We are about to embark on a journey to behold a glorious,
marvelous, compelling, captivating revelation of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who He is now.
What He is saying to the churches today and what He will
do in our world in the days to come are the things that await
us in this amazing exegetical expedition.
We briefly touched on the first few verses of chapter 1 in our
overview last week, but there's still crucial details that we
need to draw from them before we move on to the main passage of
this section. And so if you can, let's meet
together again at Revelation chapter 1, beginning in verse
one, and read it together. The revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave him to show to His servants the things that
must soon take place. He made a known by sending his
Angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God
and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this
prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is
written in it, for the time is near.
When reading this over and over again, There are three things
that should stand out to us from these 3 verses.
Who this is for meaning the book who this is from, and lastly,
who will be blessed. Did you notice the specific
group of people that the Holy Spirit addresses concerning this
book? We're told right here that it is
to show his servants, that's Christ servants and verse one,
the things that must soon take place.
So what that tells us is that the insights of this book, the
wisdom of this book, the encouragement, the guidance, the
warnings, the predictions, the visions of this book are tailor
made and are targeting a particular category of people,
Christ's servants. Now servants is quite a broad
term, but when you understand the original language a little
bit, you'll discover that it's much more narrow in its
interpretation. It's not just servants.
We're actually talking about slaves.
The Greek word is doulos, and a doulos or a slave was not
somebody who was necessarily employed, it was somebody who
was actually owned. A doulos was somebody who was
permanently owned by someone else, and that position of
servitude remained as a lifelong call.
A slave didn't have his own rights.
He solely lived to perform the will and the pleasure of the one
that he was owned by. Now in John's day, the joy of
that position being a slave, being an advantage or
disadvantage, largely depended on the goodness of the
individual that one was subservient to.
And this may sound surprising to us, but in Roman Society of this
time, you would have people who would give themselves up to be a
slave thinking that they would be better off doing so.
And so we have to understand that even the concept of slavery
was much different than how we seem to interpret it in Western
culture. In the case of the apostles,
they gladly identify themselves and many of the openings of
their letters as slaves specifically to Jesus Christ,
bond servants of Jesus Christ. And they did so because they
wanted to communicate, one, that Jesus Christ is a glorious
master, and two, that their devotion to him was complete and
that it was lifelong. I hope you don't miss it next
time you study the New Testament.
Paul, a servant, a bondservant, a slave of Jesus Christ.
Jude even says I'm a servant of Jesus.
James says I'm a servant of Jesus Christ.
This is not a temporary thing. This is permanent.
It's forever and you and I have to understand that the opening
of this book, God expects all of his followers to relate him in
the same way. And so we have to establish
something right now before we move on.
Here's a question we should ask am IA bondservant of Jesus
Christ. Does he own my will?
Does he determine my decisions? Does he have my resources?
Am I truly a slave to Jesus Christ?
And that's important for many reasons, including for how we're
going to receive the truth of this book because later we're
going to discover that there's a specific blessing for those who
keep what is written in it. And to keep what is written in
it means that you take it to heart and that you obey what it
asks of you. You can't do that unless you
first settle this. Do I actually belong to Him?
So what I'm trying to convey from the beginning is this.
The way this book will impact your life is determined by
whether or not you are a slave to Jesus Christ.
If not, completely surrender to Him that you're not going to
truly benefit from what this book has to teach you.
And so you have to ask yourself, am I coming to the Book of
Revelation here at Maranatha Bible Church merely as a
student? Or am I coming because I am a
bondservant of Jesus Christ? This is for bondservants.
This is for slaves of Jesus Christ.
But who is this from? Interestingly, look at the last
part of verse one. He made it known by sending his
Angel to his servant John. So even there we have John
called a bondservant, a slave of Christ.
And each of us here have to understand that John is one of
the apostles. He's one of the 12 and church
tradition attributes the authorship of this book, the
human authorship to him. And there are many reasons for
that, good reasons for that. When you actually look at and
you survey this book, you'll discover clues, phrases,
expressions, references that are unique to John's writings.
And there are, there are many, many, many parallels, but I want
to look at 2 obvious ones. So hopefully you have the Book
of Revelation open in your hands.
