Sermon Central
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Revelation: Looking At Jesus First Series
Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Aug 28, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: The Revelation begins by pointing us to Jesus in His Glory.
Revelation: Looking At Jesus First
Introduction
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John identifies himself with those he is writing to in two ways. First, he calls himself their brother. This is a term of endearment. We call each other brother and sister because of the affection that grows out of our common experience of knowing Jesus as our Father and Elder Brother.
He also calls himself out companion in three things:
Tribulation. This word means to pressure and distress. It means discomfort in this present world. John understood that the Christian walk is one that has many trials. It is not all a bed of roses. Jesus promised that in this life we would experience tribulation (John 16:33). It is a promise that we do not have to declare or claim. But, Jesus did not stop there. He went on to say that we should not fear because He had overcome the world! He will invite the churches in the Revelation to overcome as well. He does not expect us to do it on our own!
Kingdom. John saw beyond the here and now. If our hope is only in this world then Paul said, we are of all men most miserable. But, there is a coming kingdom. A kingdom where there will be new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21; 2 Peter 3:13).
Patience. In order to endure the tribulation and arrive at the kingdom, it takes patience. Patience is the ability to endure difficulties without allowing those things to destroy you. We are facing shifts in our world. We have all been affected by covid. Our nation seems to be crumbling before our eyes in many ways. We face pressure and tribulation on every side, but we have the patience of Jesus Christ! He is not going to leave us or forsake us! The fruit of the Spirit is patience (Galatians 5:22-23).
John saw his visions while he was on the isle of Patmos. It is a small volcanic island. It is a tiny place. Some believe it was a penal colony. Christian tradition says that John had been banished to the island because of his preaching. He preached anyway. He was a witness anyway. There are some things that we must speak and be no matter what the world around us does or says. No matter if the world accepts or rejects us.
John's goal was not to be rejected. Don't make that your goal. He wasn't trying to pick a fight. He was just being faithful to the message and life that Jesus had given him. We should too.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
As we mentioned in our first sermon on Revelation, John came to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. There are members of our congregation who cannot physically be here today for various reasons, but I know that as they tune in online that they are experiencing the power of God's Spirit as well. John is our brother and companion in the normal things of life and the kingdom. If he was able to enter into the Spirit, God invites each of us to join Him.
He heard a voice behind Him. The voice was loud and startling to him. It got his attention. Remember not to put God in your box. He seems to usually speak to us in the still small voice, but if He wants to He can speak loud.
C. S. Lewis wrote: “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
When creation is groaning as it is now as we experience the vanity of the fall through wars and failed governments and disease, it causes us pain. Last year, as I struggled with covid-19 there was a moment when just wept. A few weeks ago as I watched the funeral of a young man whose life had been taken by covid-19, I wept. It hurt. Pain insists on being heard. Could it be that God is trying to arouse us from our sleep?
The Voice was like a trumpet, a megaphone. The Voice declared, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last." The Voice was reminding John, the churches that he wrote to in the first century, and us that He was there at the beginning of everything and He will be there at the end. He is the Author and Finisher of Faith. The good work that He began in your life, He will bring to completion!
