessive desire for wealth or possessions, Jesus paid your fine

        • If you’re struggling with the selfish sin of ambition/compromise, Jesus shed His blood so you could be set free

        • My greatest desire for you is that you’ll recognize all that God has done for you through His Son Jesus Christ

          • Romans 3:10-12, As it is written: ​​ “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. ​​ All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

          • Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

          • Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: ​​ While were still sinners, Christ died for us.

          • Romans 10:8-10, 13, But what does it say? ​​ “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ​​ That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ​​ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved . . . for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

          • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

        • You may be here today and can say that you know about God and you know what Jesus Christ did for you when He died on the cross, but there is something that is holding you back from giving your life completely to Him as your Savior

    • Rejecting Jesus

        • Judas, the Chief Priests, and Pontius Pilate all knew about God and saw Jesus face-to-face and yet they rejected Him

        • Perhaps it makes perfect sense to you why Judas Iscariot rejected Jesus

          • Maybe you are seeking true happiness by accumulating wealth or possessions

          • You may have the misconception that if you dedicate your life to Jesus Christ, that He will require you to sell all of your possessions or empty your bank accounts and give to the poor

          • You’re concerned that you’ll have to live like a pauper and never be happy

          • When Jesus comes into your life, He will change your desires to coincide with God’s purposes

          • The Holy Spirit will teach you how to deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23-24)

        • Maybe you continue to reject Jesus because of pride

          • You want to be in charge of your life

          • You don’t want anyone telling you what you can and cannot do

          • You view the Bible as God’s rule book and rules are meant to be broken

          • You don’t want to admit that you could use someone else’s help with the situation(s) you are currently going through

          • Perhaps you’ve seen answered prayer in someone else’s life, but you’re too prideful to experience it for yourself

        • You may be dealing with peer pressure, which has caused you to reject Jesus

          • You know what’s right to do, but you’re afraid of what your friends might think if you turn your life over to Jesus Christ

          • You’ve allowed them to influence how you think and act, but you’ve felt the leading of God’s Spirit in your life

          • He’s calling out to you to follow Him

        • My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Commit to read the Gospel of John in the Bible for the next month and ask God to reveal Himself to me.

 

  • WE

    • We have a responsibility as Christ followers to share this transformational Gospel with those in our sphere of influence

    • After Jesus’ resurrection, he stayed on the earth for 40 days, teaching His disciples

        • They were the ones who were going to carry the Gospel to the known world

        • Matthew 28:18-20, Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ​​ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. ​​ And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

        • These are our marching orders – Jesus is alive! ​​ The world needs to know

 

CONCLUSION

“In his best-selling book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey contrasts the humility that characterized Jesus’ royal visit to planet earth with the prestigious image associated with world rulers today:

 

In London, looking toward the auditorium’s royal box where the queen and her family sat, I caught glimpses of the…way rulers stride through the world: with bodyguards, and a trumpet fanfare and a flourish of bright clothes and flashing jewelry.

 

Queen Elizabeth II had recently visited the United States, and reporters delighted in spelling out the logistics involved: her four thousand pounds of luggage included two outfits for every occasion, a mourning outfit in case someone died, forty pints of plasma, and white kid-leather toilet seat covers. She brought along her own hairdresser, two valets, and a host of other attendants. A brief visit of royalty to a foreign country can easily cost twenty million dollars.

 

In meek contrast, God’s visit to earth took place in an animal shelter with no attendants present and nowhere to lay the newborn king but a feed trough. Indeed, the event that divided history, and even our calendars, into two parts may have had more animal than human witnesses. A mule could have stepped on him.”

 

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Zondervan, 1995)

 

[http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1999/november/12115.html].

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