Look at Revelation 5 and I want you to see verse 6 briefly.
John writes. And between the throne and the
four living creatures, and among the elders, I saw a lamb
standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with
seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all
the earth. The messianic title of the Lamb
is very common to us. I think it was virtually in
every song that we sang this afternoon.
But that picture of Jesus which appears many times in Revelation
is only found in one other book in the New Testament, the book
of John, unless you count Paul, who says in First Corinthians
that Christ is our Passover lamb.
But the the idea of the Lamb, the Lamb of God, that's only
found here in Revelation and the Gospel account, which is amazing
and it's not the only one. Here's another Joy 9 expression.
Look at Revelation 19 in verse 13 it says he is clothed in a
robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is
the Word of God. Sound familiar?
In the beginning was the Word, yes, right?
John 11. And not only in John 11 but
first John 11, Christ there is referenced as the word of life.
So we have it in Revelation as a title, as a reference to Christ
here in Revelation, have it in John, have it in the first
epistle written by John. This is obviously written by him
and there's many other things that we can look to to confirm
that. Instead, I want to take this
time to look at something that John mentions back in chapter 1,
verse two. Look what this bond servant said
about the Book of Revelation who bore witness to the Word of God
and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
John calls the Book of Revelation the Word of God.
That may seem obvious to you, but what is sad is that
believers in the past and even some believers today in practice
do not uphold the Book of Revelation with such dignity and
honor. Now this may shock you, but let
me give you a quote from Martin Luther.
Yes, the great reformer, he said this about the Book of
Revelation. Quote, My spirit cannot
accommodate itself to this book. For me, this is reason enough
not to think highly of it. Christ is neither taught nor
known in it. End of quote.
Now, Martin Luther was right about very important theological
truths, but I have to say that he was not right about the Book
of Revelation. And the reason why he wrestled
with it like many do today is because of the visions and the
cryptic nature of some of these things.
So he just kind of put it in the peripheral.
He didn't really uphold it. The way John himself describes
this book, it's the word of God which tells you and I that no
matter how you feel about the visions, the predictions of this
letter, we have to understand that the man who wrote it lived
with Jesus for 3 1/2 years. He witnessed his execution on a
Roman cross. He spent time with him and ate
with him after his resurrection, and he beheld his bodily
ascension into heaven. The same John who experienced
that is the same John who is telling us that Lord gave me
this truth. It's as though John is saying in
the same way I faithfully conveyed to you the details of
His first coming, I am equally loyal to tell you about the
details of His second coming. And that is not the only thing
that John wants to tell us which comes to verse 3 for us.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this
prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is
written in it for the time is near.
If you've ever read the Book of Revelation, then you've probably
noticed that this is not the only beatitude found in the Book
of Revelation. A beatitude is a declaration of
blessedness or happiness, right? And we're most familiar with the
Beatitudes and the introduction of the Sermon on the Mount, But
we have beatitudes here, and the one that we have here in verse 3
is one out of seven total beatitudes in the Book of
Revelation. Now, the other day I was
counting to make sure, and it's confirmed there are a total of
7, which bless me because 7 is such a significant number in
this book. Most of us know that the number
seven in the Bible speaks to completion or God's full
fulfillment concerning something.
And if that's true and we relate it to these declarations of
blessings in Revelation, here's what we can confirm.
This book has complete blessing for us.
Total blessing, full blessing. And at the beginning here, we're
told three ways that we can be blessed by this book.
The first way is to read it aloud.
I think that's what I'm doing, right?
The second way is for those to hear it.
That's what you're doing. And lastly, for the reader and
the hearer to keep what is written in it.
John expected that this letter, when he sent it to the seven
churches, would be read in each congregation.
Now, what I appreciate about what he's saying here is that he
doesn't say blessed is the one who understands every single
detail in the Book of Revelation because a lot of us would be in
trouble. No, no, no, this book is so
packed with spiritual treasure that just reading it and hearing
it will bless you. Just doing that.
Now I got to also say this. You can tell I'm getting a
little excited, right? This is a clue to some of the
practices of the early church, a practice that you and I are
honoring right now. There would be somebody who was
designated to read the Scriptures while others listen
to the word of God being read. Aren't you glad that we're
keeping up with that biblical tradition?
