Sermon Series: Evaluate, Change and Restore: Revelation 1-3

Are You Following the Right Jesus?

Revelation 1:9-20

In a nutshell: Jesus is revealed as the ruler of the church, equipped to rule in power and glory; and as the shepherd of the church, who guides the church through His love. We must change our thinking to this Jesus, rather than the baby of Bethlehem, or even the risen Messiah. Jesus is now the ruler and shepherd of the church–that is our Lord!

I. Introduction

A. Reagan's birthday

This past Tuesday, former President, Ronald Reagan turned 90. I don't know about you, but since Ronald Reagan left office, I haven't seen many pictures of him. But I know he's changed. He's no longer that charismatic figure who went before the TV camera's when congress refused to pass his tax reform agenda, and convinced the American people to pressure the Democratic congress to go along with him. He's no longer the cowboy actor who hosted "Death Valley Days" or who starred in "Bedtime for Bonzo".

Today, he has Alzheimer's. I watched an interview a week or so ago, with his son, Michael Reagan, who acknowledged that his dad doesn't really know what's going on, and can't express himself with words. He has a broken hip, and is having to learn how to walk, all over again. That's quite a change from the man who is credited with breaking the back of Communism in Russia, Germany and the Balkans. It's hard to believe that the man who said those famous words, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall", is now barely able to communicate.

Since I've not seen former President Reagan as he is right now, I still remember him the way he was 20 years ago. If I were to go visit him, I know that I'd have a curtain pulled back, and an unveiling would take place that would reveal an image that is quite different than the image I have in my mind, right now.

B. Revelation = unveiling

Well, that's one of the main purposes of the book of Revelation. It pulls back a curtain for us and shows us Jesus as He really is right now.

Revelation means "unveiling". And the main things that are being unveiled for us are...
...the work of Jesus Christ right now, in His church;
...how Jesus expects the church to evaluate, change and restore itself to effectiveness in doing God's Kingdom work;
...and how Jesus will act once He removes His church from this earth and begins the final steps in establishing the new heaven and new earth at His second coming.

Last week in our introduction to Revelation, we saw in verses 1 thru 8, that the triune God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–is the One who is pulling back the curtain that separates the visible realm of this earth from the invisible realm of heaven.

This week, we will see one of the key reasons for God initiating this unveiling to the apostle John on the island of Patmos–it's to show us Jesus, the Lord of the church, at work–He's no longer as we knew Him in the gospels. He's no longer the man, Jesus. He is now God, the ruler of the church, and Jesus the shepherd of His flock. So, with that in mind, let's get into our text this morning, Revelation 1:9-20.

II. Exposition of vss. 9-16–The Ruler of the Church

As we get into this portion of scripture, we will see that the day is a Sunday. John is involved in a time of intense worship of God. We might call it a time of extended personal devotions. He is by himself. And as John was worshiping, he heard a voice like the sound of a trumpet addressing him.

A. The Command

Rev 1:9-11
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodecia."

John is in a place where he has lost contact with time and senses and is transported into the invisible world of spiritual reality. God does this on occasion with his leaders. He did it with the prophet, Ezekiel in the Old Testament...

Ezek 2:1-2
2:1 He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

God did this with the apostle Paul. Paul writes about an experience he had, to the Corinthian church...

2 Cor 12:1-4
1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 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. 3 And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows- 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.

And in this divine "vestibule to heaven", where the curtain that divides temporal from spiritual is about to be drawn open very wide, John hears a voice, commanding him to write down what he is about to see, and afterwards, send it to seven different churches in Asia Minor– Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodecia.

B. John turns around

Now, John did what you and I would have done in a similar situation. Look at verse 12

Rev 1:12
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands,

He turns around and looks to see who is speaking to him. But before he notices the One who is speaking, he notices the setting from where the voice is coming. He sees an area or room, filled with an array of seven golden lamp stands, in various parts of this room, each with a lamp on it.

The lamp stands could have looked similar to this one from Pompeii, (show picture) that comes from about the same period. As you'll notice, the lamp stand was just that, a stand to hold a lamp. The lamp is what gave off the light. It contained oil and a wick. And that's where the light came from–by lighting the oil soaked wick, this lamp gave light to the area around it. And by holding the lamp off the floor, the lamp stand allowed the light from the lamp to better illumine the dark room.

Now, after noticing the lamp stands, John's attention goes to the One who is walking among these lamps and stands.