Here we are reading and hearing. This is something that the
ancient church did, and it's been going on for thousands of
years now. Many of us who grew up in
Christian circles are familiar with this beatitude in
Revelation One. But I have this question, What
blessing does John have in mind for those who would read and
hear and obey what this book has to say?
And I believe we have an answer. The answer is when you look at
the book end, the last part of the Book of Revelation, and you
see this beatitude repeated almost word for word.
So go to Revelation 22 and notice what Jesus says in verse
7 of Revelation 22. Here's another beatitude and
behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the
words of the prophecy of this book.
So notice that there is a connection between keeping the
words of this prophecy and Jesus coming back soon, engaging with
the prophecies of this book in light of the return of Jesus
Christ. Here's what this tells me.
Reading, hearing, keeping what is in this book blesses us
mainly because it thunders the truth of the soon return of
Christ and it compels you to prepare for his arrival.
That's a blessing. Here's what you're going to be
reminded as we go through every detail, try to at least in these
wonderful chapters. The main message is going to be
this Jesus is coming back soon. Christ is coming back soon.
The King is coming again, and the appropriate response is I
must be ready for it. I must be prepared.
And as helpful as that is, this fountain is so deep, so lively,
so gushing with blessing that we have other things to receive
from it. And we're going to sip from more
of it as we consider now the main section of this message.
Now, last week, let me say this, I was providing the testimony
early on about how encouraged I was by the response of the
people. One of the comments was you were
too fast, brother, with your introduction message.
Please take your time. Please don't be afraid to
continue. I don't know if all you feel
that way, but here's me responding to that request
because all that I just said was the introduction.
Let's come to verse 4 now and read to verse 8.
John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and
peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from
the seven spirits who are before his throne.
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born
of the dead and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His
blood and made us a Kingdom priest to his God and Father, to
Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever.
Amen. Behold, he's coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who Pierce them,
and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
Even so. Amen.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and
who was and who is to come the Almighty.
There's that #7 again. Verse 4 John to the seven
churches that are in Asia A student in the New Testament
will know we'll probably think well there are more than 7
churches in Asia Minor at this time and you might even wondered
why didn't John write to some of the churches that we read in the
epistles so. So why not more than 7?
Why not fewer? Well, again, if there is a
symbolic attachment to this number, then we can understand
what John by the Spirit is trying to communicate.
Yes, these are real historical churches that have been
addressed, but that #7 is meant to tell us that this message is
also for all believers. If #7 means completion,
fullness, then what we have here is John telling us that God is
trying to speak to God, is aiming His message at all
believers of all time. This is relevant to every
Christian. So we are being written to.
This is for us, and those specific messages will come in
chapter 2 and chapter 3. But right here, we're being
prepared. What we have to read is for us
personally, and the first thing that we can learn, the first
major lesson following the fact that John writes to the seven
churches, is that a true church that belongs to Jesus Christ
will be a church that acknowledges and believes in the
Trinity. There are many branches of
Christianity that are not really Christian that do not believe in
the Tri unity of God, that he is one being 3 persons, not 3 gods.
He is one, yes, but He is also 3.
And we can spend the rest of this time trying to explain that
and prove it from the Bible. But the thing that I want to
just make clear is that a true church will believe in that,
will defend that, and a church is not really a church that
rejects that truth. Did you notice that this
greeting to the seven churches came from the Trinity?
Look again from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come.
This speaks of the Father and His eternality, and from the
seven spirits who are before His throne.
This speaks of the Spirit and His fullness.
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born
of the dead and the rulers of kings on earth.
This speaks of the Son and His supremacy.
So right here in this greeting you have traces of the Trinity.
A clear reference that this is coming from Father, Spirit and
Son. And this teaches us that a true
church will receive such a revelation.
They will not deny it, they will not resist it, they will not try
to explain it away. But let's look at these things
more closely, shall we? Let's look at the Father, at all
the things that can be said about the Father.
We're told here that he is, He was.
Who is to come. The timelessness of the Father.
Now, that sounds very abstract, That sounds very out there, but
it's meant to comfort the believer.
Because what we're supposed to face here is that the God you
learned about in Genesis through Deuteronomy, the God who did
miracles in Joshua, the God who was patient in the days of
Samuel and the kings, the God who spoke through Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and all the other prophets is the
same God who is watching over his church today.
That's what we're supposed to sense.
He's the same 1. He hasn't changed.
He still is there. He's still supervising, he's
still empowering, he's still providing, he's still speaking.
So he's not diluted in any manner.
He's not distance himself over time.
He is near, he is close. And the same power and wisdom
and love that he operated in the past is available to us today.
The Father. And then we go to who is before
the Father's throne. Look again here and from the
seven spirits who are before His throne.
Now initially that may sound confusing because we are all
familiar with one spirit who shares equal standing with the
Father, That's the Holy Spirit. So now we have this idea of
seven spirits, and I've even heard people who mockingly come
to a text like this and accuse Christians.
Oh, you believe three and one. I think you actually believe
9:00 and 1:00 because you have this mention of the seven
spirits and you add the Son and the Father.
Isn't that 9? Do you remember how we open up
this series last week? That from beginning to end, the
Book of Revelation is absolutely drenched with Old Testament
references. And so when something doesn't
seem so clear, we have to ask ourselves, have we seen
something like this before? Have we looked at any text that
might give some explanation to what John is conveying here?
And the answer is yes, I believe the apostle John is referencing
the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit that Isaiah spoke
about in Chapter 11. Turn there with me and Isaiah 11
verses one and two, and this will hopefully make sense to us.
And Isaiah 11 verse one and two we read there shall come forth a
shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots
shall bear fruit. Let's count now in verse 2.
And the Spirit of the Lord, one shall rest upon him, the spirit
of wisdom 2 and understanding 3 the spirit of counsel 4 and
might 5 the spirit of knowledge 6 and the fear of the Lord 7.
So when John is depicting the seven spirits who are before his
throne, he's not speaking about 7 separate beings.
He's referring to the perfect qualities of the ministry of the
Holy Spirit, one Holy Spirit who's also the Spirit of the
Lord, the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might,
knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.
And while Christ was on earth, according to Isaiah's prophecy,
the Spirit in his fullness rested upon the Messiah.
And now we find him before the throne of God in the Book of
Revelation. And it's going to appear more
than once in our study of this book.
So we have the Holy Spirit who's greeting the seven churches.
Lastly, we have the Son. It's no surprise to us that
Christ is mentioned last because he's the theme of the Book of
Revelation. So John's going to expand on the
truth of who Jesus Christ is. And what are we told?
Look at these wonderful titles, The faithful witness.
You can depend on what He says. He never lies, He never
exaggerates. He's perfect in His witness.
He's the first born of the dead and the rule of kings on earth.
We sang that so resoundingly. And out of this threefold
portrait, I think the most puzzling 1 might be the first
born of the dead. What does John mean by that?
It's not a mystery. This is a banner that is not
only powerful, it has promise attached to it.
The first born of the dead, implying that there are others
on the way. What he means by this is that
Jesus Christ is the first to rise from the dead with a
glorified, exalted, eternal body.
And his resurrection, as unique as it is, paves the way for
future resurrections, namely those who put their faith and
trust in Him. So he's the first born of the
dead, and we will follow him and share in that experience.
How encouraging this would have been to these seven churches who
are being persecuted and suffering in unique ways.
They were reminded right at the introduction, We are going to
follow in the destiny of Christ. He's the first one of that.
And even if we lose our lives, we will share in his fate.
This is what John is saying. And this is not all that he has
to say about this caption of Christ.
He goes on to something that I think is so precious.
He goes on to say what to him who loves us and has freed us
from our sins by his blood. You know what one of the first
messages is of the Book of Revelation?
That this eternal King, the defeater of death, the returning
conqueror, loves you, loves each of us.
I don't think many people associate the Book of Revelation
with the revelation of God's love.
It's right there in the beginning.
Do you believe God loves you? It's one thing to believe that
he created you. It's one thing to believe that
he provides for you. It's another thing to believe
that he will. Yes, promise you a place with
him forever. Do you have the faith to believe
that this amazing, incredible, powerful God actually has
delight for you? John wants the churches to know
this. God loves you.