C. Two things before the description of Jesus...

And here is where we begin to see Jesus in a different form than any other place in the New Testament. The unveiling reveals a Jesus you and I need to know. We now see Jesus as the ruler of the church. Look at the next verses...

Rev 1:13-16
13 and among the lamp stands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Now, before we get into this description, I have to prepare you for a couple of things.

1. First, there are 518 references from the Old and New Testaments in the 404 verses of the book of Revelation. In other words, Jesus is unveiling His message to John, for the churches, with the assumption that they know the writings of the prophets and apostles. That's why John begins describing who is walking among these lamp stands, by describing this awesome Being using Old Testament references.

2. Second, John was seeing Jesus like he never saw Him before. Ron Ritchie, a pastor from Idaho, states this idea very well in a message he preached on this passage. I put his paragraph on the fronts of This Week's Information Guide (the TWIG):

Remember that John had been a friend and follower of Jesus in his humanity. He remained faithful to him up to the cross, and then after the resurrection. John saw Jesus in his glorified body before He ascended into the heavens to be with his Father. But now what John was about to see was not Jesus in his humble humanity or even his glorified body, but Jesus in all His glory as the Son of God, wearing robes of the great High Priest, full of power and authority, ready to walk among his people in order to purify them, so that His gospel of redemption would be clearly heard in a fallen world. (Ron Ritchie, Jesus: The Alpha and Omega).

Now, we're ready to look at some of the specifics concerning who John saw walking among the lamp stands an lamps...

D. Description of Jesus–the ruler of the church

1. someone "like a son of man," This is a reference to the description that the prophet Daniel gave the coming Messiah, 800 years before.

Dan 7:13
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.

Son of Man, means Jesus is a human being, as God intended human beings to be when He created them. This description tells us that even though we are going to see Jesus a differently than we've ever seen Him before–His God-ness–He is still the man, Jesus. That means that He is still our high priest. He identifies with us, because He was tempted just like we are. He is still human, as well as God, so He can bridge the gap between God and man, as our intercessor.

2. dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet with a golden sash around his chest... The golden sash and the robes symbolized two offices–high priest and king. This phenomenon was written about by King David, when he referred to the Messiah being like Melchizadek...

Ps 110:4
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

Melchizedek was a man who lived during the time of Abraham. He was unique in that not only did he do intercessory functions for his people, but he was the king of his people, as well. That means he was a kingly-high priest who could sit in judgment of his people, rule his people, and intercede for his people, all at the same time.

This is what Jesus is doing for human beings, right now. He judges our obedience and disobedience. He rules as the Lord of our lives as we live in the Kingdom of God. And He bridges the gap between Holy God and sinful man, in order to bring them together into a relationship of Father and child.

3. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow... This means that Jesus, since He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, has now taken on the characteristics of God, the Ever living One; God the Almighty–He is now the Ancient of Days, as Daniel calls Him in Daniel 7. As God Almighty, Jesus has been given the authority to walk among the churches and judge them according to His purity and His righteousness and His wisdom... as God!

4. his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace... The eyes of blazing fire means he looks right through you– even better than Superman could have ever done with his X-ray vision. You could fool Superman with lead, but you can't fool Jesus with anything.
-Don't try to tell him you're a good person.
-Don't try to fake that you never do anything wrong or impure.
-Don't try to hold up the filthy rags of your best good works and expect them to be pure enough to be accepted by a complete and holy God.
...Jesus will see right through your motives, your values and your secrets. His eyes can burn a hole in you, right down to your very soul.

The feet are a person's foundation. Jesus' feet are glowing from being heated in a furnace. Heating bronze always proves it's purity. In other words at the foundation of who Jesus is, is the purity of His righteousness. Jesus achieved purity as a human being, you haven't, nor will you ever achieve purity. And the foundation of what Jesus gives sinful people is an exchange of our impure, sinful lives for His purity. In fact, having Jesus' purity is the only thing that enables us to stand in the presence of a pure and holy God for eternity.

5. his voice was like the sound of rushing waters... This refers to:

Ezek 43:2
2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.

Illustration: Have you ever tried to talk above the roar of Niagara Falls? 12 million cubic feet of water roaring down each minute! All you can do is stand there in awe and silence as you watch that demonstration of power.

That's what it will be like on Judgment Day if you
...try to come up with excuses for why you didn't value what God values,
...or why you weren't obedient to what you know God says to obey,
...or why you never trusted Him as your Savior.
Any excuse you come up with will be silenced by the sheer power of God that is resident in Jesus. You will have nothing to say!

6. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. The right hand symbolizes power, possession, protection, judgment and sovereign control... which Jesus holds over the seven churches, and every church and every person of every church, down through the ages, and even now. The double-edged sword is the Word of God, as referred to in Hebrews and Ephesians in the New Testament and Isaiah in the Old Testament (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17; Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 49:2). It is the standard by which we will be judged at the end of time. It's not what you think should be the truth. It's not your own personal truth (which is interpreted, whatever I want to do or believe)... but strictly on what the Word of God says is right, godly, profitable and truthful.

7. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. This is the glory that Moses saw from a reflection on Mount Sinai, when he received the 10 Commandments. This is the glory the disciples saw on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is the Shekina glory of God. The radiance that comes from within the being of God, not received from any other source. This statement says that Jesus is God, Almighty–alive and at work in His church. Listen up. Pay attention. Follow His lead. Don't you dare mess with Him or His desires for you or His church.

Wow! How would you react to such a sight? Look at the next verse

Rev 1:17a
17a When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. (Stop right there).

John saw the Savior, his friend, his teacher, the risen Messiah.... in a whole different light. John saw God, and he fell down in awe and couldn't move.

But then Jesus pulls back the curtain even more, and unveils another view of Himself, to John...

III. Shepherd of the Flock

Rev 1:17b-18
...Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

The Good Shepherd of Psalm 23 and John 10 reached down to John, His beloved friend and faithful disciple, who had never seen Jesus in His full power and glory. And at that point, Jesus offered him this comfort: "Don't be afraid."

John recognized those words. They were the same words Jesus spoke to the disciples when He walked on the water to them, in the midst of that terrible storm on the Sea of Galilee. Their boat was almost sinking, and Jesus said, "Don't be afraid." John didn't have to be afraid of the risen Christ. He was still the same Jesus, that John personally knew 60 years earlier.

Jesus reassures us, as well,
-He is the one who was always with God, and always was God.
-He is the one who willingly died for the sins of the human race,
-He is the one who conquered death, and
-He is the one who intercedes in heaven for those who have believed in Him,
...all because He loves people more than anything else in the universe. He is not only God, but He is the Good Shepherd who loves us.

IV. Conclusion

A. Write to the churches

Rev. 1:19-20
19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.

Friends, Jesus wanted John to write down he sees so the churches in Asia Minor, and the church down through the ages, right up to 2001, will be able to evaluate, change and restore themselves to the purpose of joining God–who is Jesus–in what is most important to Him– rescuing the lost, before it's too late.

B. Application

Now, let me tell you, your personal application of this section we've looked at this morning, is going to be critical. Because it is going to dictate how you are going to respond to the next seven weeks of messages from chapters two and three.

You see, this second half of Revelation 1 is a mandate that we have to live in the present. We have to see Jesus as He is right now.
-He's no longer a baby in Bethlehem's manger.
-He's no longer the teaching rabbi who walked the streets of Capernium, Jerusalem and Bethany. -He's no longer the carpenter who worked in a shop in Nazareth.
-He's no longer the beaten and wounded prophet.
-He's not the man hanging on Calvary's tree.
-And He's not the risen Jesus who has yet to ascend to His Father.

No, He is God–He is the God of all the ages... who sits in judgment, power, glory, righteousness, truth, purity, holiness, kingly-ness, and authority.

Jesus holds the office of King, High priest and true Prophet. And as such, He has given us our marching orders. We call those orders the Great Commission. Jesus expects and demands that we follow Him as the only Lord of our lives. And He will evaluate how we do what He's left us here to do, according to His standards–not ours.

But at the same time, He's the Shepherd of His flock.
-He knows we need encouragement in difficult times.
-He loves us and cares for us.
-He knows we'll mess up.
-And yet, He promises to meet all our needs from out of the vastness of His riches.

But friend, please understand, you can't have the shepherd without having the God who sits in judgment, or vice versa. You can't have one without the other.

If you're going to be involved with God and what He's doing in the world, then you'll have to ask yourself the question, "Am I following and obeying the Jesus who really is, or am I following and obeying a Jesus of my own making?"
-Your answer to that question will determine how teachable you'll be in the coming weeks as we discover what God wants His church to be.
-Your answer to that question will determine your level of involvement in what's most important to God.
-Your answer to that question will determine the outcome of your judgement as you stand before the Jesus of Revelation and answer for your life as His follower.

Amen.