When is that ever dawned on you? When was the last time you
relished in the thought God loves me, not that you love God.
That's wonderful. When did you bathe in that
revelation last? I can tell you it will empower
you in ways that you cannot even fathom.
The other day I was driving on my own.
I was meeting a few people and it was in a long drive.
So I thought to myself, let me just, I'm not going to listen to
anything. I'm just going to take this time
by myself. It was dark, it was quiet, just
speaking to the Lord. And this thought that you and I
know touched me in a fresh way. You died for me.
There I am driving, thinking.
You left heaven. You came to this world and you
died for me so that I can be with you forever.
I almost skipped my meeting. Because you see, this is not
just a sentimental thing. This love, it acts, it moves, it
intervenes, it transforms, it's tangible, it's observable, it's
measurable in a way, because we're told here what this love
has done. Look at the last part of verse
5. To him who loves us and has
freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a Kingdom
priest to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion
forever and ever, Amen. So this, this love frees us from
something and makes us into something.
It frees us from our sins by his blood.
So it's a love that is a rated erased our record of wrong.
It's it's a love that liberates us for eternity.
It's a love that actually sets you free from the power of sin.
If God just said I loved you, that would have been wonderful,
but he proved it and it changes you.
If you really receive it, it frees you.
He paid a high price in order to show how much he loves us, not
just saving us from something. He saved us for something.
He made us a Kingdom priest to his God and Father, Not just the
Kingdom, a Kingdom of priests. I, I get it.
The temptation to hear language like this is like this is
abstracted. I don't know what to make of it.
What does that have to do with me?
Really Well, how does that really impact my life?
Well, it speaks of the royal nature and the spiritual
privilege of the Christian, so that we've been guaranteed not
just to be with Christ when he comes to rule and reign, but we
will reign with Him. And more than that, we have an
access to Him. We don't need any earthly
mediator. We need to jump through hoops.
Think about this. It doesn't even end here.
Not only am IA priest, a priest is one who serves as a meteor
between man and God. I have access to God, but God
even tells me that I'm the temple of the Holy Spirit.
So as a priest and as the dwelling place for God, no
matter where I am at any point of the day, I can talk to him, I
can worship him, I can access him, I can receive from him on
the basis of the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.
So this love, it frees me, it also molds me and makes me into
something. That's one of the first messages
of the Book of Revelation. God loves his church and every
single individual believer. I pray that you would pray that
this would be more real to you in the days to come.
This thought so moved John. He couldn't help it.
He breaks out into praise. Look at the rest of verse five.
He says to him, be glory and dominion, forever and ever.
Amen. He got excited when he spoke
about these things too. But in contrast to the grace,
peace, and love that is poured out on believers, those who are
outside the church will wail on account of Him.
Look at verse 7. Behold, He is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who Pierce them.
And all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him.
Even so. Amen.
So John says now look, behold, turn your attention to this.
I'm giving you a preview of what this book is really about.
Christ is coming back and that truth is a means for us to
worship, and it will be the reason for many to lament.
Look how incredible this is. He is coming with the clouds and
every eye will see Him, no matter the time zone, no matter
the regions of the earth that are unexplored, that are hiding
indigenous people groups. At one point Christ will take
center stage of the universe and every eye will witness it, and
every eye will acknowledge this is Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Every blasphemer who mocked him will admit it.
Every false religionist who is denied His identity, namely His
deity, will accept it, and in one moment every atheist will
become a believer. But it will be too late for
many, because they'll realize that he's not coming the way he
came the first time. He's coming to judge, and his
judgement will be eternal. This is why we're told that many
will wail. But it is so interesting here
that John gives us a heads up. He actually underscores a
specific people group who will also witness him.
Look again here, even those who pierced him.
Now you read that and you think this is OK, but it's a general
reference to those who crucified him.
But no, he's actually echoing a prophecy from Zechariah 12/10.
You can turn there on your own at another time, but that's
where we're told that the people of Israel who are responsible
for crucifying their Messiah, the fulfillment of them who
pierced Him and wailing and weeping on account of Him, will
be realized at the Second Coming.
Which is fascinating because when you look at Zechariah
12/10, it confirms that God has a purpose and plan for the
ethnic people of Israel up until His return.
That is why understanding God's purpose for Israel is so
crucial. Nothing to do with politics my
friend, but deeply ingrained in how you frame your eschatology,
which is a fancy word for the study and your knowledge of the
last days. Those who have pierced them will
see Him. Why would you highlight out of
all the tribes of the world, all the people, groups of the world,
all the nations of the world, one that has gone through a
roller coaster throughout history?
Evidently a prophecy about them will be realized at the
culmination of the age. We're going to explore this as
we go on through this book. But notice here, this is a
spectacular prophecy and here's a summary of it.
He says here that Christ will do what he is coming with the
clouds. When Jesus went up bodily in
Acts chapter one verse 9, we're told there that he was hidden by
a cloud. Now, if you've ever been to a
play, then you might remember that at some point, in the event
a curtain would drop and there would be a pause, a break right
to the act. And then there would be a time
for you to, you know, refresh yourself, go do something in
return, only for that curtain to lift again and for the play to
resume. That's how I like to think of
this cloud picture that when he ascended into heaven, the
curtain dropped. The cloud concealed him.
But when he returns, the clouds will part and they will reveal
him the first time he ascended as a rejected Messiah.
When he comes back, he's going to be a conquering king.
And John is saying look for the clouds.
They will usher him in. And this is such a spectacular
prophecy. You are think about it.
You are predicting somebody who has been supposedly dead for
2000 years is going to make a reappearance and actually take
over everything. Now we as Christians believe
he's alive and so astounding is such a claim.
John pauses, not speaking on behalf of the Lord anymore, but
allows God now to speak for himself.
In verse 8. What does the Lord say?
I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God who is and who
was and who is to come the Almighty.
It's as though God steps in and gives his personal endorsement
for verse 7. I'm going to do this.
Jesus Christ is coming back. You know why?
I'm the alpha and the Omega. What does that mean?
That's the first and last letter for the Greek alphabet.
And So what the Lord is saying essentially is I'm the beginning
and the end. It again echoes his eternality.
More than that, he says, I give the first word, I'm going to
give the last word, and no one can change that.
I'm the alpha and the Omega. I'm outside of time.
I can predict the future because I already see it from time to
time when people try to ask how does God know things?
How do we kind of wrestle and make sense of His foreknowledge
and our personal responsibility and all these things?
It's hard to grasp. And I like to jokingly tell
people, you know, God right now is at your birth date, your
first birth date and your funeral at the same time.
Try to figure that out over food today.
The alpha, the Omega, the beginning of the end.
I gave the first word. I'm going to give the last word.
But this statement here is more than just God declaring that He
is outside of time. He also wants to confirm that He
is in control of every event within time.
What is he going to say? And the alpha and the Omega says
the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come?
The Almighty, The Almighty. That description for God doesn't
appear a lot in the New Testament.
A total of 10 times the rest. All other nine are found here in
Revelation. Think about that.
This is God saying something about Himself in Revelation that
He wants to emphasize. And the word Almighty simply
means this one who has His hand and everything, One who holds
sway to everything. In other words, He's in control,
the Almighty, the Almighty, the Almighty.
That's what is being blasted from Revelation.
Obviously, for us to be persuaded of His sovereignty,
that in the last days He is going to be completely in
control, even though everything looks like it's going out of
control. I'm the Almighty 1, the Almighty
1, the Almighty 1, and so He's the determiner of events.
And it would be a mistake to think that the Lord being the
Alpha and the Omega, is only interested in the beginning of
time. Then He backed away and let
things just go their own way. And then now He'll come back and
put things in order. No, remember, what does it say?
Who is not just who was and who is to come?
He is now. So even now, today, in 2025,
He's the Almighty. He's not just going to be
Almighty when He returns. He's the Almighty until His
return. And when He returns, which tells
you, and I want that He is in control of every single thing in
your life, He's in control of the city of Chicago.
He's in control of the state. He's in control of this nation
and the nations of the world. He is sovereign over every king,
every president, Prime Minister, a dictator.
And none can resist them. None can challenge him and
succeed. Many have tried to thwart his
plans and his prophecies, but have failed.
And they will always fail until he proves himself.
He's the Almighty and the Almighty.
Loves you, genuinely loves you. His heart is stirred for us.
People talk about mysteries in the Bible.
To me, that's one of the greatest mysteries.
How many of us are there in the world?
How many of us throughout the ages?
And yet He promises to walk with you and me as though we were the
only person in the world. How many prayers has God
answered in your life from heaven?
The Almighty 1 Not because you're worthy, but because He
loves you. The things that you're not even
aware of that He's protecting you from.
How He has every single day planned for you ahead.
He knows it all and it will be for your good.
And He will supply everything. And it'll be for the purpose of
sanctifying you, making you more like His Son.
I belong to the Almighty. So do you if you're in Christ.
So this is what these seven churches are hearing before he
gets into these specific things that he will say to them in
chapter 2 and three. And listen, in chapter 2 and
three, a lot of these churches will receive scathing rebukes.
But you know what's amazing? Before he corrects any of them,
he tells these churches, you're loved.
You were loved. I think even in that we have an
example for how we correct others.
Do we love them? Do they know that they are loved
by us? Well, I better stop before I get
carried away. I hear the voices of those.
Last week I said just keep going brother, don't worry about it.
This is the beginning of our study in Revelation, but we've
come together here to reflect on His love for us as we break
bread. So if I can ask the praise team
to join us. And I encourage you to reflect
on His love. So you have the woman at the
well who is so ashamed of her story that she goes to this
well. The hottest point of the day
wasn't very wise. People would go earlier to get
water for their families and their flock.
So here she is in isolation, and she's drawing from this.
Well, Jesus comes and asks for a drink.
And you're familiar with the conversation.
And Jesus begins to slowly unveil who he really is by
demonstrating his power, his knowledge.
And he tells her you've had more than one husband.
And he actually confirms the amount.
And she's obviously moved by this, but it says something
about what she was yearning for. You know, when she goes to this
well and she's drawing water, it's a picture of what she was
thirsting for it. She was looking for love.
She was looking for validation. And so she was jumping from
marriage to marriage to marriage, right?
And then she just gave up on the whole marriage thing all
together. And the person that she was with
when Christ met her was not her husband.
And then Jesus so patiently leads her to the revelation of
that, of the fact that he is the Messiah.
Her eyes are open to this truth. She's so moved by it that she
goes to run back to Samaria to tell people of what this man has
told about her. And there's this little detail
in John 4. She left behind that jar of
water, again, if you're consistent with the picture, who
Christ was to her, satisfied her thirst.
And she left behind that jar where she tried to scoop up
meaning and purpose and gratification because she found
it in him. She found it in him.
You can find it in him. I'm telling you, this love is so
profound, so real, that it frees you.
It really does free you. And it's so difficult for man to
grasp it. That's why Paul in Ephesians 3,
he says, I bow my knees before the Father.
And what does he say? It's just that you may know the
height, the depth, the breadth of this love for you see, a
preacher can come up and tell you God loves you.
That's one thing and it can move you and it should.
But you need the power of the Holy Spirit to really get it.
It's really good. That's why we pray before we
come up here and do these meetings and that's why this
leadership prays for the people here that the reality of God
would be you name to known to every single one of us,
including those who are praying for it.
Well, we ask, that is, we've entered the door of the series
and revelation and we've been confronted by many things,
including this truth that who you are and all your might and
splendor and glory, You love us. Make it real in every heart in
this place. And Lord, we'll know it's real
when we are free from things that are lying to us and
damaging us and robbing us of the gift that you have for us.
Lord, let this love liberate people from sin, doubt,
depression. We pray that, Lord, through this
series of revelation, we would see your love.
And so even now, Lord, as we eat together and fellowship, may the
presence of the Holy Spirit be real and all that He has to
offer. Would you bless the food and the
hands that have sacrificed to prepare for it?
And may we get a glimpse of that feast that is to come and the
fellowship that we will have with you and with one another
for all of eternity. Lord, open our eyes, We pray.
This Sunday, in the mighty glorious name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we pray Amen and Amen and Amen.